We discuss 10 games like Valheim you must play. Add these well-recommended games to your gaming library.
Valheim is an exploration survival game set in a procedurally-generated world inspired by Viking culture and Norse mythology. Developed by Iron Gate Studio and published by Coffee Stain Studios, Valheim is set in a purgatory split into biomes where warriors must prove themselves to enter Valhalla.
Players undergo a loop similar to many other survival games, where they must scavenge the world for resources, craft items, build bases, and slay terrible foes. Co-op gameplay is also supported, as well as PvP combat. If you’re looking for other games with a Viking theme or more survival and crafting games, you must play ten games like Valheim.
10 Games like Valheim
Raft (2022)
Raft is a survival game, throwing a player (and friends if they choose) into the aftermath of an apocalyptic flood and charging them with finding habitable land. The player spends most of their time on a two by two raft but has the ability to upgrade it as the game goes on.
That’s not the players’ only concern, as they have to manage their character’s hunger and thirst.
Conan Exiles (2018)
An online multiplayer survival game, Conan Exiles is set in the world of Conan the Barbarian, with the opening of the game having the player being rescued by the hero.
Players customize their character to their liking, craft armor, use sorcery, manage hunger and thirst, capture NPCs, and fight dangerous foes, including other people.
Eco (2018)
Eco is an educational video game all about the environment. This doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, though. Players have to work to stop a meteor threatening to destroy their world but must do so in a way that doesn’t ruin the environment in the process. That means every resource crafted, every tree cut down, and every animal hunted has environmental consequences.
God of War franchise (2005-2022)
If you’re looking for more Viking games, then the later God of War games will be perfect. While earlier installments focus on Greek mythology, the 2018 God of War and its 2022 follow-up, God of War Ragnarök, take inspiration from Norse mythology.
They’re are single-player experiences, though they’re not survival games like Valheim. There is a much bigger emphasis on the narrative and combo-focused combat to have fun with.
Northgard (2018)
A strategy game based on Norse mythology, Northgard gives players control of a Viking clan vying for control of a newly discovered continent. There are both single-player, multiplayer, and story modes.
The story sees players take control of Prince Rig, who wants to avenge his father’s death brought about by Hagen, the ruthless leader of the Clan of the Raven.
Vikings – Wolves of Midgard (2017)
Set in a fantasy world inspired by Norse mythology, Vikings — Wolves of Midgard is an action role-playing game similar to the Diablo series. Players create their own characters and run through dungeons completing quests, beating foes, exploring Viking cities, and defeating towering bosses.
The Forest franchise (2018-2023)
The Forest franchise is made up of two games, The Forest and Sons of the Forest. Both add a horror twist to survival games. Players find themselves stranded on either a forest or an island full of cannibals who would like nothing better than to eat the character. To stop that from happening, players must craft bases, set up fires, and make weapons to keep their enemies at bay.
Rust (2018)
Players only have one aim in Rust. Survive. Everything on the island the player spawns onto wants them to die, the island’s wildlife and other inhabitants, the environment, and other survivors, so to make sure the player can last another night, they have to use their surroundings to craft ever more complex tools and bases, all while carefully exploring the world.
The Long Dark (2017)
Set in the frigid Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic storm, bush pilot Will Mackenzie must avoid freezing to death while managing body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, wind-chill, holding the wildlife at bay, and a host of other environmental factors that come at the player.
There is a challenge mode for anyone who wants to really test themselves or a story mode that removes permadeath.
DayZ (2013)
DayZ plunges players into the middle of a zombie outbreak and challenges them to not be infected while also managing hunger and thirst. On top of this, player characters might get ill with many different diseases, requiring medicine.
It’s a multiplayer-only game, which means that players can work together with others to survive the apocalypse or kill each other for their resources.
Do you have any other recommendations for Games like Valheim? Let us know in the comments below!
