Day of the Viking Review

Day of the Viking is the kind of game that suits mobile perfectly. It’s fast paced, simple to learn, and works better in short doses than extended sessions.

The idea is simple enough - you have to defend your castle from waves of attack. Across 80 missions, there’s a horde of vikings out to get you, keeping you constantly under threat. The controls used are simple enough: you tap on a viking to fire an arrow at it, while also being able to fling stones or explosive barrels at them, Angry Birds style.

During each level there’s hardly any time to stop and think about anything. It’s all purely instinctive, with many levels bordering on the overwhelming but just about dodging it. Three objectives per level provide some purpose as to what to do next, including things such as taking no damage or killing a certain number of vikings with one rock. Not long into Day of the Viking, you end up having to take out structures that they can hide amongst, too.

An upgrade system provides a basic tactical layer, but Day of the Viking really is pretty straightforward. For that reason it can sometimes turn a bit repetitive, especially during extended sessions. That simple two-pronged control method is both its blessing and its curse. While mixing things up a bit by dishing out explosive barrels or double and triple arrow boosts helps in some way (and they’re both pretty satisfying), it’s not quite enough to detract from the repetitive factor.

Day of the Viking really does lend itself best to playing a level or two at a time, before leaving it for a bit. It’s not the strongest of Adult Swim titles out there, lacking more of a wacky touch, but it’ll pass the time and last a fair while.