The Lost Vikings are three boneheaded viking friends who were kidnapped by the evil Tomator, a space alien collecting a variety of specimens from across the universe to place in his museum. He happens across Erik the Swift, Baleog the Fierce, and Olaf the Stout and abducts them in the middle of the night. Now lost from their home, the three Vikings must work together to escape from Tomator’s clutches, escape through a time-space portal and find their way home.
The game is a platforming puzzle game, requiring you to use the three vikings to solve puzzles, disable traps, kill monsters, and get to the exit without losing a single viking. Along the way you can also read the Vikings’ witty comments and ramblings with one another. All vikings have four slots for items and three hit points, though some traps can deal two points of damage. Food must be consumed to heal the vikings. If a viking dies they cannot be revived, you must restart the stage over. You can even play through the game via a co-op mode with a friend.
Erik is capable of running and jumping, and is very fast. He can also dash into walls and destroy certain walls with his helmet, and use this ability to kill monsters, though its not the best thing to do.
Baleog is a warrior who fights with a sword and a bow, and contains a lifetime supply of arrows! Baleog can shoot enemies from a distance or fight directly with his sword. Shooting enemies with arrows is safer, but the sword swings quite fast and can often kill enemies before they can attack Baleog. His arrows can also shoot targets and switches. Some puzzles may require switching between two vikings to hit a switch at a far distance, as the arrows disappear after hitting the end of the screen.
Olaf is a big man carrying a large shield. He can use his shield to block attacks, or he can raise his shield to allow Erik to jump higher. His shield can even block obstacles in the ceiling, as long as they are not too big. Oddly enough, if he falls with his shield raised he will descend more slowly, despite breaking all the laws of physics.
Notes From the Editor
The Lost Vikings is a classic, and I loved playing this game as a child. I used to play it with my dad often. These games require serious thinking to figure out how to clear each level without losing any vikings in the process. Frankly The Lost Vikings is the only thing from Blizzard Entertainment that has really ever interested me, and its sad these games haven’t gotten more recognition.