On September 9, the survival game Valheim celebrates its 1.0 release, and MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was allowed to take a look at the (preliminary) finished version in advance. Even before the actual game, the fascination was immediately there again, even after a long pause.
When Valheim was released in Early Access in February 2021, it absolutely dominated the Steam charts with millions of players. I was one of them at the time and can fully understand how so many people are excited about this uniquely designed game.
From the very first minute, Valheim – despite the graphics, which are more than just “retro” – convinced with gameplay and atmosphere:
- A Nordic world where we are carried and dropped by Valkyries to defeat Odin’s enemies.
- Classic survival mechanics like crafting and exploration – with deadly trees for absolutely crazy moments.
- No other frills, just a vast world to discover, with foes to make it not too easy.
At that time, I sank over 100 hours into Valheim to finish it once (in its correspondingly early state). I then did not play many of the subsequent updates because I knew: There is so much potential behind it, I want to play it again only as a “finished” game.
Now the time has come. Tomorrow, on September 9, version 1.0 will be released for PS5, Xbox, and PC, and I was able to take a look at it in advance on Steam. It paid off to wait 5 years.
For 5 years, Valheim has been improving constantly
Over the years, the developers not only brought new content to the game; most importantly of course food and drink, after all, Vikings want to feast. Existing content has also been refined.
The combat system received a fundamental improvement just before the 1.0 release. Skills now add a real RPG feel and some QoL-improvements make the gameplay simply smoother.
The core feature of the latest (and presumably last) major update is the new biome of the Deep North, which … well, can be found in the north. Valheim ventures back to its roots, dives deeper into Viking mythology and pays tribute to the homeland of Sweden.
For this articles purposes, I gained advantages through admin commands and primarily looked at the new content that awaits:
- new enemies such as the Jötnar, Gammeltrolls, and the nasty Elakinger
- correspondingly also two new dungeons, the Mörkhalla and the Twisted Tunnels, where these enemies can primarily be found
- new building materials like lumber to make your camp prettier
- invasions that appear in the world once you anger the Jötnar too much
- and of course new items and an entirely new boss
However, my personal highlight can already be seen as soon as the character is created and runs through the entire game from there – until the end.
Cinematics that could be their own series, and that I absolutely empathize with
I don’t know how they came up with the idea, but Iron Gate produced Viking anime to introduce new content early on. These can now be found in the game, both as intro and after each boss or when visiting a new biome.
Although they manage with few or no words, these images tell a story, showing the epic journey of the deceased Vikings as they want to complete the tasks of the Allfather … who ultimately watches over it all.
Even the intro is so captivating (and by the way quite bloody) that it totally set me in the mood for the game. I just wanted to play and experience the world. Each subsequent cinematic then serves as a brief slowdown, only to build hype for what’s to come. Until the end.
After dozens of updates and polishing, Valheim finally has a worthy ending
With 1.0, Valheim’s story is told for now, but of course only after you defeat the final boss. This is already a journey in itself, because first, you need:
- equipment to survive the north and defeat Jötnar
- a lot of time to fend off invasions
- materials from the invasions to reach the boss room
- ideally a lot of patience, because the boss fight is really tough
Honestly, I don’t know how to defeat the final boss without cheating. Solo, it seems almost impossible, as it has three phases and hits so hard that the whole screen literally shakes. But the effort is worth it. I don’t want to spoil, but if you really want to know how Valheim ends, you can do that here:
Warning, spoilers! Here you can find out the ending of Valheim.
Seriously, I mean it, I am writing here in detail all that you can only see and learn after defeating the final boss.
You’re still here? Well then … from here on follows the spoiler indeed.
If you defeat the last boss Kall Fimbulbringer in the “prison”, you will receive his blood. You will pour this “where it all began”, that is, on the altar with the trophies. Subsequently, Hugin and Munin will visit you, congratulate you on your victory, and bring a Valkyrie with them. If you talk to the Valkyrie, she will take you to the “real” afterlife of the Vikings: to Valhalla, where Odin receives you and you can celebrate and fight until Ragnarök, as you wish.
Valheim itself will be reunited with the World Tree Yggdrasil and settled by humans from Midgard, who can discover your traces and ponder which heroes might have lived before them in this strange land.
A wonderful ending, which I absolutely did not expect from a survival game. I intentionally did not play everything because I am really looking forward to starting another playthrough with 100 hours or more. This time with friends, to fully experience Valheim one more (and perhaps last) time.
Will you also play Valheim again at release? Are you still hoping for DLCs – which, according to the developers, are at least not ruled out? Or are you satisfied with a real ending? Leave a comment!
No one probably expected that Valheim would become so big before its release. Least of all the developers, who were absolutely overwhelmed by the success and continue to be, when you talk to them. In the 5 years, they not only built Valheim but also an entire studio: “A programmer fixed bugs for 5 months” – Developer of one of the best survival games on Steam was not prepared for massive success
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