Valheim Análise (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch 2, & PC)

It says a lot for an Early Access game to still be the topic of conversation among industry veterans and fans alike five years down the line. Concurrent players tend to dwindle out the longer a game stays in Early Access. And when more games have been released with better stories, graphics, and gameplay, it lessens the odds for the original to succeed. Yet, here we are, still raving about Valheim. And with just as much enthusiasm as the days and weeks within it first released to the masses. 

Swedish indie dev studio Iron Gate and Coffee Stain Publishing have been diligent in adding more features during the Early Access period. They have fine-tuned the core mechanics and enhanced the graphics. Gradually, the bugs and unfinished edges have been smoothened out, until they have been confident enough to launch the final 1.0 version to the public, and on PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2. 

Finally, you can now venture into the intimidating Deep North biome, ready for whatever new monsters it springs up and the rewards you gain for your bravery. Now, newcomers can fully experience Valheim, in the complete, massive, open-world, survival crafting experience it was meant to be. But are the hundreds of hours you’ll inevitably spend roaming the wilderness and fetching what little you can find to get by worth the time and trouble? 

Reclaim Lost Honor

For those unacquainted with Valheim, you’re a fallen Viking warrior, banished to the titular tenth world alongside the rejects, monsters, and beasts, deranged, and out for blood. You might redeem yourself if you can tame the monsters and reclaim the land in the name of Odin. There’s only one slight issue. You have nothing but the clothes on your back. And so, right after you land, the first order of business is to gather resources, craft supplies, and build a safe haven before you even think about heading out to conquer the unknown.

At first, the massive, open-world of Valheim is pretty intimidating. There are nine biomes now, including the finalized Deep North, each one different in its terrain, monsters, and rewards. You have the foggy mistlands you can barely see through, the oceanside with leviathans waiting to attack, the ashy volcanoes with molten lava, each a different vibe, a different level of challenge. No doubt some will quickly become favorites, while others are a nuisance to navigate. But every last one has a final boss that you must conquer to have any chance of clearing out the next biome.

Valheim is careful with the weight of the responsibility it gives you. It doesn’t restrict you to specific objectives or areas to explore. Neither does it give you a helping hand when you wander off to places you aren’t at all ready for. In short, the game understands free will and isn’t afraid to watch you stumble and fall and rise up again. It lets you thrive with the multitude of resources you can farm and mine. And lets you craft and build the weapons and gear you need to survive. 

No Roadmap

Yet, even without a roadmap, there’s still some sensible path to level up. You’ll ideally need resources before you can build any sort of decent homestead or craft any reliable weapon. Chopping down the smaller trees will be the easiest forage, as will picking the wild berries. But to hunt down deer, you’ll need to craft better tools, which you can do so from wood, and later metal. The more valuable resources are farther out into the unknown, where you’ll run into unpredictable danger. And so, you have to prepare as much as you can, take it slow and steady.

For crafting, you’ll need a working bench and stations, which you can house inside a makeshift shelter. Thus, the building section of Valheim is pretty flexible and in-depth. In fact, the parts available and the ways you can attach them to each other can result in some pretty impressive multi-storied buildings and castles. But all of it will take time, which you must be willing to give when playing a survival crafting game. It’s nothing to complain about for gamers who know and love these types of games.

At some point, you’ll craft stronger spears and swords that can fight the stronger Greydwarfs and the Forsaken boss of the first Meadows biome, the Eikythr. And defeating them will reward you with more health and damage to fight enemies with more health and damage in the next biome. An interesting feature is minding what you eat because certain foods nourish your health and stamina more than others. In fact, when you get to the point of defeating sea serpents, and they drop serpent meat and scales, you’ll notice how much more they buff your health and stamina. 

Gods Be Good

And more health and stamina are a gift from the gods because it’s what will sustain you during resource runs and inevitably running into faster-paced wild game, hard-hitting nighttime skeletons, and more aggressive creatures. Dying is inevitable, especially on solo runs, and your health and stamina run dangerously low. And when you do, you lose the resources and loot on your person, which can set you back, seeing as the game respawns you at the nearest shelter.

Hence, building a quick, makeshift shelter during longer resource runs and expeditions can be a lifesaver. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but just in the mere chance that you might not make it back to your homestead still breathing. Stamina, in particular, can run out pretty quickly since it drains from performing any action or movement, except for walking. And imagine running into a stronger enemy you aren’t prepared for and having no option but to run for your life (trust me, running away is most definitely the wise thing to do in certain encounters), and your stamina bar is beep, beep, beeping like it’s running on exhaust fumes.

It won’t actually beep, beep, beep, but the tension can amplify in those aggressive encounter moments that you’re not strong enough for. Or when fighting a boss whose health couldn’t be bothered by your arrow attacks. There are situations when you’ve simply not explored enough to get the resources and crafting materials you need. Or fought enough enemies to level up. It takes a minute to unlock magic, for instance, which could have come in handy before.

Easy Does It

But again, that’s the joy of Valheim and survival crafting games. The dutiful dedication to resource-gathering and crafting. The patience of leveling up, even when it feels grindy. It is possible to tinker with the difficulty settings, which are specific enough to dictate resource drops and all. You can determine how many resources you lose if you die. Or even how often enemies raid your camp, because that can be annoying when they attack out of the blue.

But speaking of attacks, and the combat section itself. It’s pretty straightforward. Hardly anything complex, yet also not too simple. You have your standard attack and an alternate one for your different weapon types. Clubs, knives, and fists all specialize in different enemies, and can have physical and magical attacks. You then defend yourself by dodging out of the way or using a block or a parry. The parries, when timed perfectly, can stagger enemies and give you the opening you need to destroy them. 

But it’s the enemy variety that does it for me. The mythological beasts and monsters you run into often take your breath away. They’re menacing and aggressive. You have over 50 enemy types, which is perfect for how massive Valheim is. I love that a few of the creatures are passive, but some will definitely turn into a grisly encounter if you disturb their peace. Roaming around Valheim can be the most beautiful thing, but you’re still constantly aware of the monsters that bite.

Old, But New

And I also want to quickly review the graphics, which are so breathtaking. I love that the game doesn’t go the route that modern games do. The photorealistic visuals, which are highly detailed, and almost every region looks so surreal. This time, you have visuals that look old but refined. They are low-res graphics that harken back to the PS1 and MS-DOS era, yet polished and vibrant. It’s a beautiful world that Iron Gate Studio has created.

Verdict

Regardless of how many hours you’ve already put into Valheim, or whether you’re just starting out, the survival crafting mechanics and experience here are beautiful. It’s still engaging five years down the line, with a new biome to explore. Deep North is the final biome that concludes your journey toward redeeming yourself in Odin’s eyes. And yet, after you’ve proven yourself worthy of entering through the pearly gates of Valhalla, you still can’t help turning back and returning to Valheim. 

You know the wringer the menacing mythological beasts of this world have put you through. You know the time and dedication it took to amass the resources you have and feed them into your health, stamina, weapons, and gear sets. Yet, you want to keep putting in that time and effort because there still remains so much to see and do. There still remain surprises in store for you, thanks to randomization. And with nine other friends in tow, it’s a world you just might never truly leave behind.