Valheim 1.0 review: Worth the wait

Valheim 1.0 is a masterful blend of linear progression with open survival gameplay.

By design, survival games tend to be extremely open in their gameplay, giving the player complete freedom on what to do and where to go from the start. Valheim seeks to make the survival experience a more focused one, while still retaining a largely open style of gameplay. That delicate walk is tread in such a way that’s kept me fully engaged with all aspects of Valheim’s gameplay. Much more so than I’ve felt with any other survival game.

A focused approach

When you start a new game in Valheim, you’re dropped into a procedurally generated world where you’re greeted by a raven that gives you tips on how to get started and marks the location of the nearby boss on your map. After this brief introduction period, this raven will only show up during pivotal moments in your progression, either to give you some quick lore or to give you information on something you’ve just unlocked. There isn’t any quest log, only brief, sparing messages that nudge you toward what you may want to be doing. 

Valheim’s progression is based on its biomes. Each biome has its own boss that, when defeated, will give you an item that will help you in the next one. With this in mind, everything I did was in service of getting stronger, finding the next biome, and defeating the next boss. In this way, Valheim has a somewhat linear progression path. I never felt lost or like I was aimlessly roaming the world trying to figure out what to do.

It's not just a base, it's a home

While Valheim’s progression is largely linked to fighting bosses, a lot of the game is spent crafting and building/improving your base. The crafting/building system is so intentionally designed that it tricks you into slowly building not just a base, but a home. For instance, the workbench needs a roof in order for you to craft gear, and should you want a bed, you’ll need a fire and a roof in order to sleep. That fire now produces smoke, though, and if it’s in an enclosed space, the smoke will start to kill you, so you’ll need to build a chimney for the smoke to exit the building. Where in many other survival games, my starter home was usually a boring cube, in Valheim my first building resembled an actual settlement.

That intentionality seeps into decoration too. I don’t tend to use my precious resources for decoration and furniture in these types of games, but in Valheim, decorating and furnishing your home has a tangible benefit. The more decorations you place down, the higher the comfort level becomes. Comfort grants you the Rested bonus, which increases XP and speeds up health and stamina regeneration. Higher levels of comfort give you a longer Rested buff. My home base ended up looking like a cozy cabin and felt like a living space because the game naturally drove me to want to decorate.

A perilous journey

Valheim adopts a Souls-adjacent combat style where parrying and dodging are the name of the game. I found parrying to be especially important in taking down enemies, as a successful attempt will stagger your opponent, allowing you to do significantly more damage. I was excited to learn enemies’ attack patterns because the parry is so satisfying.

Exploring Valheim’s world is equally as exciting as it is nerve-wracking because new enemies and resources grant access to new gear and crafting recipes, but new biomes hold much tougher enemies. Since the world consists of multiple islands, your ventures will eventually require you to sail out to new lands to find the resources or landmarks you’re looking for. That trek is a dangerous one, because if you die, you’ll have to make your way all the way back to grab your things.

That’s why I always planned my expeditions. Whether I was headed out to explore dungeons, find new islands, or collect resources, I made sure to get my Rested buff and leave during the day, as that’s when the world is more peaceful. If I needed to go out to sea, I also made sure to keep the wind’s direction in mind because that would determine how easily I’d be able to sail in my desired direction.  All of these things together made every task feel like a journey, because living in Valheim’s world is rooted in realism.

The Deep North beckons

The Deep North, the new biome added with Valheim’s 1.0 update, brings a couple of new creatures to encounter. I won’t spoil exactly what resides here, but there were a couple of terrifying enemies that, paired with the Deep North’s low visibility from the snow and dense forests, make exploring it feel tense. Outside of those few new enemies though, the Deep North is mostly filled with stronger versions of creatures encountered in the Black Forest. There are also new dungeons and an additional boss to fight. The main appeal to the Deep North for me was the new materials. The Deep North’s timber wood adds new decorative build materials that made me want to revamp my entire base.

Valheim stands out in the survival genre by maintaining a more focused and linear approach to progression. The intentionality behind Valheim’s base-building mechanics makes it feel like I’m not just surviving in the world, but living in it. While the Deep North biome may not be the most impressive addition to the game, the overall package remains one easily recommendable to both veterans and newbies to the genre.

This review is based on a Steam code provided by the publisher. Valheim is available now for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

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Review for
Valheim
9
Pros

• Decorating your base has a gameplay benefit
• Combat feels satisfying
• Linear progression makes learning the game less overwhelming than others in the genre
• Realistic gameplay mechanics make traveling the world feel rewarding

Cons

• The Deep North isn't very interesting to explore