Viking Squad

My advice is to try and fit as much of this game in your mouth as possible. It's fantastic.
Let's talk a little, quickly, about the lane brawling and then I'll cover the elephant in the room. I think that lane brawling is absolutely the tightest way to cram as much information on the screen as possible. Now, onto the elephant.
Castle Crashers.
This is not Castle Crashers. There are mechanical similarities, sure. But castle crashers was ultimately a game about mashing attack while laughing. This is a game about timing, cooperation, and careful resource management. Lane brawling means that the screen is far more legible and that player interaction can be a lot deeper. The characters are much more differentiated, with hitboxing and charged abilities designed to create disjoint battlefield utility.

If you like Castle Crashers, get this. Simple as that really.
It's a colourful, fun lane-based brawler, intuitive and not too easy nor too hard. Hope to see more playable characters in the future!

This game is good. DAMN GOOD.
Just a refreshing take on the beat em up genre with new ideas, but solid arcade gameplay.
Every character has a different play style in this game and the combat depth is decently deep. You'll need more than mashing buttons if you're going to make it to the late game.
The gameplay goes as follows.
1) Go through a level bashing as many enemies as possible
2) Survive and bring back treasure/loot to upgrade your character stats, and buy gear
3) Use money to buy potions and keys for treasure chests (any unspent loot is disgarded)
4) Set sail to go through another level
You're given the opportunity to go back to camp with your loot and money at the end of each stage, any unused loot you disgard before your next run.
Controls feel great and 3 players is just enough to keep things chaotic but managable. The game scales with the amount of players you've got.
There's light puzzles in the world that you need to figure out that give you pretty cool rewards. They're clever but not too hard. Some hidden stuff in the world too, you just have to pay attention and experiment.
Drop in, drop out multiplayer offline and online (Note, you join an online game when they finish a section of a stage).
You only have one revive in multiplayer where your partner needs to get to you before the valkyrie gets you.
There's a new game + that has its own content not accessible in normal mode.
I've primarily been playing it solo by choice and occassionally hop online.
Game is awesome for the price.

Do you enjoy classic "beat em' up" games such as Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and so on??? Are you a fan of cartoony styled art like those found in games such as Castle Crashers and Gang Beasts??? Well you're in luck, because the devs at Slick Entertainment got you covered with their latest entry into the world of indie gaming with Viking Squad. A co-op brawler that is as much fun to play solo as it is to tackle with a band of your buddies. The plot is pretty simplistic within it's self: Choose a viking (from four playable options) and see how much treasure you can plunder from the enemy's clutches. Stylistically, the game is extremely colorful and vibrant. Lead Artist Jesse "The Drawbarian" Turner gives you amazing aesthetics similar to the "cutesy-chibi" art style of The Behemoth's Dan Paladin, but with more of a comic book feel. As an artist myself, I have to rave about the art direction in this game: Jesse's work is just too awesome for mere words to convey. This title is worth the price of admission on visuals alone...
Gameplay is pretty simple and straight-forward... You have a basic attack, a special attack and a magic attack that can be charged once you've unlocked that particular upgrade. You can also unlock a series of weapons and equipment to further enhance your viking warrior with stat gains, useful for tackling the later stages in the game. There is also a leveling system based around all of the treasure you accumulate over your travels. These treasures can be used to increase your health, rune power (mana/magic) and attack power. As you progress the amount of treasure needed to upgrade an ability slot will increase as well, encouraging replays of previously played areas. Just like the title Golden Axe, there are a few "mounts" to seize in the game, each with their own unique abilities and style of play. I must say that I found the masked ostrich to be my overall favorite mount in the game; the combination of speed and attack style proved too much for enemies to handle lol!!!
The music is very good in my opinion... It complements the art style, making you feel like you're playing a live action comic book or cartoon for a better comparison. It adds to the experience ten fold, and puts it on par with Castle Crashers which has the same sort of vibe going for it as well. A very great 9 out of 10 for the OST...
If I had to complain about anything in the game, it would have to be the collision detection during attack sequences and control sensitivity. It's not really a huge hindrance, but it's something to keep in mind while playing the game. Overall, I'd give the game a solid 8 out 10 and recommend the Steam community to pick this title up and give it a whirl. The Nordic gods (as well as the gentlemen at Slick Entertainment) will be pleased with your decision!!!

Great game for couch coop. Filled our "castle crashers void" perfectly.

Looking for a simple fun beat em up in the vein of Castle Crashers with a Viking theme? Then try Viking Squad. Supporting up to three players local and online you plunder loot for your Jarl (that you happened to curse by freeing Loki, good job) and ravage the lands to stop the chaos you started.
Mechanically you collect new gear and weapons through levels and plunder loot to buy and level up your stats. In combat you traverse levels moving up and down between four lanes and sliding to dodge enemy attacks at the last second. Each viking has their own speciality and play style with their own special attacks that you can charge which cost rune power. If things get overwhelming you can also unleash an ultimate attack to clear the room.
Viking Squad is a great game to introduce people to beat em up games with colorful art direction, great cartoon viking theme, and a folk-rock soundtrack that makes replaying the game a good time. Short and sweet to beat once, but to do everything (achievements) will require multiple playthroughs.

Another fun, lane-based, couch co-op experience. My 4-year-old and I had a great time playing. Expect to farm levels to gain gold and experience before advancing to some of the harder levels. At times it can seem a little too repetitive and cumbersome, but it is still an enjoyable game.