Roots of Yggdrasil
- September 6, 2024
- Sprawl
- 18h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Roots of Yggdrasil" is a roguelike city-building game set in the nine realms of Norse Mythology. Players must explore a fractured World Tree, build settlements, and collect artifacts to reach the top of Yggdrasil while battling a time loop caused by Ragnarok. Your permanent home, the Holt, can be customized and upgraded between loops, and a diverse cast of Scions with unique abilities can be befriended to aid in your journey.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Roots of Yggdrasil offers a unique blend of deck-building and city-building mechanics, creating an engaging and addictive gameplay loop.
- The game's charming art style and Norse mythology theme enhance the overall experience, making it visually appealing and immersive.
- The meta-progression system allows players to unlock new cards and upgrades, providing a satisfying sense of growth and improvement between runs.
- Some players find the building placement mechanics frustrating, as the lack of a grid system can lead to difficulties in optimizing layouts.
- The game can feel repetitive after several runs, with some players expressing a desire for more variety in cards and challenges.
- There are reports of minor bugs and quality-of-life issues that detract from the overall experience, such as unclear tooltips and UI glitches.
- gameplay95 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Roots of Yggdrasil" is a unique blend of deck-building, base-building, and roguelite mechanics, offering a satisfying and addictive loop that encourages strategic planning and resource management. While the game features charming visuals and a rich Norse lore backdrop, some players noted issues with repetitiveness and a lack of depth in certain mechanics. Overall, it provides a casual yet engaging experience, appealing to fans of similar genres while maintaining its own distinct identity.
“I'm not drawn to deckbuilding as a video game mechanic usually, but this utilizes it to really nice effect, making for a very cool way to tune your build run-to-run.”
“The gameplay is surprisingly addictive and the roguelike loop mechanics are cleverly designed.”
“The core gameplay loop is addictive, the world is rich with Norse lore, and the art style is undeniably striking.”
“It got boring after 6-8 hours of gameplay.”
“After some time it feels that mechanically runs don't feel too different, some structures have odd visual collision boxes preventing those from pixel-perfect placement, some resources farm feel a bit grindy and general meta progression doesn't feel to be very impactful and it is rng based, so could probably use some improvements.”
“On the gameplay level, we've got a few different issues, while the idea of a deckbuilding town maker is fun, in practice it's a fair amount of boredom.”
- story40 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring engaging character development and a unique twist on Norse mythology, though some players feel it lacks a definitive conclusion, typical of roguelike games. The narrative unfolds gradually through mini-quests and interactions with Nordic gods, enhancing the lore and player experience, but some find it repetitive or not deeply engaging. Overall, while the storytelling is praised for its polish and intriguing elements, opinions vary on its depth and appeal to different audiences.
“Nice music, nice art, interesting story that is both surprisingly accurate regarding Norse myth but also puts a fun twist on it.”
“The writing is good too, I'm excited to see how the larger story unfolds.”
“The game is very polished, full of solid gameplay mechanics, tons of different cards and upgrades, interesting characters, nicely woven story, and good sound/music.”
“The game sort of doesn't have an end to the story, which makes sense for a roguelike about being stuck in an endless loop, but it makes the game feel sort of unfinished.”
“I found the gameplay repetitive and I didn't find the story engaging at all.”
“Like some other reviewers, I don't think much of the story aspects - the target audience of the writing seems to be young teens, but I imagine the majority of people who buy this game will be adults.”
- graphics34 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and vibrant art style, which blends elements of steampunk and Norse mythology, creating a cozy and visually appealing atmosphere. Many reviewers highlight the game's aesthetic as a significant draw, noting its gorgeous visuals and the effective integration of sound design that enhances the overall experience. However, some users mention limitations in graphical options for lower-end systems, which could affect accessibility for certain players.
“The art style is gorgeous and I really enjoy having to come up with a new strategy every island.”
“Gorgeous graphics and a simple game loop.”
“From the charming visuals to the soothing soundtrack, everything exudes a sense of coziness.”
“I verified game files, lowered graphics settings, not sure what the deal is.”
“Downsides: not a lot of graphical options for potato computers.”
“Aesthetically, you have your standard steampunk viking aesthetic (!) where you lay telephone wire between magic trees and try to power up your flying longship.”
- music16 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers noting its soothing and relaxing qualities that complement the charming visuals and engaging story. The soundtrack is described as compelling and fitting, contributing to a cozy atmosphere while also supporting the game's challenges. Overall, the combination of beautiful art and excellent music creates a polished and enjoyable gaming experience.
