Stages all ultimately conform to the same design of being seven screens long of mostly horizontal landscapes, but they also each introduce subtle yet important gimmicks that can enormously change the outcome of a match. With perhaps the exception of the knife, it seldom feels like you’re at a disadvantage with whatever you happen to be wielding, but each weapon brings with it a nice change to your playstyle. For example, the bow is weak at close range but can pose a serious threat to a foe attempting to run away, while the knife has the weakest range, but can be thrown the fastest. There are also three other weapons you can randomly spawn with, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Your weapon can be in the high, middle, or low positioning, and if it meets the opponent's weapon, the attack is blocked and somebody could possibly be disarmed. There’s plenty of nuance to this setup, however, such as how your stance dictates whether your strike will find its mark.

In a sense, it’s like a reverse game of tug-of-war victory is constantly and painstakingly swapping between sides as each participant gains a temporary advantage. The felled fighter will respawn after about three seconds, but during that wait time, the survivor can make an unopposed, mad dash for the end of their opponent’s side of the arena. You primarily fight each other with thin fencing swords, and a single strike is enough to swiftly escort your opponent to the gates of Valhalla. The premise of Nidhogg is exceedingly simple you and an opponent duel with each other for the honour of being sacrificed to the mighty Níðhöggr worm, and the victor is decided by whoever makes it to the furthest end of their opponent’s side first. Though it’s not perfect by any means, this is some of the best competitive local multiplayer on the platform it’s dumb, weird fun that everyone can enjoy. Though Nidhogg has yet to appear on the eShop, Nidhogg 2 has now made its debut on the Switch, bringing Nintendo players a more visually-polished and mechanically advanced take on the indie hit.

Nidhogg – if it can even be considered a fighting game – changed that when it launched in 2014, with simple visuals and an even simpler control scheme making it a couch multiplayer favourite that players of all skill levels could easily get into. Fighting games have historically had a high barrier to entry, with new players having to face hours of getting their butt kicked before finally getting the muscle memory required to master the complex controls and inputs.

Nidhogg ps4 update