Valheim is an early access game in which you are transported by Odin himself into a vast and expansive fantasy world without memory of your past. You are told that you must travel across the world to slay five different bosses in a variety of different environments. The mythological raven named Huggin will guide you through the early stages of the game and teach you the basics as you begin to explore the new world around you and learn to survive.

You will learn basic combat and crafting early on by hunting boars and greydwarfs, which will eventually teach you to cook food and craft items. Once you gather enough wood, you can begin learning Valheims expansive building system. Your first shelter probably wont look like much, but you can eventually expand and build vast fantasy buildings including castles, viking longhouses, farms, docks, or even full on towns and cities. If you can think of it, chances are you can build it. Be cautious when building, as monsters and animals can attack any structures you build. It’s important to fortify your buildings with walls and defenses, or else it may be destroyed by something like a forest troll or a pack of skeletons.

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When exploring the vast world of Valheim, you will come across a variety of biomes with different materials, monsters, and wildlife. Each world you create is entirely unique due to the game being procedurally generated, meaning no two are the same. At the game’s current state, the different biomes include meadows, black forests, dark and dreary swamps, snow covered mountains, and vast sprawling plains. Each of these biomes scales up in difficulty, starting from the meadows and ending in the plains. Without crafting new weapons and armor from each biome’s material, newer areas become very dangerous. The equipment progression in the game can be long, but feels extremely enjoyable and rewarding. You will be spending plenty of time in each environment exploring and gathering new items. There are a few biomes that the developers haven’t finished just yet, including the mistlands, ashlands, deep north, and the ocean. Speaking of the ocean, the only way to get to new islands is by building a boat and sailing across the sea. Tread lightly though, as you may come across sea serpents that can tear your boat to shreds.

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Valheim can be played solo or with up to 10 friends using either a hosts connection or a dedicated server. Playing the game with friends can vastly change the way you play the game, and can make things a lot more fun for everyone. The game is currently in the early access stage on steam, meaning the developers are continuously working to update and further improve the game. The game became available to play on February 2nd, and has a whopping 5 million players today. With one of the most immersive game worlds and some of the most enthralling gameplay, Valheim is a one in a million game that should not be missed. Games like this don’t come around often, so try and pick it up on steam while it is still only $20!