Playing History: Vikings

About

Playing History: Vikings is a single player role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by Serious Games Interactive and was released on July 1, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Navigating Erik in his journey from cradle, youth and eventual grave; you experience his journey towards becoming a true Viking within an interactive environment. It is times of change as the old beliefs are challenged by a new God and trade routes mean contact with people from strange lands. The game focuses on civilized trading as well as the faith and brutality of the viking era; a time when Ch…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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63%

Audience ScoreBased on 56 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The game provides an educational experience about Viking culture, combining historical facts with engaging, adventure-style gameplay suitable for children and teens.
Visual improvements and expanded exploration compared to previous series entries give players more freedom and a charming atmosphere.
Despite its simplicity, the game includes fun elements like mini-games, collectibles, and a storyline that adds replay value.

The controls are widely criticized as clunky and frustrating, with issues such as no customizable settings, forced point-and-click movement without hold-to-move, and poor camera angles that hamper gameplay.
Voice acting is often described as poor and distracting, being in Danish with English subtitles, which may confuse or frustrate non-Danish speakers.
The game suffers from technical problems such as bugs, crashes, lack of polish, and a very short overall length, limiting its appeal especially to older or more experienced players.

gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
The gameplay is a mix of old-school point-and-click mechanics with some new features and graphical improvements, making it more complex than its predecessors. While it offers engaging historical elements and is easy to learn, critics found certain aspects like combat and mini-games frustrating or unappealing. Overall, the gameplay received a mixed response, praised for its informativeness and simplicity but criticized for lack of depth and occasional bugs.
- “The game combines historical facts with engaging gameplay, making it both informative and entertaining.”
- “While this installment is yet another point and click like its predecessors, the game has gotten a major graphical overhaul and many new mechanics that make it stand out beyond the previous titles.”
- “Gameplay tip: try to collect every axe you see, it makes the fights a bit easier.”
- “This may be the most complex of the 3 games in the Playing History trilogy, but I think this one was the worst one, IMO. Even though it is mechanically and graphically the most impressive, the gameplay (especially the combat) didn't really click with me.”
- “Quickly about the series in general: feels like a child's history game, easy to learn mechanics and no difficult gameplay.”
- “The aforementioned battle, and the silly sailing mini-games, are the only real frustrating points of the gameplay.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's story offers a straightforward, casual narrative set in the Viking age, blending light educational elements with a simple quest and combat structure. While not deeply complex or historically comprehensive, it provides an enjoyable and relaxing experience suitable for a quick playthrough or educational introduction.
- “An exciting and educational quest that takes players back to the Viking age.”
- “There is a 'fighting' element that comes with the Vikings, but you don't have to win to keep the story going, other than the last battle.”
- “Where it is possible in Plague & Slavery (part 1 & 2) to do everything in one playthrough, although it is advisable to play it once for the story and a second time for the achievements.”
- “The story isn't too deep.”
- “Story is small but fine.”
- “The title focuses more on having a storyline rather than presenting any facts, although pupils will learn about Aesir and Vanir gods and goddesses, along with tip-of-the-iceberg quality information about Viking beliefs and customs.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
37%
27%
The graphics in the game show clear improvements over previous titles, featuring charming cartoonish art, seasonal changes, and night/day effects, enhancing the educational experience. However, some users find the style a bit cheap or simple, which can detract from immersion, especially given the Viking setting. Overall, while not groundbreaking, the graphics are considered a solid and satisfying upgrade for an indie title.
- “Playing History 3 - Vikings is a good educational game which has gained many graphical improvements and new features compared with the previous games of the trilogy.”
- “While this installment is yet another point and click like its predecessors, the game has gotten a major graphical overhaul and many new mechanics that make it stand out beyond the previous titles.”
- “The graphics look just slightly better than the other parts but have some nice additions like night & day maps and different seasons.”
- “The art style shares similarities with the older games, which I appreciate, but it has a very cheap look.”
- “Graphics are fairly simple, being cartoonish yet cute.”
- “The graphics look just slightly better than the other parts but have some nice additions like night and day maps and different seasons.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music in the game received mixed feedback, with some players finding it relaxing but others criticizing it as bad or sorely lacking. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as mediocre, rated around 6/10, and not particularly memorable or fitting for the game's theme.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “Music: 6/10”
- “First and foremost, having two degrees in history, I like to draw my sources from other parts and I think this game, being 3D and difficult to navigate, is absolutely not indicated for someone who wants to learn something about Viking history; plus, soundtrack and voice acting are, in my opinion, so bad that really it isn't worth it.”
- “For the price and the content within, it's not a bad game at all, although the game is sorely lacking any music or soundtrack.”
- “I died on purpose, I alt+tabbed to put on some music and the game crashed.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is well-balanced and effectively integrated, making the experience both entertaining and educational. Players find it genuinely funny, contributing to an enjoyable and engaging learning environment.
- “The game contains balanced amounts of humor and educational value, proving that learning can be fun.”
- “It's funny that there's a lot going on right away.”
- “The game is funny!”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game offers some replayability, mainly requiring two playthroughs to unlock all achievements, but beyond that, it remains largely the same each time. While it may be short and have rough edges, it remains enjoyable and provides decent value for its low price.
- “The game sells for cheap, but that doesn't mean it's one of those trashy games. Sure, this game has some rough edges and a bit of quality of life improvements could have made it prettier and smoother, but it's totally playable and enjoyable. It has replay value, which is great too.”
- “You will have to play the game twice to get all the achievements, but after that there is no replay value, as the game will be the same every time.”
- “It's a bit on the short side and rough around the edges, but there's a bit of replayability.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional bugs, particularly during save-file loading, but generally maintains stable gameplay and offers good value for its price.
- “Gameplay is not that bad but the game itself is buggy at times, especially when loading save-files.”
- “Sometimes a bit buggy, but overall good games for their price.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews do not provide significant insight into the emotional aspect of the game, focusing instead on a basic gameplay mechanic of collecting coins by cursor interaction.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect is noted for including a Danish dub, which sets it apart from the other games in the trilogy despite all advertising this feature.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Playing History: Vikings is a role playing game with historical theme.

Playing History: Vikings is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

Playing History: Vikings was released on July 1, 2015.

Playing History: Vikings was developed by Serious Games Interactive.

Playing History: Vikings has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Playing History: Vikings for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

Playing History: Vikings is a single player game.

Similar games include Playing History - The Plague, Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure, Darkarta: A Broken Heart's Quest, Expeditions: Viking, Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2 and others.

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