With no shortage of uninspired sandbox survivals on the market, hopes for the genre were fleeting, but then one title took the gaming community by storm. Today we will be exploring Valheim by Iron Gate. What made it such a massive success, how it stands above the rest, and why it is well worth the $19.99 USD cost to give it a try.

A summary

Valheim is a sandbox survival game that tells the story of a Viking’s afterlife. Alone in the end, or with friends, step onto the randomly generated shores of the tenth world. Monsters await across its many biomes, secrets remain hidden in magic and stone, and Odin watches ever judging to see if your valor is worthy of his halls.

Players can look forward to a new adventure that pushes the boundaries of the genre and is made with clear dedication, passion, and love from the developers. Combat is in-depth, bosses are no laughing matter, and exploration is worth every step forward.

Key Features

Immersive 3D Survival and Exploration

Valheim offers a massive procedurally generated 3D world with multiple biomes, unique enemies, and lost structures to explore. However, the biomes themselves are not simply a change of resources, enemies, and appearance! Bosses wait to be summoned and found throughout many. By land or sailing ships, how many shores will you claim in the tenth world?

In-depth Combat

Not many games of the Survival Sandbox genre are known for their combat, but Iron Gate decided to change that and did so with great success. Weapons have unique fighting styles, combat is stamina-based and rewards skill, and not knowing your enemy could very well get you killed.

On that same note, bosses are no easy fight, and players may find themselves needing better gear before taking on the challenge ahead. However, as skill is rewarded, there will always be those who overcome even the most uphill of battles long before they should.

Fun Gathering and Rewarding Crafting

Players seeking to gather will find more than resources on their journeys across the tenth world. Recipes are discovered through exploration, and some require bosses to be killed. However, even ventures as simple as cutting trees may leave players squished.

Back at the crafting station, players can look forward to craftable armors, tools, structures, and foods. None of which is an afterthought either! Even food differs from the typical eat to survive mechanic and instead rewards players with status buffs for taking the time to make some stew.

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Building

No Viking lord is without a ship and great hall! In Valheim, wood and stone will act as your roof and walls. Be it a humble abode or a massive castle, the flexible building system is there to assist in all creative matters.

But be warned! Structural integrity and ventilation are both taken into account!

Mods

Valheim does not directly support mods, but the community has spared no effort in changing the game so that it does! With a little third-party magic, and some mods from the nexus, a custom Valheim experience is waiting to be explored!

Multiplayer

Valheim offers multiplayer for up to ten players, but a dedicated server is required. These can be created for free through home hosting, but paid hosting is recommended for ease of use and performance. Especially if mods will be used as they are much more resource-intensive! 

Paid hosting is offered here at BisectHosting and many other places around the web.

What Made Valheim so Popular?

Taking the best aspects of other sandbox titles and combining them with passionate ideas of their own, Iron Gate made an unintentional splash in the sandbox genre. Nothing within Valheim feels like an afterthought. Their “early access” game had more content on release than some triple-A titles, and the team’s love for the project can be felt in nearly every aspect of the game.

In addition, their success has only renewed that dedication and updates continue to be released, improving the game further and further. In an era of cash shops and money grabs, Valheim is a reminder of what games can and should be.

What is Valheim?

Valheim has taken the bar and raised it high for sandbox survival games. Alone or with friends, any fan of the genre will find themselves falling in love with it all over again. Explore, battle, gather, craft, and build like never before. An adventure worth every bit of the cost and more.

Until Next Time,

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