The survival game Valheim has developed into a surprise hit on Steam. However, there is some criticism of the graphics, which MeinMMO author Andreas Bertits cannot comprehend as an ‘old man’.
Despite ratings of 96% on Steam, there is also criticism of the survival game Valheim. Among other things, it is the graphics that some players do not like. That this can cause some frowning at first is also understandable. After all, the Steam hit Valheim relies on a rather pixelated look.
The characters lack details – especially in their faces – and the textures look very coarse. One has gotten used to better in 2021.
What do players say about the graphics of Valheim: We have summarized some voices from the Steam community regarding the graphics of the survival game:
- pjok writes on Steam: “The graphics really ruined it for me, I couldn’t handle it. It’s 2021, but the game looks like it’s 10 years old. I requested a refund.”
- Overdose says (via Steam): “Highly overrated. Offers the same experience as games like Conan Exiles or Ark with really terrible graphics and even less story.”
- Noffy also shows little enthusiasm for the graphics (via Steam): “The graphics look like they haven’t evolved since the late 90s/early 2000s. The combination of blurry low-poly graphics and exaggerated lighting makes the whole game look just blurry. I think I checked the graphics settings 3-4 times just to make sure I hadn’t accidentally set the options on a random graphic slider.”
However, there are also positive voices, as the lighting creates a truly atmospheric experience in Valheim.
- PastorWarburn says on Steam: “A very nice game with pseudo-retro graphics.”
- Beardo writes on Steam: “In some places the graphics are so beautiful, it’s almost unbelievable.”
That’s why the graphics evoke nostalgic feelings
I have been playing video games since the early 1980s. My father owned a console on which we played Pong back then. From Pong, I switched to the Intellivision and Atari console, then to the C64 and the Amiga, before finally landing on the PC.
In the 1980s, pixel graphics were the ultimate. Blocky characters that were hardly recognizable wandered through monochrome dungeons to meet monsters that were not immediately clear what they were supposed to represent. And yet, I had an incredibly good time. I still like to think back to that time.
I always imagined what these dungeons would really look like, what monsters they could be, and how cool my character would look with shimmering armor and a large broadsword. I didn’t need to see that, as it played out in my mind’s eye.
The graphical shortcomings of that time sparked my imagination. I drew my characters as I imagined them and then compared them with the drawings of my friends, who also played the game. We talked about our adventures, dangerous situations we experienced, and twists in the story that we only read about. For us, it felt as real as if we had played games with high-end graphics from 2021.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, while the graphics improved significantly, one’s own imagination still played an important role. Especially with the first games featuring low-detail 3D polygon graphics that emerged between the mid and late 1990s.
Valheim brings back these feelings for me. I don’t see exactly what my character looks like. Her face is blurred, pixelated, and low on details. And yet, I imagine a weatherworn Viking with a square nose, bushy eyebrows, and scars on his face.
A foggy clearing in the woods, illuminated by moonlight, may not look as realistic in Valheim as in modern role-playing games, yet I stand in the game and wonder what might be lurking there.
I just stand still when the sun rises over the water and get startled when the ground shakes and a troll stomps through the trees – even if he is admittedly presented in a very blocky and not particularly frightening way.
I completely understand if especially younger players do not like the graphics of Valheim. They are simply used to different things. As an ‘old man’ who had to cope with pixelated and blocky graphics in the 1980s, I am happy about it.
Because the graphics of Valheim feel like a time travel to me. A journey back to my wonderful childhood when graphics couldn’t be that important and I was able to let my imagination run much more freely than I can today in games with almost photorealistic visuals.
Therefore, I am incredibly grateful to the developers of Iron Gate for choosing this low-poly pixel look for Valheim and bringing me a piece of my childhood and youth back.
What do you think of the graphics that Valheim has to offer? Is the game too pixelated for you or do you find the visuals good?
MeinMMO author and survival expert Benedict Grothaus is also enthusiastic about the game. He reveals in his hands-on report what makes Valheim so good.
