A couple years ago I was always drowned with boredom, looking through multiple different games to play. I invited my friend in search of a good game, and I decided to buy Valheim. Since then, I’ve spent over 500 hours of my life playing the game, and I’m still going. I love the game, I really do, so I want to give it some attention. 

Valheim is an open-world survival craft game, which has become an increasingly popular genre throughout the years. People have compared the game to more popular titles such as Minecraft or Terraria, but as someone who has played numerous games of the same genre, it provides a unique experience that I haven’t gotten from any other game. First of all, the game is extremely difficult (in a good way). It has a unique combat system with a very high skill ceiling that makes new players struggle. Compared to games like Minecraft, Valheim requires you to constantly think while you’re fighting. You can’t just run into a group of monsters and defeat them easily. In Valheim, nearly every enemy that exists has the ability to cause you major problems, which makes the game extremely difficult. And in terms of difficulty, it’s not just the combat system. For the gamers out there that enjoy grinding, Valheim has no shortage of that. There are features of the game that have certain parts of it blocked just to make the game harder. Many players – including myself – have complained about these features, but over time many people grow to love them. I won’t list them due to them being spoilers, however they will become obvious annoyances when they appear. So if you’re someone who’s considering buying the game, I would really pay attention to the difficulty. If you’re not into challenging games, I wouldn’t recommend Valheim.

On my world’s first night, I was walking around cutting some trees and gathering stones to build a home. It was at that moment that I looked up at the sky. Despite having a somewhat blocky style of graphics, the developers stepped up another level in the game’s atmosphere. The game is beautiful to be in. You’re in a game that’s full of nature, which includes danger. When you look at the sky, the graphics become more clear and you will be amazed by the view. Compared to any game I’ve ever played in my life, Valheim has the best sky, no matter what. Even though it’s just a sky, it gives me a sense of comfort that I haven’t experienced in any other game before. It’s almost like the sky has a meaning to it (which there actually is, and it’s pretty obvious when you look at it). Either way, it’s obviously not just the sky. 

Valheim is a game that currently has 6 biomes: the Meadows, the Black Forest, the Swamp, the Mountains, the Plains, and the Mistlands. Each of these biomes have their own set of unique challenges that bring out different features of the game. However, many people will say that the first two biomes are simply the tutorial of the game (despite there actually not being an official tutorial, other than a guide bird). The biomes each offer a unique experience that leaves you amazed at the detail of the game. Just like I pointed out before, the game has an incredible atmosphere, which in my opinion, is completely worth experiencing.

To a lot of gamers out there, playing with friends is one of the most important things to them. Valheim offers the best multiplayer experience that I have ever seen in a game before. And seriously, the game becomes significantly better when you play with friends. Experiencing the punishing (but beautiful) atmosphere of the game while grinding out some of the most annoying resources is something that everyone will most certainly enjoy. In fact, this might drive away some players, but the game takes around 100-200 hours to complete on average. Some people may be overwhelmed by the amount of time that it takes to usually beat the game, but when you’re playing with friends, it will feel like a second home. As someone who has spent most of my time on the game with friends, it truly feels lonely playing alone. The game is still good when playing alone, but I strongly recommend bringing a friend along.

As I touched on before, the game is extremely difficult. But I want to share more about the consequences of this difficulty. To be honest, the combat of the game is easy to learn, but hard to master. However, when your player dies, the game becomes 100 times more challenging in that moment. Death in the game is simple – when you die, your items are lost upon respawning and can be retrieved at a grave. The only permanent loss is skill levels, which have a negligible effect on gameplay. The reason the game is considered extremely difficult is because death is something that isn’t like other games. Sure, your items will never despawn (yes, it’s literally impossible), but the retrieval of the items is where the problems occur. 

As mentioned before, the game has 6 biomes. The first biome is a safe place (usually), so dying there is not an issue. However, once you reach the Black Forest, the entire game changes. When you die, you’re potentially about to face the most difficult challenge you’ve ever done in gaming. Depending on the location and details of your death, you may end up quitting the game over a single death. For example – small spoiler – the Mountains have a freezing effect that stops the player from entering the biome until a certain point. If your character dies while in the mountains, this means that retrieving your stuff requires you to climb up a mountain while taking large amounts of damage trying to reach your items. Not only that, most of the enemies in the mountains spawn on the surface, meaning that retrieving your stuff up there is extremely difficult. Dying in certain areas basically means that the best way of retrieval is to grind all of the strongest items again just to enter the area and maybe get your stuff back. You’ll probably die a lot in the game, but everyone will end up getting a cursed death, where retrieval of your items is near impossible. This fact drives many players away, and if you’re someone who hates losing progress so easily, I would not recommend this game.

As of now, I have 513 hours in Valheim. I have so many memories and amazing experiences playing the game that I won’t ever forget. Even though it’s a game that often leaves me frustrated, it’s simultaneously rewarding. As of now, the game is in early access and is constantly being updated by the developers. If you’re someone who’s looking to try a new game, I wholeheartedly recommend Valheim, as it is one of my favorite games of all time.