Sons of Valhalla

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 255 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Sons of Valhalla Game Cover
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"Sons of Valhalla" is a single-player Fantasy Role Playing game with striking graphics that combines side-scrolling base building and strategy elements. As Viking Jarl son Thorald Olavson, embark on a journey to England to save your true love, battling enemy forces and managing resources in an age of Vikings. The game features heavy grinding, providing a challenging and immersive experience.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Epic Games
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 255 reviews
gameplay21 positive mentions
grinding19 negative mentions
  • The pixel art style is beautifully crafted, capturing the essence of the Viking age and mythology.
  • The gameplay offers a fun mix of combat and troop management, providing an engaging experience reminiscent of the Kingdom series.
  • The game features a variety of runes that allow for customization of character stats, adding depth to the gameplay.
  • The game is relatively short, with the main story taking only about 3-4 hours to complete, leading to concerns about replayability.
  • There are significant balance issues, with some enemies being overly difficult while others are too easy, making the gameplay feel inconsistent.
  • Numerous bugs and glitches can disrupt the experience, including issues with AI behavior and game mechanics.
  • gameplay98 mentions

    The gameplay of "Sons of Valhalla" is a blend of strategic base-building and direct combat, drawing heavily from the "Kingdom" series, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of depth. While some players enjoy the straightforward mechanics and addictive gameplay loop, many criticize the unbalanced difficulty, monotonous mission structure, and limited tactical options, leading to a generally shallow experience. Overall, the game offers a fun but ultimately repetitive experience that may not satisfy those seeking complexity or variety.

    • “This game scratches a new school and nostalgic itch with an interesting balance of King Arthur's Gold meets the Kingdom series, featuring engaging combat and troop management gameplay.”
    • “The core gameplay mechanics offer a blend of strategic base-building and direct combat, urging players to manage resources, recruit diverse units, and lead assaults.”
    • “Sons of Valhalla positions itself ambitiously in the gaming landscape, merging side-scrolling combat with base-building mechanics against the rich backdrop of the Viking age.”
    • “The gameplay is actually above mediocre, but the balance kills any form of joy and immersion: the high difficulty makes the 1st and 2nd missions painfully hard to beat, but starting with the 3rd mission, the AI can't do any damage to you.”
    • “The promise of variety and tactical depth is often shadowed by the game's execution, which seems to funnel players into a cycle of similar missions and underwhelming unit mechanics, detracting from the strategic gameplay it aims to deliver.”
    • “The main gameplay is very repetitive, without variety; even when passing the first level, I was tired of the monotonous process, but on each subsequent map, you will do the same thing, with no options.”
  • story89 mentions

    The game's story is generally viewed as simplistic and short, often revolving around a "save the princess" trope that lacks depth and engagement. While some players appreciate the visuals and find the narrative adequate for a casual experience, many criticize the voice acting and overall execution, leading to a sense of disconnection from the characters and plot. Overall, the story fails to leave a lasting impression, with several reviewers expressing a desire for more complexity and content.

    • “A very good game, nice graphics and storyline.”
    • “You travel between 5 different stages and go through a simple but effective 'save the princess' story with beautifully drawn pixel art cutscenes and pretty good voice acting.”
    • “I really enjoyed this game; it is a lot of fun and the story kept me wanting to keep going.”
    • “The story is laughably short.”
    • “It's repetitive, bland, and the story is embarrassingly bad.”
    • “Unfortunately, the blandness and execution of the story does not help...”
  • graphics41 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style and vibrant depictions of Viking themes, with many reviewers highlighting the visuals as a standout feature. While some players appreciate the beautiful animations and atmospheric effects, others criticize the pixelation on larger screens and find the art style lacking in depth. Overall, the graphics are considered a significant strength, enhancing the game's appeal despite mixed feelings about gameplay and content.

    • “The visuals are brilliant along with a fantastic depiction of Viking age/mythology.”
    • “Gorgeous graphics and beautiful animations.”
    • “Perhaps the greatest strength of Sons of Valhalla is the absolutely stunning graphics, great music, and some pretty fun gameplay.”
    • “The art style is not even meh, it's pathetically weak.”
    • “The game may be great, but the terrible pixelated graphics that look really ugly on a big monitor and the pixelated font that is simply impossible to read made me just close this game and return it.”
    • “If you make pixel graphics - look at how it's done in Factorio, if you can't do it even 50% right - don't start making it, these horrible 16 x 16 pixel multicolored squares look like a piece of crap from Minecraft on big screens.”
  • grinding19 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to frustration due to unbalanced gameplay and lengthy boss fights. While some appreciate the combat and visual style, many feel that the gameplay loop becomes a slog, with excessive back-and-forth resource management and a lack of meaningful progression. Despite its potential, the grinding nature detracts from the overall enjoyment, making it a mixed experience for those who prefer a more dynamic and engaging gameplay.

