Die for Valhalla! review

Reviewed on: PC

Die for Valhalla, brawling your heart out!

With each passing day, Norse mythology and Viking culture are more visible in mainstream media, from Hagar the Horrible, and now the influence of this culture keeps growing in games. Die for Valhalla!, from the very first moment, reminded me of the Hagar comic strips, because its theme is just like that: unpretentious, funny and relaxing. Its whole aesthetic leads to a fun and relaxing game; a roots beat’em up, for button mashing and not thinking about anything, like a good Viking warrior.

[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avm0i47eufs” width=”800″ height=”440″]

Die for Valhalla!

The game tells the story of a rookie valkyrie (an intern) who needs to raise her prestige to stand alongside the great and renowned ones of her lineage. To increase her prestige, memorable deeds are needed in the human world but, for that, she needs humans (Vikings) to carry out such actions.

You control a valkyrie on the battlefield who, in order to destroy her (bizarre) enemies, possesses the bodies of dead Vikings, giving the warriors a new chance to show their worth for VALHALLA!!!!

At any moment the player can switch the valkyrie to a different Viking body; at the start of the game they can have three classes: a warrior with sword and shield, a warrior with two short axes and an archer. Throughout the story new classes and Vikings appear to fight again.

The constant swapping of Vikings makes the gameplay quite interesting and fun, and your “warrior puppets” can die (again), going back to their graves, making you run again to possess a new warrior. You can play directly as the valkyrie’s spirit, but if she dies you’ll have to restart the screen.

The valkyrie’s possession makes the game more dynamic and hilarious (you can possess a bush), and creates adrenaline-filled situations, like the desperation of possessing another body after your Viking dies again.

Die for Valhalla! resembles a browser game with its cartoonish, simple, slightly repetitive art; but don’t be fooled, it is extremely satisfying. The characters are charismatic (big-headed, open-mouthed Vikings), the monsters are well illustrated and functional; a simplicity that matches perfectly with the game’s unpretentious aura.

The game’s soundtrack is very good, and doesn’t get tiresome during the more than 20 hours I spent button mashing for Valhalla. The sound effects are very functional and fun; a game to listen to casually or to ignore by putting your Spotify playlist on.

The game uses mechanisms to avoid the repetition and sameness that can happen in many beat’em ups out there. It adds progression and customization factors for your valkyrie.

By collecting XP orbs, you level up and get new skills and can place perks/runes on a progression table, customizing your valkyrie and the abilities your Vikings will have. This whole mechanism increases the game’s immersion factor.

Let the (second) life take me! Valkyrie take me!

Procedural: all screens and the map are randomly generated. Every time you start the game or die on a screen, everything will be new and different for you, thus creating a replay and surprise factor in the game. It isn’t all roses, though, as many times you keep circling and killing endlessly until the game decides to open the next objective, annoying and tiring many players.

The biggest problem with Die for Valhalla! comes from being a classic beat’em up. The game is just button mashing and moving forward, many screens are just hitting, and some missions are simply protecting an artifact, making the game somewhat repetitive and tiresome for players who crave a thousand creative ideas and intense diversity.

A worthy opponent

An important part of games are the bosses, and Die for Valhalla! has several bosses. They are: charismatic, big, green and repetitive; in several battles it took twenty seconds to figure out the boss’s pattern, then it was simply repeating that pattern for many minutes and that’s it, boss dead. A hugely charismatic damage sponge.

Die for Valhalla! is the first game from Monster couch. I conclude that it was a very good first work. A satisfying game that does what it promises, pure and direct fun for fans of the genre (and of Vikings); it entertains and is well made, not perfect due to the team’s lack of experience, mainly in looking at players’ feedback. The game could be a bit shorter and less repetitive.

Who is this game for?

Beat n’ up lovers.

Worshippers of Norse culture.

Fans of Hagar the Horrible.

For those who want a good, carefree game, made for simple fun and easy smiles.

Narrative: 7

Gameplay: 8

Audiovisual: 9

OVERALL SCORE: 8

Die for Valhalla! has been available since 05/29/2018 for PS4, XOne, SWITCH and PC.

PC version.