I have to say that Valheim is a shining example of how you do an early access game. This is a survival game that you can play on your own, but it is at its best when played with friends. The Viking setting is really cool and right from the start it gives you a real sense that you are part of an epic journey.
How to Download Valheim
To download the game from Steam, click on the Download button located below this review.
The Game Review
The story of the game is that you are a fallen warrior who is now in Viking purgatory. Oden’s greatest enemies are causing havoc here and if you can slay them, you will earn your place in Valhalla. I was surprised at how cinematic and story-driven the opening tutorial section of the game was.
Think of a more action-packed Minecraft, but with Vikings and you will have an idea of what to expect with Valheim. The survival gameplay is some of the best and most addictive that I have ever played. You need to scavenge for resources so that you can build a shelter, weapons, and so on. You can even build awesome boats too which is going to be a ton of fun the better I get at building things I m sure.
The building aspect is really cool. Me and a couple of buddies set up a camp in the woods at first with these basic shacks, but we eventually built up to a little compound. Building is nice and easy and you always feel that there are plenty of resources around, but you also want to go that little bit further each time as you know the rewards could be huge.
The way you progress in the game is great. There is no overly complex skill tree here and a million things to keep an eye on. You want to get better at something you simply do it and the stats will increase. I like this as it rewards you for actually doing stuff rather than just giving you stat/skill points for grinding away doing mundane tasks.
What I enjoyed the most in Valheim has to be the combat. This is fast-paced and fun and it feels in a way like God of War or the Castlevania Shadows series. I say this because the combat is very heavily focused on dodging. You are pretty much invincible when you dodge and this is something you can exploit.
I have heard some people say this is a flaw as it makes things too easy, but I would have to disagree with that. I find that it makes combat fast and exciting and it made me want to rush into battle. There is a great selection of weapons for you to obtain and when playing with friends coordinating attacks is very fun.
Valheim has some awesome boss encounters. The bosses first of all look amazing, but it is the way you summon them in and the lore that goes with them that really makes them epic. Epic is probably the best way to describe the whole feeling of the game actually and even in early access, there is a ton of content here.
So far, the presentation of the game is great. There is a lot of diversity to the areas you will traverse such as snow-covered areas, the woods, the beach, and so on. It is impressive how good the game looks considering it is still in a relatively early state. It has a solid level of polish to everything and I never encountered any visual hiccups while playing.
So far so good for Valheim. If you like survival games, you are going to have a lot of fun with this. It has become a very popular game already on YouTube and Twitch. Rather than being brutally difficult and punishing like many other survival games, Valheim is all about having fun and progressing at a quick pace.