    • “The gameplay loop turns into you running back and forth to your base to hire soldiers, waiting at your front gate or running back to tell them to attack the enemy base after they spawn, watch them die, run back to hire more soldiers until you take the outpost over and then you fight a boss at the end. I liked the boss fights because it broke the tedious loop.”
    • “I have hoped for expanding the idea heavily inspired by the aforementioned, but it lacks the punch. The gameplay loop is very repetitive, with weak units, no real tactics or economy, and expensive upgrades that don't really improve the survivability of the hero or your troops, making the whole run grindy and not immensely fun.”
    • “This game is in a tedious slog at the moment, with too much waiting around for resources.”
  • music13 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, described as solid, pleasant, and fitting for the gameplay, enhancing the overall experience without being distracting. While some players appreciate the soundtrack and its integration with the art style, there are concerns that it may become repetitive over extended play sessions. Overall, the music is considered a strong aspect of the game, complementing its visuals and sound design effectively.

    • “Music and sound design is solid.”
    • “Art is gorgeous, music is pleasant, and gameplay is fun.”
    • “Perhaps the greatest strength of Sons of Valhalla is the absolutely stunning graphics, great music, and some pretty fun gameplay.”
    • “The music is okay, although I have a feeling I would get tired of it after 10+ hours.”
    • “The music and visuals are also designed just well enough to serve their purpose and not distract you from murdering your way through England - nothing you haven't seen before, but just right.”
    • “Background music is decent.”
  • replayability12 mentions

    Overall, reviews indicate a significant concern regarding the game's replayability, with many players expressing that it is quite limited. While some mention the potential for replaying on higher difficulties or through an endless mode, the general consensus is that the game lacks sufficient content, such as additional characters, weapons, or challenges, to encourage repeated play.

    • “The endless mode may present some replayability.”
    • “I wish for more content and/or replayability (a few more playable characters/weapons/map variations/challenges).”
    • “It's not a long game but it does have replayability.”
    • “One thing I have noticed is people saying there is a lack of replayability.”
    • “My main criticism is there is very little replayability.”
    • “Zero replayability.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The game's stability has been a point of contention among users, with many reporting various glitches and performance issues that disrupt gameplay. While some players have not experienced significant bugs, the overall consensus indicates that the game is still quite buggy, prompting the developers to promise future updates to address these concerns.

    • “Glitches; I ran into two situations that confused me and made me have to stop the game.”
    • “Unique game idea, but still a bit buggy.”
    • “Where it starts to fall apart is in terms of performance, glitches, and a narrative that quickly becomes the obligatory 'the church is evil and incompetent' trope.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The optimization of the game has been a significant point of frustration for users, with reports of heavy performance issues and glitches despite its small size. While not the worst experience of the year, the game feels unpolished and in need of updates, which the developers have promised to address in the future.

    • “The dev has pledged to provide updates to improve performance and address glitches, so these issues will likely see some attention in the days to come.”
    • “The game is small, but somehow the performance is heavier than the kingdom.”
    • “The optimization is arguably the most frustrating aspect of the game.”
    • “The game is small, but somehow the performance is heavier than expected.”
    • “It's far from the glitchiest experience I've played this year, but between that and the weird performance drops, it doesn't feel ready for prime time.”
  • humor5 mentions

    Players find the humor in the game to be a mix of amusing glitches, such as a boss getting stuck, and entertaining mechanics like the use of fire pots. Overall, the humor is described as simple yet effective, contributing to a lighthearted gaming experience.

    • “I had a funny case where I shot the whip hound boss to death and it got stuck because the boss wouldn't move to the middle of the map, so I just ended up redoing the boss fight again.”
    • “Which is both hilarious and sad.”
    • “The fire pots are both fun and funny and really useful; get those quick.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its mesmerizing quality, creating an immersive experience for players. While some sections may feel generic, the charming animations contribute positively to the overall ambiance.

    • “It had a mesmerizing atmosphere which was just really nice to be immersed in.”
    • “The animations are cute and well done, as is the atmosphere of the area.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development features engaging initial designs, but becomes repetitive after the first few characters. While there are some enhancements through runes that allow for ability strengthening and boosts to units and towns, overall depth in character progression is limited.

    • “There’s some character development in the form of runes - and these can enable ways to play by strengthening your abilities, as well as providing boosts to your units and towns.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I expected more depth in character arcs, but they often feel one-dimensional and predictable.”
    • “The choices you make don't seem to impact character development in any significant way, leaving the experience feeling flat.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Users find that while the game may involve grindy mechanics, it successfully evokes a strong emotional response, enhancing the overall experience.

    • “The game evokes a deep sense of nostalgia and connection, making every moment feel significant.”
    • “The emotional depth of the characters truly resonates, leaving a lasting impact long after the game is over.”
    • “Each storyline is crafted with such care that it pulls at your heartstrings, creating a truly immersive experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

8hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
4-9hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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