Valheim's best feature is its beautiful open world

Valheim Source: Atomic number 26 Gate Studio

I'm not normally a big fan of survival games, simply Valheim, the Viking-themed survival game from Fe Gate Studio, has proven to be an exception. Always since it released in early access in Feb, it's pretty much the only thing I've wanted to play save for the occasional hr or two of Destiny 2. Everything from the game's robust base of operations building system to its progression and crafting mechanics has won me over, but what I ultimately love about Valheim the nearly is its open world. Here's a look at what makes it special.

Distinctly unique lands to discover

Valheim Source: Windows Central

One of my favorite things well-nigh Valheim'southward open up globe is how singled-out and varied its different biomes experience. You lot showtime off in the Meadows, which is a bright, peaceful biome filled with rolling hills, calm rivers, and beech, birch, and oak trees ample — all of which sway to and fro as steady breezes blow through their branches. Y'all can even find Viking burial sites and abandoned villages here, most of which characteristic fenced-off raspberry bushes with fruit ripe for the picking.

Side by side is the Black Woods, which looks exactly similar a real-world Swedish forest and features soft gilt lighting, glowing blue thistle plants, and pino copse that seem to affect the heaven. And so at that place's the Swamp, which is a dark and wicked place filled with dead trees, undead enemies, and murky, marshy wetlands.

Loftier above Meadows and Blackness Forests lie the Mountains, which are characterized by dangerously low temperatures and a dangerously high frequency of snowstorms. Players can only hope to survive here with frost resistance mead (check out my guide to all mead recipes and how to make them for details) or wear made from the pelts of the wolves that ruthlessly hunt in the night. Finally, there's the Plains, a biome in which the sunny clear skies and fields of dry out grass are juxtaposed by the wooden and stone fortifications of the location's hostile inhabitants.

Each biome being unique helps make the feel of living in the game earth remain fresh and interesting even after you spend dozens of hours building, battling, and crafting your way to success. The singled-out environments give off entirely unique atmospheres, and since yous're encouraged to travel dorsum to each biome for its unique resources on a consistent ground, you'll naturally rotate between these atmospheres equally you lot play. This ensures you'll never feel like y'all take to be tied down to one place.

Fantabulous lighting and other effects

Valheim Source: Windows Central

The fact that Valheim's biomes are and so unique is fantastic, but the thing that makes the game's overall presentation excellent is its superb visual effects. The lighting, in particular, is simply stunning. Every time I play, I oftentimes stand still in the game and admire how beautifully the sunlight beams through tree branches or reflects off of snow-covered terrain. When nighttime falls, campfires and torches emit a cozy and warm temper amongst the evening dark.

Information technology's non simply lighting, though — Valheim's air current effects are some of the best I've seen in all of gaming, and watching as the current of air rolls through the game's many different types of leaf is incredibly relaxing. The water effects are awesome, too, with structures glistening with a visible sheen during thunderstorms, and the bounding main'southward tides ascent and falling realistically depending on the weather and time of twenty-four hour period.

Even though things like this may seem simple, they go a long way in terms of making Valheim's world feel appealing and enjoyable to spend fourth dimension in. It's more interesting and detailed than many other survival game worlds, and to me, worlds that are interesting and detailed are the ones that are the most fun to take adventures in.

Mythological inspiration

Valheim Source: Windows Central

Finally, I love the fact that Valheim'southward world is heavily inspired by Norse mythology. Words can't describe how big the smile on my face was when I realized that the trunk and branches of Yggdrasil, the central tree that holds the cosmos together in Norse myth, is visible in the game's skybox.

The game's Nordic inspiration becomes fifty-fifty clearer equally you progress through each biome — to name some examples, the Greydwarves resemble a course of evil skogvættir wood spirits, the Draugr that roam the Swamp originate from Scandinavian folklore, and werewolf-like creatures chosen Fenring that appear to be descendants of the monstrous wolf Fenrir can exist found in the Mountains when the moon rises. Players can even be attacked by a behemothic sea ophidian while sailing, which instantly calls the Globe Serpent Jörmungandr to mind (don't miss my Valheim sailing guide if y'all need some tips on taking down the beast).

The undeniable "Norseness" of Valheim might not matter to you much if you don't care for mythology, but every bit someone who thoroughly enjoyed studying it at my academy, it makes exploring the globe and seeing what it has in store for me fifty-fifty more than fun. Norse mythology has inspired aspects of games before, of form, only the way that Valheim uses mythology every bit a core foundation for its world and the creatures that inhabit it is a unique care for. Unlike a lot of other games where the mythology is merely loosely referenced or is used superficially, Valheim puts Norse myth at the heart of almost everything in the game.

A beauty that stands out

Valheim Source: Windows Central

While there are plenty of survival games that offer one or two of the things I've mentioned, Valheim offers all 3 — and that, I think, is why I'm so smitten. It's true that most games these days are pretty, and survival games ofttimes are, too. Withal, some survival games lack varied locations, and most of them are set in gritty and grim settings similar the zombie apocalypse or harsh wastelands.

Valheim, on the other hand, features a fantastical, otherworldly setting filled with interesting and detailed places to explore, complete with enemies, weapons, armors, foodstuffs, and pieces of lore that all draw very heavily on Norse mythology and Scandinavian civilisation for inspiration. Pair these things with awesome lighting and other visual effects, and you've got a beautiful survival game that offers a wholly unique experience compared to other titles in the genre.

What do you retrieve? Are you as large of a fan of Valheim's globe as I am? If so, practice you enjoy information technology for the same reasons? Let me know in the comments.

Valheim is available for $twenty on Steam through Early Access. If you haven't gotten the game yet, you absolutely should. It's easily one of the best survival games for PC out in that location correct now. If you decide to pick it up, check out our beginner's guide to your first days and beyond in Valheim.

Survive and thrive

Valheim Art

Valheim

Norse-themed survival FTW

Valheim is a challenging withal entertaining survival game set in a world heavily inspired by Norse mythology. Build, craft, scavenge, and hunt your way to success.