Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is capturing everyone’s attention with its energetic Viking story. However, it’s not the first time Vikings and Norse mythology have taken center stage in video games. Remember God of War in 2018 when the setting went from Greek to Norse mythology? That change caught everyone’s eye!
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Norse mythology is abundant with magical beings, haunting creatures, powerful weapons and artifacts, wondrous realms, and gods with unimaginable power. It makes for a perfect challenge or story-rich exploration. The following is a list of compelling games centered around Norse mythology.
10 ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree
Atone is a colorful, geometric hand-drawn game with Norse inspired puzzles. The game is about Estra, a warrior in Midgard, which is Earth in Norse mythology, in search of the truth about her father’s death. Magical creatures and the guardians chosen by Odin are nowhere to be found which makes the Elder Tree vulnerable.
Atone is narrative-heavy, but that doesn’t take away from the gameplay. There’s a lot of exploring to do. The game is filled with hidden passages, musical combat, and puzzles that reveal new abilities.
9 Eitr
As of writing this, Eitr is still in development, but it is a game worth mentioning. This pixel art RPG is about a Norsemen known as the Shield Maiden. The Norns were working on her fate-weaving loom, but Loki messed with her destiny by poisoning her unwoven loom before she was born.
The Shield Maiden is on a mission to travel through Yggdrasil to the nine realms and solve the mystery of her destiny. Eitr takes the aesthetics of pixel games but creates a detailed world that will take players on a wondrous journey.
8 Röki
Röki is a point-and-click adventure game inspired by Scandinavian folklore which overlaps with Norse mythology. The main character is Tove, a girl on a mission to save her family. This adventure is bound by ancient puzzles, discoveries, and a world full of mythical creatures and lands.
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Tove goes through the game uncovering folklore that’s been forgotten and solving mysteries in the story-rich world. Roki has a children’s book type of art style which makes this an adorable, relaxing game even though the story is quite dark.
7 Jotun
Jotun is a stimulating, hand-drawn exploration game inspired by a well-known concept in Norse mythology, Valhalla. The protagonist, Thora, is a Norse warrior who died, but she needs to prove to the gods that she is worthy of entering Valhalla. The story takes players through Thora’s life and nine different levels to explore.
The game is set in a Norse Purgatory where Thora needs to find runes to summon and fight Jotun, monumental Norse entities. There are 5 Jotun from different realms with their element associated runes. Thora has two giant hand axes and powers from the gods to take the Jotun down.
6 God of War
God of War was all about Greek mythology until God of War (2018). The game was engulfed in a Norse world. While it isn’t the most accurate explanation of Norse mythology it is heavily inspired by it and its everywhere in the game.
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Players familiar with Norse mythology will be quick to spot some familiar names such as Baldur, Freya, Odin, Thor, Mimir, and Jörmungandr. Players also travel to multiple realms from Norse mythology through Yggdrasil and face a wide range of mythological creatures.
5 Kari – Stranded On The Shores Of Vanaheim
Kari is an adventure game that uses puzzles to uncover mysteries, has engaging quests, and new areas to explore. In this game, you play as the white-haired character named Kari who landed on the unfamiliar land called Vanaheim after a shipwreck. Kari meets lost souls and most importantly, the gods that reign the land.
Players will come across Mimir, Freya, Njord, Uller, and Lorelei to name a few. Although there’s no combat in this game, players have objectives such as collecting resources, crafting items, and building her ship with the help of the gods.
4 Oddmar
Oddmar is a mobile action-adventure platformer about a Viking warrior named Oddmar who has a tough life and wants to make a place for himself in Valhalla. This journey takes players into 24 levels of platforming and puzzle-solving.
The game explains that one day he is given strong powers from a magical mushroom which pushes him to go on a quest. The motive of the game is for Oddmar to redeem himself since his Viking buddies abandoned him. Along the way, Oddmar finds magical weapons and shields, and new creatures in fantastical lands.
3 The Frostrune
The Frostrune is a point-and-click, mystery mobile game based on Vikings. It uses Norse cultures and settings to put the player in beautifully hand-painted, ancient landscapes. Players take on the role of a shipwrecked wanderer in an abandoned village and dark, magical forest.
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Ancient runes, burial mounds, hidden relics, and puzzles will uncover the mysteries of this secretive land. The Frostrune attempts to utilize Norse culture as authentically as it can so players can expect some deep dives into the mythology. The developers even used archeological resources for objects used in the game.
2 Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
This dark action-adventure game takes inspiration from Norse mythology and Celtic culture. Senua is a Celtic Pict warrior that enters Helheim, the underworld, to save the soul of her deceased lover from Hela, the goddess of the dead. On her journey, she comes across other Norse beings such as Surt and Fenrir.
Not only does the game include Norse characters, but also artifacts such as the Garmr, a powerful dragon-slaying sword. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice uses psychological horror, puzzles, and hack-and-slash gameplay to create an intense atmosphere.
1 Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assasin’s Creed Valhalla takes place when the Vikings of Scandinavia were sailing to Anglo-Saxon England. Eivor, the protagonist, leads her people on this journey, but they are met with opposition. Players will defeat enemies that get in their way, fight in epic battles, and build their new settlement.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla presents gods, rituals, and ceremonies as crucial parts of the everyday life of Norse people. It presents a more intimate look at the life of Vikings while still having all the action.
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