Valheim

Valheim is a survival and exploration game developed by the Swedish studio Iron Gate Studio and published by Coffee Stain Publishing. It entered Steam Early Access for Windows and Linux on February 2, 2021, after a small team built it in Unity. The setting is Valheim, a fictional tenth world in Norse cosmology, where Odin sends a slain warrior to prove worthy by confronting enemies that threaten the realm. A raven named Hugin provides guidance, while the player arrives carried by a Valkyrie and begins with little more than basic clothing and a survival goal.

Progress requires gathering resources, building shelters, crafting equipment, and defeating biome bosses rather than a fixed character class. Players can raise skills such as running, swimming, jumping, sneaking, woodcutting, and fishing through use, although death reduces accumulated skill levels. Food is not simply a healing item: combinations of cooked meals, berries, and other provisions determine maximum health and stamina, making preparation important for voyages and fights. The game’s building system allows structural supports, roof coverage, smoke ventilation, and fireplaces to matter; an indoor fire without a chimney can fill a room with smoke. Its sailing includes rafts, karves, and longships, with wind direction affecting travel.

Valheim’s map is procedurally generated from a seed, but its major regions follow a recognizable progression. The Meadows introduce relatively manageable threats; the Black Forest contains copper and tin for bronze; Swamps yield iron from muddy scrap piles; Mountains require frost protection and provide silver; and Plains introduce dangerous fulings and flax. Later additions expanded the adventure with Mistlands, whose terrain is obscured by magical mist and includes the Dvergr, and Ashlands, a volcanic southern biome featuring lava and fortress assaults. Each biome has a Forsaken boss whose defeat grants a power chosen at a sacrifice stone. Eikthyr comes first.

Bosses after Eikthyr include The Elder, Bonemass, Moder, Yagluth, The Queen, and Fader, though access to several encounters depends on finding runestones or other clues in their respective biomes. Valheim became a major Early Access success: Coffee Stain announced that it had sold more than five million copies by April 2021, roughly two months after launch. Iron Gate continued development through substantial updates, including Hearth and Home, which expanded food and building options, and the Mistlands update in December 2022. Ashlands launched in May 2024, adding its biome, new creatures, weapons, and the Fader boss. It supports solo and cooperative play.