Valheim: A First Look

Welcome, fellow warriors!

Welcome to Valheim, the newest in a long line of RPG survival games. You are a warrior resurrected into Valheim to train and help defeat the new evil that has run rampant across the world! Are you up for the task? How is the game as a whole? Well, fellow Viking, read on!

Before we start…

Keep in mind this is still an early access game, meaning it’s still in Alpha and a lot of what you see here may change or be augmented. I will also be uploading gameplay videos on my YT channel. So, be sure to subscribe to that.

Character Creation…

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Character creation is basic. There is not much customization nor much difference between the male and female models. This does make for a quick start in the game. I hope they work on this part as they continue.

Graphics…

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From the homestead to the forests and bodies of water, the graphics are beautifully rendered. The night sky is full of stars, constellations, and a view of the world tree.
The lighting in the game is very well done.
The animations and models of the animals are smooth and pleasing to the eye.

Combat and Moving…

The combat system is simple, left click for attacking, right click to block, and the scroll button is a power attack. You can use your mouse to turn your toon.
Walking is done with ASWD, but I have only used A and S with the mouse to move my toon around. The toon walks smoothly as are the animations for the combat.
Blocking, unlike most systems, works well.

Encumbrance

How much you can carry depends on weight. I like this. It ads more realism to the game. Unlike 7 Days to Die, where you can stuff entire motorcycle in your backpack, as you reach your weight limit, the slower you walk. When you hit or exceed your weight limit, you stop walking.

Crafting

The crafting system is simplistic. As you find materials, recipes for items become available. As you make tools and crafting stations, you gain the ability to make more items, shelter, and even more stations.
For example, hitting [tab] at the start of the game, will open a simple menu to make basic tools and weapons. When you make a hammer and equip it, right clicking will open a construction menu.
To proceed with the construction, you must first make a workbench. It makes sense.
You can upgrade the workbench by adding a chopping block and tanning rack to upgrade your equipment.
There are also stations you can make as you find new materials.

Leveling Up

There are no points to allocate. You gain points in your skills by using those skills. Want to level your sneak? Sneak everywhere! Want to increase your skill at running? Run, Forest, Run! It’s that simple!

Food and drink

I haven’t advanced too much in the game yet, hence the “First Look”. The food system is as simplistic as the rest. When you eat a food, it will appear next to your food meter on the bottom left. When you need to eat again, the food you need will start flashing. If you don’t have that food, don’t fret. You can always eat a different food to replace it on the icon list. You can even put the food on your hotbar for faster consumption.

Physics!

The game physics are on point so far. So, be careful how you chop trees and ALWAYS make a chimney for your fire pit! Trust me. I had to learn the hard way that the smoke physics are no joke.

The World Map

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It is ENORMOUS, and I am here for it. There are plenty of places to explore, including abandoned buildings, shipwrecks, lore runes, and more! There is always something to find, and marking the map is simple. You choose your icon, double click to open the dialogue box, type, and hit enter. Done!

The Story

There is a main story and quest you are working to complete. There are forsaken you need to defeat, and each one gives you special abilities depending on the forsaken.
There are no side quests, but you do have a crow to guide you and give you tutorials along the way. The crow will also warn you if you venture into a territory that may be to difficult at your current skill level.

The Cons

You know we had to go there, right? It’s not all perfect.

Day/Night Cycle

It seems that the nights are longer than the days, allowing for less time to do things. You can go out and collect resources at night, but you suffer the effects of the environment. You will be cold while doing it. The game rewards you for resting, granting you faster stamina regen.

The character customization needs a little work, as I said at the start. I am not asking for the ability for J-cups and a huge ass, but I would like the female to look, well, more feminine.

The small chest you can make at the start is remarkably small in terms of storage. They could be larger. The first stage has ten slots.

There are still glitches, but I am sure those will be worked out as they go.

My first impressions?