Often misunderstood and misinterpreted, Viking lore and mythology have always captured the imagination. Whether we are students of Middle Age history or simply enjoy good fantasy stories, in recent years combining the two has been trending across various media.
Undoubtedly, the huge popularity of the long-running Vikings TV series has helped, which was largely based on the Viking Sagas, exploring the myth and history surrounding Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons. This fuelled a thirst to know more about Scandinavian peoples of the Middle Ages, who raided and traded their way across Europe between the 8th and 11th centuries.
Along with opening the door to documentaries and movies, the success of the TV series also inspired numerous video games, allowing us the chance to explore the essence of this intriguing era. So grab your ax and shield, utter a prayer to Freya and let’s take a look at some of the best games themed around the Viking Age.
England trembles at our Viking raids
Throughout our adventures in the Assassin’s Creed series, we have been explored thrilling historical periods in time and met numerous memorable characters, in the ongoing battle between two ancient secret societies. Mostly we aid the titular Assassins, as they struggle to prevent the Knights Templar from imposing order and control of the human free will.
Following on from the open-world exploration of ancient Egypt in Origins, then ancient Greece in Odyssey, the latest release by Ubisoft is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. This takes us into the midst of the 9th century Viking era, as the Norse peoples began raiding and colonizing the British Isles.
Within the narrative of Valhalla, players are able to control a fully customizable male or female character, as they become embroiled in the conflict between the Hidden Ones and the Order of Ancients. The additional novelty in this release is that we can establish our own settlements, along with conquering forts and raiding settlements, all filled with plenty of Viking flavor.
Spinning the reels of Viking mythology
“Variety is the spice of life,” says VegasSlotsOnline when it comes to slots at online casinos, which is why Pragmatic Play is an award-winning studio because their huge collection of HTML5 games offers something to excite every player. Amongst their constantly growing collection is several games based on Viking themes and Norse mythology.
One of the latest is the Power of Thor Megaways online slot, featuring one of the most iconic gods of Viking legends. Armed with his mighty hammer Mjolnir and assisted by the beautiful goddess Freya, the aim here is to match images of these characters to unlock prizes and special features.
Accompanied by sumptuous graphics and animations, the Megaways system for which Pragmatic Play is famed offers 117,649 potential ways to win, as players aim to match the character symbols. The same studio has also released other similarly themed games, including Asgard and Book of Vikings, both of which have been well received at leading online casinos.
Journeying into the dark realms of Helheim
Inspired by Norse mythology and Celtic culture, the dark fantasy world of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a truly unique gaming experience. This masterpiece released by Ninja Theory in 2017 has even been called a work of art, blending several gaming genres to perfection, as we view events through the troubled mind of the titular character.
Remarkably, this independent game was created by a small team of just 20 developers, although it easily stacks up amongst the best game releases in recent years, winning a host of awards and widespread critical acclaim. On this hallucinatory journey, we follow the voices in Senua’s mind, as she heads to Helheim to save the soul of her dead lover.
The narrative of this game actually serves as a metaphor for Senua’s psychosis, as she struggles to differentiate what is real and what is not, making this one of the first games to truly tackle the subject of mental illness. For this reason, the imagery presented as the story unfolds is truly breathtaking, making this one of the most distinctive Viking-themed games ever made.