When people picture Viking games, they usually look at the heavy hitters. AAA releases like Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, and 2018's God of War come to mind. While these may seem like the biggest options on the market, they're not only ones on offer.
Numerous Viking games have fallen by the wayside. They may have flown under the radar completely or simply had no staying power. Whatever the reason, their obscurity is a sad saga, as some titles do the gods proud. They're not perfect. No game is. However, they're still worth a look for those seeking a Viking tale.
7 Beowulf
For a tragically overlooked Viking movie, how about a game to match? Based on the 2007 performance-capture film, Beowulf chronicles the exploits of the legendary hero. It even depicts several events merely hinted at or omitted entirely, such as his race with Brecca and subsequent battle with sea monsters.
These spectacles form a hack-and-slash adventure which is functional yet fun. It copies God of War like many movie-licensed titles of the time, but it uses that formula well. Plus, the gore-fest approach is fitting considering how bloody the movie is. That doesn't detract from the film's potency, and the same can be said for the game. Both deserve a second look.
6 Viking: Battle For Asgard
An early PS3 and Xbox 360 title, Viking is eager to show off the new hardware with the sheer number of characters onscreen. This factors into the story, which sees the player freeing captive Norsemen and leading the charge against the undead legions of the goddess Hel. The challenge is getting there.
Most of the game is fairly mundane. Players roam around bog-standard marshlands and perform repetitive rescue missions. The combat during these encounters quickly gets old due to its simplicity. That said, the repetition is worth the hassle for the game's selling point: colossal battles where players hack and slash their way to victory. The epic scope is palpable. The frame rate may dip on consoles, but that's less of a problem on PC. Not to mention, it doesn't change how satisfying it is to summon such an enormous force through one's own hard work.
5 Lords Of The Fallen
Here's another title which blatantly owes much of itself to other works. In this case, it's Dark Souls. That's clear from the dour atmosphere, deliberately slow combat, horrific enemies, and interconnected setting. All of it simply has a Viking paint job.
Though this caused Lord of the Fallen to fade into the background during initial release, the game is still an accomplished copycat. It skillfully maintains the above elements while dialing down the punishing difficulty. In addition, its derivative nature seems less detrimental in hindsight, as several Souls-like titles have popped up since then. That blossoming market is probably why a belated sequel is in the works. Perhaps the franchise will stick around with a second chance.
4 Volgarr The Viking
One wouldn't normally associate Vikings with colorful side-scrollers, but it's worked countless times for medieval settings. This line of thinking inspired Volgarr the Viking, an indie title akin to old-school platformers like Castlevania and Ghosts 'n Goblins. As expected, players fight across pixelated realms and vanquish hordes of horrific monsters based on Norse mythology. Volgarr shines in that respect, presenting a sublime Viking aesthetic with yesteryear's graphics and gameplay plucked straight from an arcade. With that, however, comes the difficulty.
The game is excessively hard like those that inspired it. While that may sound like a complaint, it's practically a badge of honor in today's market, especially with retro titles. Just look at Cuphead and Celeste. If those games can become indie darlings, then Volgarr deserves the same notoriety.
3 Ragnarock
A rhythm game seems like an oddball idea, but Nordic music is among the most appealing aspects of Viking entertainment. Ragnarock lets fans drum to that unique beat with a heavy metal flair thrown in. The VR gameplaces players in the boots of a longship captain. They must keep up with the song notes to motivate the crew into faster rowing, thereby winning the race with the rival ship.
It's a creative setup brought beautifully to life. The art style is pleasantly cartoonish, and the motion controls are surprisingly responsive. Unfortunately, the gameplay loop is somewhat repetitive, causing solo runs to drag. That's why the title has multiplayer capability. Thus, it would benefit that much more from people playing it.
2 Rune
Another hack-and-slash, Rune is one of the genre's earlier attempts in a 3D realm. The adventure places the Northman protagonist in the middle of Ragnarok, where he must stop Loki from wreaking havoc on Midgard. In accomplishing this, players explore a hostile world and wield a variety of weapons, including swords, axes, maces, and hammers. It's nothing new.
That's the game's biggest flaw: subsequent titles have tuned the formula more finely. Despite its age, though, Rune is still a serviceable escapade. The rich culture aids its setting in standing out from the open-world pack. In addition, the familiar gameplay mixes in a few survival elements. There was clearly passion put into this, which is likely why a sequel came and went in 2019. Maybe the property's age worked against it, but that doesn't stop players from enjoying other old games. If Knights of the Old Republic, Thief, Baldur's Gate, and The Witcher can endure, so can Rune.
1 Munin
This indie title breaks tradition in a key area: players don't control a Viking. Instead, they take the role of Munin, one of Odin's ravens. She's lost her wings, so she can't fly. Rather, she must find an alternate means of navigation through puzzle-solving. Players flip switches, overcome traps, and rotate entire chunks of the level to get her to the end. The tragedy is that it's all a mixed bag.
Munin is a game at war with itself. Traversal makes for a stimulating challenge, but it can easily grow frustrating, which isn't helped by the lack of any other activities. The same way, the levels consist of painfully basic design elements, but they offset that shortcoming with gorgeous watercolor backgrounds. Maybe these conflicting aspects are what prevented Munin from leaving a lasting industry impact. That's a shame, as far too few AAA titles encourage critical thinking like this.