Summary
Several years into its early access stay,Valheimhas delivered on its promise of mythical Viking life. To prove themselves worthy of Valhalla, players have crossed the seas, explored above and below ground, and built mighty forts populated with their loot and trophies. Other survival-crafting games have followed in its footsteps, butValheimstill offers something special thanks to its equal focus on combat and construction, as well as its thorough portrayal of Norse mythology. WhenValheimwill be complete is hard to say, but the game will continue to be updated for the foreseeable future.
To those already invested,Valheimhas plenty to offer, with seven major biomes so far and a Forsaken boss to slay in each. Players can adventure together in large groups or compete against each other. On top of the various equipment to craft and skills to train,Valheim’s Mistlands updatehas even introduced a magic system for intrepid explorers. They’ll need it, asValheimis one of the hardest survival-crafting games, and dying in hostile territory can be disastrous. It’s nearly a picture-perfect fantasy Viking experience, but one of the biggest missing pieces is, ironically, what real-life Vikings are most known for.
The Viking Fantasy Is Mostly Preserved In Valheim
For all the myths and monsters populatingValheim’s world, players will still find themselves doing a lot of foraging, construction, smithing, and other expected survival tasks. The hard work necessary makes it all the more special when players get to use what they’ve made or display their greatest achievements at their own personal lodge. For more Viking-themed mundane activities, sailing is also paramount for reaching new biomes, and theship selection inValheimadds to its feeling of being a complete Viking simulator. However, all of this also makes the lack of one stereotypical Viking activity stand out.
Valheim Lacks Old-School Pillaging
Despite many of their components being in the game,Valheimdoesn’t let players start their own raids. Setting asideValheim’s enemy event raids, there are no permanent settlements that players can pillage and potentially destroy. Enemy forts, bases, tombs, and so on can be the target of overseas expeditions to ransack, and there are even Dverger outposts that start neutral, but they just don’t feel like proper Viking invasions.Valheimis admittedly more concerned with a monster-slaying fantasy narrative than Viking expansionism, but there’s still room to work on its iconic imagery.
Viking Raids Should Be Added To Valheim
There are going to be more major content updates beforeValheimhas finished its run, and those could include something akin to traditional Viking raids. Making a PvP mode out of the idea is certainly possible, with one side as the invading Vikings and the other as townsfolk potentially protecting a monastery, but that wouldn’tplay toValheim’s PvE strengths. Marking other humans as targets for endgame resources would also be a rather jarring shift, thoughValheim’s status as a purgatory of sorts wouldn’t make it too hard to justify in a later biome.
How Valheim Can Work Raiding Into Its Gameplay
Regardless of howValheim’s Viking raids are framed, they could fit smoothly into the endgame loop. Framed as inhabited villages, temples, castles, or estates, these places would be populated by enemies and destructible structures. These could be old foes like skeletons,Draugr, Fulings, or Dvergerinstead of normal humans, but players would still be expected to fight, destroy, and find treasure. The rewards from this could be necessary for endgame crafting but could also remain true-to-life by providing trinkets for player bases and currency for Haldor or other merchants. By making these encounters repeatable and encouraging players to attempt them beside a crew,Valheimcould fill in the missing piece of its Viking experience.
