Speaking as a YouTuber, whoever had the ideaof announcing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla via an eight hour Photoshop livestream isa genius.
You can’t buy that sort of average viewduration.
We did get a cinematic trailer the followingday that gave more insight into what the vikings and viqueens will be getting up to on theirholiday to England, but the six month wait is going to hurt.
We want to play as a Scandinavian warriornow, not at Christmas.
To help time go quicker, we’ve compileda list of the 10 best viking games on PC you can download as soon as you’ve finishedwatching this video.
And, before you say it, we did consider Skyrim, but it doesn’t quite meet the criteria.
There are great mods out there to crank upthe Norsepower on it, though, so if you really want, you can make this list of 11 games andeverybody wins.
Compromise is just wonderful, isn’t it? Anyway, enough of that.
Let’s look at some video games where youplay as vikings! Let’s kick off with For Honor.
Or should that be throw off? This beefy brawler is a who’s who of history’stoughest bastards, and so it’s only right that vikings take up a chunk of the roster.
It’s basically Ubisoft’s take on DeadliestWarrior – the highbrow TV show that asked important questions like who would win ina fight between the IRA and the Taliban? Don’t expect that For Honor DLC any timesoon.
More of a fighting game than an Assassin’sCreed hack-and-slasher, For Honor builds a deep system out of directional blocks, staminamanagement and throwing chaps onto spikes.
That’s one for the proctologist.
Given that 15 Ubisoft studios are workingon Valhalla, you’d think there’d be some team crossover – I don’t expect them tolift combat wholesale, but I’d be happy to see them share the meaty execution animations.
If our man-slash-woman Eivor doesn’t splitskulls like a champion woodchopper I’ll be sad.
For Honor’s shabby online performance taintedit at launch, but with years of updates and dedicated servers, it’s evolved into a fightinggame unlike any other.
A viking is a safe bet in a fist fight.
Easy money.
I’m not sure who I’d stick a tenner onwhen their opposition is nature, though.
Because, while the continent of Northgardhas plenty of undead draugr and dire wolves to contend with, the greatest threat you facein this RTS is a spot of bad weather.
Like, really bad.
Like, the worst winter on record bad.
To ensure the survival of your people, youhave to hoard as much food and wood and the like as you can during better spells.
Manage your resources poorly and the unfriendlycreatures of Norse mythology will absolutely destroy you.
Many hands – or hooves – make light workof baddies, which is why fans were delighted to hear about the patch that allowed you tobecome friends with boars, last March.
As well as skewering enemies on their mightytusks, these piggies can give the vikings a good feed when they’re peckish.
Oh come on, like you wouldn’t turn Percyinto a bacon sandwich if it meant your clan could live a little longer.
Plus, the boar gets to die a hero.
A delicious hero.
Ah, Rune.
Last year’s sequel didn’t capture theimagination of the public, but the 2000 original has its fans.
Wonderfully, Rune’s plot is as dense asa pink wafer: you play as a blade-wielding boy called Ragnar that must save the worldby putting a stop to that devious Loki.
Standard.
What made Human Head’s action game standout was that it hung its horned-hat on melee.
Every one of the game’s weapons involveyou getting up in your foe’s face and hacking to your heart’s content, or their heartis no longer beating.
I wouldn’t say Rune had the impact Batmanhad on close quarters combat, but it was an effective hook back in the day.
There’s no doubt that it's a bit ropey in2020, so perhaps this one appeals more to those wearing rose-tinted glasses.
But as the vikings will tell you, it’s importantto honour your ancestors, and there’s an odd charm to the mindless swinging of sharpimplements in Rune.
And everyone can enjoy OTT cutscenes likethis.
If you’re seriously looking for some extrahomework before Assassin’s Creed, Thrones of Britannia may be the game for you.
It doesn’t bother with boys and girls withmagic electric hammers and instead aims for historical accuracy.
Spoilers for actual history coming up, ifthat’s a thing.
Set in 878 AD, after Alfred the Great (andfar from modest) defeated a Viking invasion, Thrones sees you lead a faction into battleto kill everyone that isn’t part of your group, because that was the favoured pastimeback then.
Thankfully, four of the ten available factionsare viking-based, which means you can get a feel for lobbing the heads off Brits beforeUbisoft gives you thumbs up later this year.
As a Total War game the dismemberment playsout a little differently to a Creed game.
Whether navigating a huge map, hiring newrecruits along the way, or engaging in one of the large-scale battles, Thrones of Britanniademands you strategise or you die.
While I’m not too confident the crossoverbetween Total War and AC fans is all that great, this is one you should definitely checkout if you’re looking to learn more about Valhalla’s setting.
Creative Assembly’s *other* viking outingis brawn over brains.
Viking: Battle For Asgard is like eating abig bag of Doritos: an endlessly one flavour experience – you are a viking, you chop upmen – but one that’s so inoffensive you keep you doing it anyway.
It’s probably the closest thing on thislist to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as you trek around open world islands, amassing anarmy by sneaking into prison camps and.
