The new survival game Valheim has made it to the top on the gaming platform Steam within just a few days. It is now in 4th place among the most played games, leaving all competitors behind – even Rust. But where does the excitement come from?
Valheim’s success on Steam: After its early access launch on Steam, the new survival game Valheim has rapidly progressed. Here are the key facts from February 15th:
- 4th place among the most played games on Steam, ahead of Apex Legends and just behind PUBG (via Steam)
- 119,849 average players, 356,929 peak players (via steamcharts)
- 96% positive reviews, making it “extremely positive” on Steam with 37,104 reviews (via Steam)
Although the game comes from an indie studio in Sweden, it has taken Steam by storm. Within just a few days, it had more players than ARK and was able to sell over a million copies after just a week.
Valheim is the first and so far only game from Iron Gate Studios. Apparently, the developers have done everything right with this Viking survival title.
Boss fights and PvE make Valheim so good
This is what players say: Many of the positive reviews focus on the gameplay, simply praising how much fun Valheim is. It is often emphasized how the somewhat strange and dangerous physics of the trees lead to comical situations, kill players or destroy houses and forests.
One of the core aspects of Valheim is exploration. You learn new recipes only by touching new items – having them in your inventory. This way, you “remember” what you can do with these things. User Xeeran writes on Steam:
It also increases the desire to explore because you have to search for and find the new things. […] There are many things to consider here that are actually logical, but were always secondary and neglected in other games. […] In my opinion, they do much better and more interesting here than in other games, which I personally have not experienced before.
The systems in the game surprise the players and are something they haven’t experienced before. “Valheim is particularly a revelation for me as a fan of survival games with a flexible building system! This game even takes into account the statics of a building and the smoke development of a cooking station,” writes i.am.Sober on Steam.
What doesn’t go down so well? One of the bigger criticisms is the current bugs in Valheim. Players complain about losing everything due to bugs or glitches that cost them their lives. Valheim is still in early access and in development, which can lead to such problems occurring more frequently. Other criticisms revolve around:
- the progression system, which not everyone likes
- physics and building, which some few see as problematic
- the controls, especially in combat
The somewhat outdated graphics of Valheim in the PlayStation 1 look is a point of contention. Some interested players are put off by it, while many are surprised that the game looks quite good while playing despite the graphics. With a trick, you can even get more FPS out of the performance.
This is our assessment on MeinMMO
In our play report after 40 hours, we have already explained what makes Valheim so good. The total hours have now significantly increased, and we have been able to see much more of the world.
One of the most important points, in our opinion, is the fight against the bosses. These fights represent the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. You prepare for a long time for a fight, and once you have won it, you continue with the next, even more powerful opponent and new opportunities.
The vast world invites exploration on foot or by ship. And there is plenty to discover: after 50 hours, we had only known 5% of the world. With the various biomes, Valheim offers different challenges and more and more secrets to explore.
Even more content for the future
This is how Valheim will proceed: Already shortly after release, the developers published a kind of roadmap with new content that will be coming. It includes:
- a new biome, the mistlands, which are already in the game but without content
- moon phases
- improvements to the combat system
- likely a new material for processing
There is no specific timeline for the releases yet. However, it is the “Roadmap 2021”, so all content is expected to be released this year.
Where can I play Valheim? Currently, Valheim is only available on PC (Windows and Linux) through Steam, priced at €16.79.
- You can go to the Steam page of Valheim here.
There is currently no concrete information about a version for Xbox and PlayStation. The developers have not planned a console version, but they do not rule it out either. Controller support is already available.
What do you think of the new Steam hit Valheim? How long have you been playing? What is your impression?
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!