As a video game fanatic and admirer of Vikings culture, I have spent lots of time trying to find games related to Norse mythology and Vikings. And I decided to list the best ones I could find so that you don’t have to go through all the troubles as I did.
Best Vikings Games
Valheim
If you are a fan of Viking civilization and Norse mythology, there aren’t any better games than this one. Set in the tenth world of Norse mythology, you’ll play as a fallen Viking warrior who is sent to Valheim, where even the Gods are afraid to go. There, you need to prove your worth and enter Valhalla. The world of Valheim is a beautiful yet dangerous one. It has mountains, forests, and rivers that are absolutely breathtaking, and at the same time, it is filled with all kinds of monsters and creatures. Your goal is to defeat all these monsters and make the place suitable for living. As a true Viking warrior, you’ll explore the dangerous world, collect resources, craft weapons, build shelter and defeat powerful bosses to write your tale of glory. Valheim also supports an online multiplayer mode where you can play with friends to make things easier.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Valhalla is the latest addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise and definitely one of the best games about Vikings out there. It offers a huge open world, a number of Viking civilizations, and action-packed gameplay. Just like other Assassin’s Creed games, this one also revolves around fighting and completing dangerous missions and side quests. You’ll play as a Viking warrior and can choose between a male and a female character. As you move forward in the game, you’ll explore vast, beautiful landscapes, conquering new lands, uncovering different secrets, and slaying dudes along the way. The voice acting in this game is amazing. You’ll never get tired of listening to these characters talk in long cutscenes. If you love playing campaign modes, this game will not disappoint you. Riding a horse, traveling great distances, sneaking up behind enemies, and silently taking them out, jumping from cliffs; offers unique gameplay while also retaining the vibe of typical Assassin’s Creed games.
Northgard
Northgard is an epic RTS game combined with the elements of Viking civilization. It has colorful indie graphics and fast-paced gaming that keeps you entertained throughout your gaming session. The concept is pretty similar to Age of Empires games, where you need to build different buildings and grow your army to take down other clans within a map. However, unlike Age of Empires, this game is about Vikings through and through. Literally, every character in this game belongs to a Viking clan. The campaign mode is amazing, with action and adventures following you throughout the game. The game also has a multiplayer mode where you’ll be able to compete with players all around the world in a harsh, unforgiving environment. It is definitely worth a try if you are a true Viking fan.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
What can I say about Skyrim? It just feels great and refreshing whenever I play this game. It has adventures, action, dragons and monsters, a huge open world to explore, and tons of character development and customization to do. For a Skyrim player, there is always something to do. You’ll play as a Dragonborn and set out on a quest to discover the secrets of Skyrim and decide its fate. The game is greatly influenced by Viking civilizations, where you find equipment, cultures, and characters of Vikings. The things that you can do in Skyrim are endless. You can play hours and hours of campaign missions or explore its large open world. You can talk to NPCs, accept quests from them as well as engage in battle with them. This game offers so much possibility. The weapons in this game play an important role in combat. Not only can they be brought and crafted, but you can also find them randomly while exploring or defeating monsters. The more powerful weapon you have, the stronger monsters you can battle. It also has classic RPG elements, where you unlock various abilities as you level up.
For Honor
For Honor is an action game with medieval settings and characters. It is an action-packed, challenging, and engaging game. The game features five of the most powerful and influential factions of people in human history. You can play as any one of them and fight vicious battles with other groups to emerge victorious. Additionally, you can also choose one of the three classes for your character, with each character offering different unique abilities. The game offers a variety of modes to play, each with different objectives. You can either play against AI opponents or other players and perform a variety of class-specific moves to take down your enemies. The combat is mainly focused on close range, where players use classic melee weapons(unique to each class and character) to take down opponents. However, you’ll also need a solid plan and strategy if you want to win any of these battles.
Crusader Kings III
Crusader Kings isn’t really focused on Vikings’ civilization. Some might not even consider it a Vikings game altogether. However, it does let you play as Vikings and contains some traits of Vikings, such as raids. The game is nothing major. It doesn’t have crazy action sequences or an epic story to back it up. Instead, it gives all the freedom to players, and you can play this game exactly how you like. The main objective is to continue your bloodline for however long you can. You basically have to choose a dynasty and conquer the world while continuing your bloodline. The game requires a lot of political and tactical thinking, as you’ll encounter all sorts of problems later on in the game. I don’t want to spoil anything for you but just know that you’ll have to make a lot of hard decisions and sacrifices in this game.
Expeditions: Viking
Gather up your clansmen and get ready to conquer new lands to expand your territory. Expeditions: Viking tests your courage and leadership as the new chief of a Viking tribe. It is your job to lead your people to glory and make a name for yourself so that people will remember you for ages to come. The game features classic RPG elements which allow you to explore lands and defeat enemies to increase your power and territory. Every battle in this game is important, and the choice you make will greatly affect your gameplay later on. The game requires both good tactics and strategies. You can befriend leaders of the land that you’ve just seized control of, have them executed if you feel like they will betray you, or you can exile them from the country altogether. In this game, you alone make all the choices when it comes to deciding the fate of others.
