Sons of Valhalla

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In "Sons of Valhalla," play as Thorald Olavson, a Viking seeking revenge against the Jarl who destroyed your home and kidnapped your beloved. Build and manage a stronghold, recruit warriors, and lead them in side-scrolling combat while strategically raiding villages and establishing siege camps. Construct and upgrade various buildings to collect resources, recruit soldiers, and enhance their abilities for your grand saga of vengeance.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 202 reviews

graphics16 positive mentions

story10 negative mentions

The pixel art and animation are stunning, creating a visually appealing experience.
The game features a solid foundation of gameplay mechanics, blending combat and resource management effectively.
The developers are responsive to feedback and have committed to updates and improvements, showing dedication to the game's future.

The gameplay can become repetitive quickly, with similar mechanics and strategies used across different levels.
The story lacks depth and engagement, making it feel underwhelming compared to other titles in the genre.
There are significant balance issues, particularly with enemy difficulty and troop effectiveness, leading to frustration during gameplay.

story
71 mentions
13 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally perceived as simplistic and lacking depth, often revolving around a generic "save the princess" narrative that fails to engage players. While some appreciate the visuals and the occasional interesting plot twist, many reviews highlight the repetitive nature of the missions and the overall brevity of the storyline, leading to a lack of investment in the characters and plot. Overall, the story is seen as a weak point, with many players expressing disappointment in its execution and depth.
- “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 simple, but effective enough.”
- “The story is laughably short.”
- “It's repetitive, bland, and the story is embarrassingly bad.”
- “The story is very simple and sadly completely unexciting.”
gameplay
63 mentions
22 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
22 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and lacking depth after initial hours of play. While some appreciate the art and mechanics, they criticize the unbalanced difficulty and simplistic strategies that lead to a monotonous experience. Suggestions for improvement include adding more unit types, enhancing combat mechanics, and diversifying gameplay elements to maintain engagement.
- “Art is gorgeous, music is pleasant, and gameplay is fun.”
- “Gameplay is super fun and engaging; think of any Metroidvania game out there and add units you can control, and that's what Sons of Valhalla is.”
- “Straight to the point with simple and fun mechanics and easy to play, which is great for someone like me who is more of a casual player, valuing the overall experience rather than just the challenge.”
- “Gameplay is okay for the first hour, then it becomes quite repetitive.”
- “The main gameplay is very repetitive, without variety; even after passing the first level, I was tired of the monotonous process, and on each subsequent map, you will do the same thing with no options.”
- “I have hoped for expanding the idea heavily inspired by the aforementioned, but it lacks the punch, featuring a very repetitive gameplay loop, weak units, and no real tactics or economy.”
graphics
32 mentions
50 % positive mentions
41 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the charming pixel art and beautiful animations, particularly for fans of the genre. While some players find the visuals stunning and a highlight of the experience, others criticize the art style as weak or poorly executed, especially on larger screens. Overall, the graphics are generally appreciated for their aesthetic appeal, though opinions vary on their execution and depth.
- “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 pixel graphics charm and delight!”
- “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.”
grinding
15 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being overly repetitive and tedious, particularly during boss battles, which many players find frustrating. While some appreciate the combat and pixel art, the overall gameplay loop is seen as lacking depth and variety, leading to a sense of monotony. Players suggest that the grind can be manageable if approached with the right mindset, but it often detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “It's not a terrible game loop and definitely works on paper, but it gets pretty grindy and repetitive.”
- “The story is straight up cringy and boss fights are tediously long.”
- “This game is in a tedious slog at the moment, too much waiting around for resources.”
music
12 mentions
50 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
25 % negative 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 many praise the soundtrack and its integration with the art style, some users express concerns about its longevity, suggesting it may become repetitive over extended play sessions. Overall, the music complements the game's visuals and atmosphere effectively.
- “Art is gorgeous, music is pleasant, and gameplay is fun.”
- “Great soundtrack.”
- “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.”
- “How's the music?”
stability
7 mentions
14 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
86 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with some players encountering significant glitches and performance issues, while others report a smoother experience. Developers have acknowledged these problems and committed to future updates aimed at improving stability. Overall, while the game shows promise, it currently suffers from notable bugs that can disrupt gameplay.
- “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 rote, tried and true, guaranteed to garner attention obligatory 'the church is evil and incompetent and Christians are bad.'”
optimization
6 mentions
33 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been a significant point of frustration for users, with reports of 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.”
replayability
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Overall, reviews indicate that the game has limited replayability, with many players noting a lack of incentives to replay after completing it. While some express interest in tackling higher difficulty levels, the absence of achievements for such challenges diminishes motivation. Additionally, the horde mode is seen as unlikely to sustain long-term engagement.
- “Depending on your difficulty, I started on normal first. Bosses are initially quite tough, especially if you don't pay attention to their move sets. Once you've gotten powerful enough, they become relatively easy. I even beat the final boss of the game on my first try on normal difficulty. I plan to replay the game on the hardest difficulty, though I wish there was an achievement for it to encourage players to replay the game on higher difficulty for added replay value.”
- “It's not a long game, but it does have replayability.”
- “Replayability is not very high; I doubt the horde mode would keep someone's attention for long.”
- “One thing I have noticed is people saying there is a lack of replayability.”
- “It doesn't have much in terms of replayability.”
- “Zero replayability.”
humor
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be a mix of amusing glitches and clever mechanics, such as a memorable encounter with a stuck boss and the entertaining use of fire pots. The humor is described as simple yet effective, contributing to both the fun and frustration of gameplay.
- “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.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative 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 development
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Character designs are initially fun and engaging, but the excitement diminishes after the first few characters, leading to a sense of monotony in their development.
emotional
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Users note 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.”
- “Every choice I made felt heavy with consequence, adding layers of emotion to the gameplay experience.”