Dissecting Nidhogg

Article by Mike Williams
Published August 14, 2023

Nidhogg is so indie. When you first look at this game by Messhof, your immediate reaction is the art is unique but basic. Once you get past that, you will be in awe of the love and attention put into the martial arts animations of the characters. The game design is very ambitious, and probably couldn't have been accomplished within any reasonable amount of time, if the art needed to be more in depth.

In Norse mythology, Nidhogg is a German dragon which people believed gnawed on roots from the world tree. Likewise, your player character prefers an ancient classic weapon, the sword. The sword fights you'll be forced into are intense and require split second controlling. You can also throw your sword forward and it spins ahead faster than you can run, defeating any enemy swordsmen ahead.



There's great music in Nidhogg, but playing without it doesn't feel like a negative. The sounds of the pattering feet and sword on sword clinking are fun to listen to. You feel very busy when you're playing Nidhogg. It's very easy to have an hour pass by while playing the game.

The flying pink dragon that swoops in and eats you whole takes the cake. Nidhogg is a quirky treat. Some of the battle scenes on one-tone colored platforms do something for your indie nostalgia. The disappearing ground beneath you, as you must stop to fight by sword, adds a fun intensity.

Nidhogg at first glance looks unpolished, but if you stay with it, you'll quickly see the game design is plenty there. Some people call it programmer art, and some people call it aesthetic. To each his or her own, but the game is very unique and fun. Nidhogg is a true representation of what indie game development is all about.

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