Play Lost Vikings, The Online

I first played The Lost Vikings on the Super Nintendo in 1993, a game from the developer Silicon & Synapse, who later became Blizzard. It was a time when platformers were everywhere, but this one stood apart by making you think more than you jumped.

You control three Vikings: Erik the Swift, who can run fast and jump; Baleog the Fierce, who fights with a sword and bow; and Olaf the Stout, who blocks attacks with his shield and can be used as a platform. Your goal is to guide all three of them, alive, through each side scrolling screen to the exit. The core of the game is switching between them to use their specific skills to solve environmental puzzles, like having Olaf shield the others from projectiles or using Erik to reach a high ledge. The pacing is deliberate, often requiring you to stop and plan your next move, and the difficulty comes from managing all three characters at once while avoiding hazards. It feels like a constant, satisfying negotiation with the game's rules to find a way through.