Will contain some spoilers*

Volgarr the Viking instantly makes me think of "Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts". It has this very awkward jumping that makes you die soooo many times till you start to get the hang of it.
The controls are tight and not clunky at all.

The game really emphasizes memorization learning boss patterns and enemy positions etc.
The game is very unfair till you learn and abuse the strategies you've made from all of your deaths.
Then you are more and more going to be able to trivialize a lot of places.

Avoiding taking damage is much more important in this game then its sequel. Each equipment adds an hit-point but losing equipment especially the flame sword makes bosses and tougher enemies much more difficult to deal with if you aren't good enough yet with patterns.

The first time I played and went at it I didn't even beat the game. It is a frustrating game that will get a lot easier if you keep at it. I revisited it and beat the C-ending and some time later I went for the A-ending.
Playing side by side with my brother made it much more enjoyable even if he beat it earlier than me.

Its very satisfying to get better at Volgarr.
Going for the A-ending gathering "special lives" by taking enough chests without damage really gives you the true arcade experience.
You play alternative versions of the level with limited amounts of lives that you can increase by grabbing more chests without taking damage and defeating bosses.
If you lose those lives you get back to the normal version of the level so you are better of restarting if you want to beat the alternate path and reach the secret world.

The dev has been very clear with what the game is meant to be and a lot of the critique "lack of checkpoints" etc. is addressed in the sequel.

I find Volgarr the Viking to be a very solid platformer but receives 8/10 due to lack of accessibility which the sequel solves.
Mainly save files as its a bit of a classic issue with the arcade games that you get one play and then you are back without options to really select levels and other conveniences (yes I know you can go to the side to get to next levels).

//ECE//