Sons of Valhalla Critic Reviews

Even better than its role model: In spite of seemingly modest graphics, Sons of Valhalla offers (almost) maximum fun.

Sons of Valhalla cleverly combines several gameplay genres to create something utterly unique. Though the game can sometimes feel a bit slow, with its tanky enemies and low damage output, the beautiful graphics and addicting formula are sure to keep you playing for the long run as you rescue your love in this exciting Viking tale.

Heavily inspired by the Kingdom games, Sons of Valhalla is great fun — if not a little too unforgiving at times. It's seriously rewarding though, and the sort of thing we can imagine jumping back into time and time again.

It takes a village to raze children. Or something like that. So, enjoy the brief fantasy that is being able to finally do it all, and so vigorously.

Sons of Valhalla is fun but can become repetitive. Thorald is a good fighter, and the game makes him powerful enough, especially with a well-chosen set of runes on his belt, to tangle solo with big enemy groups. But teamwork and good use of the shield wall are crucial when taking on opponents hiding behind fortifications. But combat never evolves beyond that and the settlement development system is equally limited. The getting-back-the-kidnapped-princess narrative is decent but doesn’t do anything new. Sons of Valhalla is pleasant in short bursts but greater depth for all its mechanics are needed to make it engaging for long periods.

It's not a flawless project and it has its vices, but the setup, the simplicity, and the minor elements that all work hand-in-hand to make this feel more premium.

A short, but engaging mix of strategy and action, all wrapped in beautiful pixel art. The mechanics are fun, but lack depth and variety.

The one thing I was most excited about with Sons of Valhalla was the city-building aspect but sadly this ends up being a really shallow experience. As a fan of StarCraft, WarCraft and any number of games like that, I had hoped this would be similar but on a 2D plane. There is no real depth or strategy that takes place when building the city or training units. If you have a lot of big units, chances are you will prevail. I didn’t hate my time with Sons of Valhalla, I had just expected more from it.

I was very close to sticking a Bestest Best on this one, but that awful stealth chunk, combined with how the game failed to put up a real fight just when it needed to most, held me back. Up until the halfway point, though, and for a good while after it, I was having a ball with Sons Of Valhalla. It keeps its ARPG action within the relevant confines of its tactics, and keeps its tactics paced to match to its intense and immediate combat. It’s wonderfully scored and animated. It doesn’t overstay its welcome but then gives you an additional mode and thoughtfully tuned difficulty settings if you want to dive back in. And even with my complaints, I’m eager to do just that. Barkeep, more reindeer piss.