Bad North
This game is a little different when compared to the rest of the games on this list. Instead of playing as a Viking or controlling a group of Vikings, you have to defend your kingdom from Vikings in this one. In this game, you take the position of the King and protect your people from the wrath of Viking armies constantly attacking your kingdom. It requires you to make strategies and sacrifices in order to save your citizens from being killed. Bad North lets you experience the horrors of facing these ruthless tribes of people. They will constantly attack you, kill your soldiers and burn down your houses. It is your job, as a ruler, to come up with the best plan to ensure the survival of your citizens. You can deploy your troops to the areas you think you’ll get attacked from, build defensive buildings to attack any invaders, or find new islands to relocate. But whatever you do, there is no end to these invasions, and you’ll have to defend against them over and over.
Jotun
If you love playing indie games as I do, Jotun makes you appreciate them even more with its beautiful hand-drawn arts and story-telling. It is the one game that I never get tired of playing. Beautiful art, great story, plot, and engaging gameplays; it has all the things I love in video games. Jotun follows a story of a female Viking warrior who has died an unfortunate death. Due to this, she cannot enter Valhalla and be at peace. However, she is given a second chance where she can redeem herself and earn her right to enter Valhalla. Jotun puts you in a bizarre environment surrounded by monsters and Norse mythical creatures. There, you must find Jotun and impress the Gods to prove your worth. Each Jotun has runes that you must discover in order to summon a boss. Defeating these bosses will unlock more areas to explore until you find and explore every Jotun in the game.
Tribes of Midgard
Tribes of Midgard is one of the best Vikings I’ve played. It is a fast-paced, exciting, and challenging action/adventure game that will throw into the chaos of Norse mythology. It provides you with hours and hours of content where you level up by defeating hordes of monsters trying to destroy the seed of Yggdrasil and cause the Ragnarok. It has unique art and ways of telling stories. It is one of those RPGs which needs a lot of grinding. It has a day/night cycle where you’ll explore different areas of the game in the daytime and defend your base against monsters at night. The world in this game is procedurally generated, so you’ll find new areas each time you log in to this game. With each day you survive the Ragnarok, you’ll become stronger, and so will the enemy. This game is all about survival and leveling up so that you can defend the seed of Yggdrasil and prevent the end of the world.
Ancestors Legacy
Ancestors Legacy is a real-time strategy game that has so much to offer for all the RTS lovers out there. You can play as various tribes of people who are constantly trying to destroy each other. The general concept of the game is the same as all RTS games. You have to build different types of buildings, manage your resources, train your troops, and set out on the quest to destroy enemy bases around the map. However, the way this game presents all of these is really beautiful. It has both single-player and multiplayer options. Whatever mode you choose to play, you can expect some brutal actions. You also need to strategize and formulate plans based on how the game is progressing. The game rewards those players who are prepared for anything.
The Banner Saga
The Banner Saga is an epic tactical role-playing game that will keep you awake all night long with its intriguing gameplay. On the surface, it may just look like another one of those RPG games where you explore the lands and get stronger by upgrading your gears, but as you sink deeper into the game, you’ll soon find out the true thrills and intensity of this game. At different stages of the game, it forces you to make hard decisions that will determine how your story progresses. These decisions will affect not only you but also your followers who are following you on your journey. As you progress further into the game, you’ll also need to fight multiple battles in exciting turn-based combats. These battles will let you experience the joy of victory as well as the despair of defeat. You can level up your heroes once you have enough resources. However, the same resources are required to purchase supplies that will keep your troops going. And when you run out of supplies, your troops will start dying. So managing your resources is also a part of the game.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Hellblade is an action/adventure game that is centered around Norse mythology and its culture. It follows a woman named Senua, who is on a quest to retrieve her lover’s soul. The game is fairly short, but it does have amazing content and graphics to make up for it. You’ll travel through bizarre environments, solving different puzzles, fighting creatures, and discovering different secrets, all while struggling with a psychosis condition. I really like how the story evolves in this one. It is dark, and you’ll have to constantly fight with the voices in your head that tell you what is going on around you and your backstory. It is creepy but, at the same time, very engaging. Hellblade is definitely worth it if you want to experience and know more about Norse mythology.
A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia
It is another strategy game that puts you right between the war between different factions fighting to control the world. The graphics and overall aesthetics in this game are amazing. It is set during a historical period in the world, which makes it even more brutal. In this game, there are various factions to choose from. Each of these factions controls different lands of Britannia. Your objective is to conquer all of these lands and rule over them as the one true kind. To do that, you can use all kinds of tactics that you see fit. You can declare war against them and bring them under your command by force. Or you can forge treaties with them and make them your allies. But whatever path you choose, there will be lots of bloodsheds, and a lot of soldiers will die. You will control a number of military units that are waiting for your command and will annihilate anyone who opposes your goals.
The Frostrune
The Frostrune is a point-and-click game that is very much inspired by Norse mythology. In this game, you’ll play as a 13 years old girl who has somehow ended up on an uninhabited island after she was shipwrecked. There you’ll discover an abandoned settlement that holds a lot of mystery. Your goal is to find out exactly what happened on the island and unravel the mysteries that led its people to flee from the island. You will explore different parts of the island, searching for clues and answers. Along the way, you will encounter different puzzles which you can solve to uncover secrets little by little. These puzzles are well thought out and provide you with information as you progress further into the game. The game also has different items that let you see the world differently when equipped. The game is definitely worth it if you like indie games with cool aesthetics and sound designs.