.
.
accidentally triggering every enemy therebecause there is no way this beefy boy is made for stealth.
So begins the button mashing and the limbchopping takedowns that everyone was doing in the noughties after playing God of War.
Creative Assembly’s single nod to theirstrategic background is the climax to each island that sees your recused soldiers storma stronghold.
In reality you’re playing the same hack-and-slashfight, but with lots of friends around you.
It makes us hope that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’sbig conquest battles pop up in Valhalla, if only to show us how large-scale chaos shouldbe done.
Still, as mindless entertainment goes, it’shard to argue with that.
Jotun is a feast for the eyes.
Like something between Studio Ghibli and TheSnowman, Thunder Lotus Games’ storybook action-adventure is a wonderful way to spenda few hours.
A viking named Thora is denied access to Valhallaafter she drowns at sea.
An inglorious death means her name’s noton the list and she’s not coming in.
Unless she can take on a whole host of hugenasties and win – then they’ll welcome her into Valhalla with open arms.
Because Thora looks minuscule next to thesebig bads, you feel like a right badass when you’re able to off one.
You’ll need more than your base painmakerfor the titans of Norse mythology, though, which is where your special abilities comein.
For example, Thor grants her the ability touse Mjolnir for a short time, while Loki gives Thora the power to create a decoy that canbriefly fool one of these giants.
Quite simply, Jotun is a delightful way tospend an afternoon immersed in Norse mythology.
If Jotun is fully taking the myth, then Expedition:Vikings is more about the man.
As a recently anointed thegn you have to leada diminished viking clan to greatness: raiders must be pushed back, alliances struck andmuch mead quaffed.
It plays out as a simple CRPG, with dialogueskill checks letting you talk your way in or out of a battle advantage, which unfoldon a turn-based hex grid.
Will you kick things off with honour to earnthe respect of your men or will you shank your enemy as you break bread? Of all the games on the list, this feels closestto the moral quandaries you’d expect from TV shows like Vikings or Last Kingdom.
It’s not the work of AAA mega budget – thevisuals are muddy both literally and figuratively – but it gets the all important ideas right.
Combat offers deep strategic interplay betweenclasses, there’s meaty clan management to keep you engaged for its 20 hour tale andit certainly scratches our barbarian itch.
The Banner Saga trilogy is a great companionpiece to Expeditions: Vikings.
It’s another game that splits a tale betweenturn-based strategies and leadership decisions that have you stroking your long viking beard.
It’s kind of like Battlestar Galactica withmore mead: you lead a band of struggling refugees and have to make brutal decisions about dwindlingfood supplies, waning morale and welcoming other lost souls you meet along the way.
It’s designed to push you into a cornerand is often unhappier than a Ken Loach marathon.
It may sound like a slog, but it’s an incrediblypersonal journey – decisions carry between the three games, so by the end it’s notjust any group of characters you’re protecting, but the caravan you’ve carefully built upover 25 hours.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is also goingto feature dialogue choices and branching decisions, as we saw in Odyssey, so you coulduse Banner Saga as a Viking management training.
Now, this is a proper throwback.
Beginning life as a Kickstarter campaign beforecoming to PC in 2013, Volgarr the Viking is your classic 2D action platformer, like Rastanor Ghosts n’ Goblins.
Odin – who pops up a lot in this list asa sort of quest-giver – tells V-man to go out and kill a dragon.
Any additional information would be redundant.
You throw spears, you swing your sword, andthat’s it.
Oh, and you die absolutely loads.
Like those 2D action platformers of old, Volgarris mega hard.
In fact, we should probably adopt the phrase“The Volgarr of puzzle games” or “The Volgarr of first-person shooters” for thetoughest games in a genre.
Dark Souls has had its time in the sun.
Because of its difficulty, it’s obviouslynot for everyone, but the masochistic types (who also happen to enjoy vikings quite abit) will lap this up.
Technically in Bad North the Viking raidersare the baddies, but what are you going to do: call the list police on us? Your task is to defend each small island youhop to in your ongoing escape effort, carefully positioning archers, spearmen and defensiveshield units, as boats come in waves.
They spill out ‘orrible Vikings and miniaturebloodshed commences.
Bad North is both pretty gruesome and unbelievablycute, and last year it had a free Jotunn Edition update that tweaked the game and made somedecent QOL improvements.
The push and pull of the RTS combat playsout really well, and the sound design is unbelievably satisfying.
Though it won’t be as up close as Valhalla, this’d be a good one for strategy fans who want to get in the invaders and defendersmindset.
Listen, we’re just like the rest of you.
We’d love to be playing Assassin’s Creed:Valhalla right this second… mainly because that would mean we’d rank quite highly wheneveranyone on YouTube searched for the game.
But we hope that these viking delights cansatisfy you until Ubisoft releases the game later this year.
Do you have a favourite from this list? Or did we miss out one that you hold nearand dear? Drop us a comment and let us know your favouriteviking video games.
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Thank you very much for watching and happyvikinging, you absolute star.
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