We’re lucky to have the chance to preview Land of the Vikings. The game, even if on Early Access, is already fun to play and quite promising for the future. Land of the Vikings is a city builder set, as you can guess, in the Viking era. The gameplay is well-balanced and this makes the game really enjoyable and relaxing.
The idea behind the game is nothing revolutionary but there are a number of factors that make Land of the Vikings stand out a little when compared to the competition. One of these factors, for example, is that it’s the only Viking-themed city builder. Also, it’s one of the few Viking-themed games where fighting and war aren’t the main goals. Unlike games such as Valheim, for example, your Vikings can be peaceful and definitely don’t have to fight against monsters or other enemies.
Land of the Vikings is available in Early Access on Steam at $19.99 and it is set to be released on GOG in the near future.
Story – Too Early to Comment
As you start a new game, there’s no introduction, no intro video, or anything else. You’re just dropped on a basic Viking village and have to manage it and make it grow. As things stand, in this preview of Land of the Vikings, there’s no story whatsoever. At the time of writing, it doesn’t look like there’s going to be anything in this direction.
Since the game is in Early Access, however, it’s not impossible that some story elements and/or scenarios will be added later on.
Gameplay – Simple and Relaxing
The gameplay of Land of the Vikings is quite straightforward and easy to learn. The game starts with a simple tutorial that teaches all the basics. It’s also recommendable to follow the objectives that, on a first playthrough, are instrumental to understanding the mechanics.
Talking of the game itself, you need to take care of collecting raw materials and producing enough goods to keep your population fed, equipped, and happy. Wood and stones are your bread and butter, especially in the early stages. While, initially, you obtian food only from gathering and hunting. As the village grows and you build more structures, more resources will be available such as coal, wool, leather and wheat. A nice touch is the fact that individuals have different stats and abilities that make them perform better or worse in certain jobs. A hunter, for instance, needs a good dose of strength and luck, while a tailor just needs intelligence.
Nevertheless, the lack of automatism is one of the negative aspects of the gameplay. This means that you always have to direct your pops in many phases of collection and production. For example, if wood is needed for construction, workers won’t go collect it unless you command so. Similarly, farmers won’t plant and harvest autonomously.
All in all, from the preview, Land of the Vikings is a very chilled game (no pun intended). There’s no rush in doing things and you can patiently expand your settlement and decorate it. The only concern you have is Winter. Make sure to produce enough firewood for your villagers and have some food stored away as you won’t be able to cultivate anything in that season. Once you achieve this the rest depends on your choices only.
Graphics and Sound – To the Point
The graphics of the game are good but not breathtaking. You can zoom in more than usually permitted in similar games and still have a decent view of what your fellow Vikings are doing. The level of detail of the people and the buildings is nice and immersive enough, especially when combined with the simple but effective animations.
On the negative side, we have to mention the U.I. Though not terrible, one might find it a bit cranky but this is just a subjective matter. However, it’s important to mention that the font size in many panels is way too small. Depending on your screen and game set, you’ll have a hard time reading information about buildings and people.
Regarding the sounds, in this preview of Land of the Vikings we didn’t find anything out of the ordinary nor particularly bad. There’s a good variety of songs that are quite pleasant and appropriate for the game. As for the sound effects, they’re immersive enough though very simple. The only negative note would be the constant chirping of birds that, after a while, can be a bit unnerving.
Land of the Vikings preview was possible thanks to a key provided by its publisher Iceberg Interactive.