A new survival game will soon be released in Early Access on Steam. In ASKA, you play as a Viking, and the world visually resembles Valheim, just without the pixelated look. However, the latest trailer now shows content that is quite different from what you usually know about survival games.
What kind of game is this?
- In ASKA, you play as a Viking who builds their own tribe to survive against mythical monsters in a Nordic world.
- At its core, it is a survival game like Valheim, but intertwined with features from city-building, similar to the new game Bellwright.
- After its announcement in 2022, ASKA was supposed to be released in 2023, but has faced delays. The latest beta was in April 2024 – now there is new gameplay.
This is what ASKA shows now: The developers have released a new deep-dive video into ASKA. It showcases the world and the features of the game in 4 minutes of gameplay.
Visually, the game strongly resembles Valheim in terms of animations and atmosphere. You fell trees with a certain physics – even if it can be deadly in Valheim – and various mythical monsters like forest beings are your opponents.
At the core of the new gameplay is the “Tribe”, which means your tribe. This is the gameplay feature around which ASKA is almost entirely structured and what sets it apart from Valheim.
Survival like in Valheim meets City Builder like in Rimworld
In ASKA, you don’t just build a base and explore the world; you create a tribe. Whether you’re playing alone or in co-op with up to 3 other players, you can recruit NPCs to populate your village:
- To gain and keep tribe members, you must provide them with essentials like housing and warmth.
- You can delegate many tasks. For instance, you can instruct your members on what to craft, which locations to guard, or which fields to tend. They apparently can gather resources, like the diligent Kelvin in Sons of the Forest.
- NPCs have their own personalities: Some prefer being awake during the day, others at night, which makes them more or less useful for specific tasks. You set when each character sleeps, works, and rests using a slider.
The NPCs also build new buildings that you simply place down. Your tribe members handle the rest. If you fail to keep your villagers entertained, they will leave.
In the gameplay, it is evident that the NPCs even have special “perks”, such as reduced productivity during storms. Similar traits are found in characters in Rimworld, making them predisposed to certain tasks or not.
The trailer also shows another feature: When you die, you can either return in a “weakened” form or sacrifice a villager to be resurrected in full strength.
ASKA will be playable in Early Access on Steam from June 20. During the Steam Open World Survival Craft Fest from May 27 to June 3, you can also play a 5-hour demo for free – alone or in multiplayer. ASKA looks like a promising new survival game and may even make it onto our best list: The best survival games for PS5, Steam, and Xbox