“Chill music, story, character development, and the overall style makes it a more relaxed experience to play - though there are certainly challenges as well.”
“The gameplay loop is very addictive and fun, the soundtrack is compelling, the characters endearing and the world-building, while relatively simplistic, is charming.”
“From the charming visuals to the soothing soundtrack, everything exudes a sense of coziness.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience, with late-game progression feeling particularly tedious due to the lack of scaling acorn acquisition and the high costs of upgrades. While the game offers enjoyable mechanics and aesthetics, the meta-progression system is criticized for being RNG-based and not impactful, leading to a repetitive and sometimes frustrating gameplay loop. Overall, while the game provides hours of chill gameplay, the grind can detract from the overall enjoyment, especially at higher difficulties.
“The challenges make for added difficulty, although the fact that acorn acquisition doesn't scale with them makes late game progression kinda grindy. I would like to be able to gain 2 acorns per island for difficulties 15 and up, for example.”
“Also, the home building feels annoying with additional habitations gated behind more grinding.”
“Feels a bit grindy for the meta-progression (three different currencies, acorns for upgrades that scale up in cost fast), without a plot to justify what's straightforwardly called the 'loop' of the game.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers a solid level of replayability, with many players enjoying its expansive mechanics and rewarding meta-progression systems that encourage repeated playthroughs. While some express concerns about potential repetitiveness over time, the engaging gameplay loops and balanced difficulty keep players coming back for more. Its charm and addictive nature make it particularly appealing to fans of roguelikes and solo board games.
“If you play this game, it will mainly be for its expansive mechanics and highly replayable loops.”
“Game has a lot of replayability, and the meta progression provides the correct incentives and bonuses to keep you going for 'just one more loop'.”
“A very wholesome town-builder roguelike with charming art style and excellent replayability.”
“In the long run, it may not have the ultra-replayability of some roguelikes, but I'm 18 hours in and still enjoying it.”
“I'm curious about the replay value of this game, as it may become repetitive over multiple games (or 'loops' as the game calls it), but it has a lot of potential!”
“Looking forward to more updates; it definitely has the potential for long replayability!”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players report a mixed experience with stability; while some have encountered no glitches and find the game nearly bug-free, others have experienced significant soft-lock UI issues that necessitate force-quitting. Despite these problems, many believe the game is in a better state than most early access titles.
“In terms of early access, the game is almost bug-free for me and could be launched right now, putting it in a better state than 90% of the early access games out there.”
“The stability of the game is impressive; I haven't encountered any major issues during my playtime.”
“I appreciate how smooth the gameplay is, with minimal glitches or crashes, making for a very enjoyable experience.”
“Holy Batman, there are so many soft-lock UI glitches, and some even require force-quitting to fix!”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
“I've experienced multiple instances where the game freezes, forcing me to restart my console.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by decent and cozy graphics, complemented by effective sound design that enhances the overall experience. Recent updates have added an exciting element to the early access phase, while the developers have successfully crafted a warm and inviting environment that makes each gaming session feel like a comforting retreat.
“The graphics are decent and cozy, and the sound design nicely complements the atmosphere.”
“They just dropped a surprise update, so they have an exciting atmosphere for this early access run.”
“The devs have managed to create a warm and inviting atmosphere that makes gaming sessions feel like a comforting retreat.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its engaging design and humorous dialogue, contributing to a relaxed yet challenging gameplay experience. The overall style and story enhance the depth of the characters, making them memorable and enjoyable.
“I love the character design, and some of the dialogue is hilarious.”
“The chill music, story, character development, and overall style make it a more relaxed experience to play, though there are certainly challenges as well.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be impactful, highlighting experiences of triumph and heartbreak through gameplay moments like comebacks and losses. The charming art style and wholesome nature of the town-builder roguelike contribute to a deeply engaging and replayable emotional experience.
“I've had great comebacks, last-minute escapes, broken combos, and heartbreaking losses.”
“A very wholesome town-builder roguelike with a charming art style and excellent replayability.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its charming character design and witty dialogue, which many players find genuinely hilarious.
“I love the character design, and some of the dialogue is hilarious.”
“The humor in this game is top-notch; I found myself laughing out loud at the clever jokes.”
“The witty banter between characters adds a delightful layer of fun to the gameplay.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is positively received, with players appreciating the integration of classic deck-building mechanics alongside base-building elements, suggesting a well-balanced approach that enhances gameplay without aggressive monetization tactics.
