Historical video games have explored a wide range of different time periods and settings, from Ancient Egypt to 13th-century Europe. However, one of the most popular settings as of late has been Norse mythology. Vikings have always been a popular topic, but the mythos that the ancient civilizations followed seems to have become a staple of gaming. After a little contemplation, we laid out what it is about Norse lore that has captivated players across all genres.
Viking Life is a Perfect Fit For Games
It’s no surprise that video games focused on Vikings have begun popping up more frequently – they’re honestly a natural fit for interactive entertainment, with a lifestyle primarily consisting of looting, raiding, and adventuring across both sea and land. Many new indie titles mesh perfectly with the period, including games like Valheim and Northgard. Furthermore, several already existing game franchises have taken the idea of Viking life and applied it to its pre-existing gameplay formulae, such as the recent Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and 2018’s God of War.
Valheim, one of the biggest indie games to release this year, takes the classic Viking lifestyle and gameifies it, combining the world perfectly with survival gameplay similar to games like Minecraft and The Forest. The result is a highly addictive, immersive game that feels like a natural evolution for the survival gaming genre as a whole.
The Mythos Is Massive and Expansive
Another reason why we believe developers are diving headfirst into Norse mythology is that it is an absolutely fascinating slice of world history that both has a massive amount of content to draw inspiration from and plenty we still don’t know about it. God of War, a franchise that has long-established itself as being rooted deeply within Greek mythology, boldly switched over to Norse mythology in its most recent installation for PS4. This choice was no doubt influenced by the rising popularity of Viking mythology in gaming, but it also seemed to serve as a catalyst and inspiration for even more Norse titles.
God of War’s Greek setting was undoubtedly wearing a bit thin for many players, with the developers running out of ideas for stories to tell within the mythos. Switching the franchise to a Norse world not only offered a fresh new experience, but it also allowed the developers to hit the reset button for the franchise and scour the annals of Viking history for the available information. As a result, God of War for PS4 is considered by many to be the best title in the series and has many gamers excited for its sequel, God of War Ragnarok.
How it May Affect the Gaming Landscape
Norse mythology doesn’t look to be going away from video games any time soon, with more games than ever being set within its world. Even video games that have seemingly nothing to do with Norse myths are being inspired by it, with the zombie game Dying Light getting Viking DLC in a recent update. Video games outside of triple-A blockbuster titles have also been exploring Norse myths, including popular real-time-strategy game Northgard and sidescroller Song of Iron.
Additionally, that three of the most popular games of the last few years have all been Norse games shows that the setting won’t be going away, and in fact, will likely only get more popular. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and God of War both sold incredibly well, and it would be foolish for developers not to jump on the Norse myths bandwagon. Vikings and Norse mythology are truly an exciting setting for historical video games, so big fans of the period should be excited for the future of Viking-centered games.
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At Epoch XP, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch XP’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.
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(This article is credited to Ben Price. For as long as he can remember, Ben has always loved playing, discussing, and writing about video games. Since receiving his B.A. in English, he now writes about them for a living.)