At first glance, you might dismiss Viking Squad as a Castle Crashers imitator and carry on with your day. There are comparisons to be made, sure – both are side-scrolling multiplayer brawlers with leveling characters – but Slick Entertainment has added a few elements to the brawler formula that might make Viking Squad feel distinct.

In Viking Squad, you’ll brave voyages to loot neighboring enemies and heap treasure at the feet of your village’s Jarl, but each trip gives access to different locations and items based on how well your squad performs. Vikings snap to horizontal lanes as they fight through environments, simplifying the chore of lining up swings with an opponent’s skull. Critical hits are also awarded based on an aptitude for timing, rather than rolls of virtual dice according to your character’s stats.

If and when you exhaust supplies, you’ll return home, re-equip and set out once more. Slick Entertainment’s site notes that Viking Squad‘s world map is procedurally generated, which should keep the hunt for gold interesting. Viking Squad is due to hit PS4-shaped land masses in 2015, but the game’s description on Slick’s own site warns that the 4-player band of thieves will also raid PC and Mac. You can get a glimpse of the sort of villages you’ll be raiding in a trailer after the break.