Nidhogg coming to PS4 and joining iOS hit Ascension on Vita

Sony today announced two new titles for the PlayStation Vita; Nidhogg and Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer. Nidhogg will release simultaneously on the PlayStation 4 and feature competitive multiplayer between both Sony platforms.

Nidhogg is a two-player dueling game that reached cult status even before its release in early 2014. It focuses on fencing to the death in a tug-of-war where the winner receives a glorious death at the hands of a giant pink dragon.

Russ Frushtick reviewed the game for Polygon and commented that "Nidhogg never feels simple, and it never feels cheap. Kills must be earned through thoughtful strategy rather than button mashing, and it's immensely satisfying when a plan comes together."

The title spawned several retro-flavored dueling games, including Towerfall and Samurai Gunn.

The Vita version will feature WiFi multiplayer, both on a local network and over the Sony PlayStation Network world wide. The title will feature AI opponents as well as three to eight-player tournament modes.

Playdek, the maker of iOS-based card and board games like Summoner Wars and Agricola, is bringing its successful iOS game Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer to the Vita as well.

Ascension is a deck-building game where players draft their hands as play progresses. Each works from a similar set of cards, however, so subtle strategies are often required to nudge games in your favor. Playdek has been working on a social system for its library of games for some time and says that they will capitalize on that work to bring rich, community building features to the Vita.