Viking games for pc. In Praise of Odin: The Best Viking Games

Viking games, very often, are built around the same theme of war and battles. But the genres please with their diversity, here you have strategies, and RPG, and a casual simulator. In their works, the developers try to withstand the time period of the Middle Ages and adhere to traditional stereotypes about the Vikings. For example, the headdress of the Scandinavian warriors, in almost all games, are horned helmets. AT Lost Vikings, developers from Blizzard, ridicule the prevailing stereotypes. Apart from Lost Vikings, the most famous Viking games on PC are Viking: Battle for Asgard and Loki: Heroes of Mythology. In some games, such as Skyrim or The Witcher 3, there is no direct presence of the Vikings, but there are races or a group of characters that very much resemble them.

Viking strategy games

For those who like to use their brains and experiment with tactics, there are high-quality strategy games about the Vikings. In them, the player will not only fight against other nations, but also pay attention to their own settlement or detachment. Get resources and provisions, build buildings, ships and combat vehicles, produce weapons, etc. The most popular Viking strategies for PC are Viking Saga and Medieval total war: Viking Invasion.

Viking strategy can be played not only on PC, but also on mobile devices. The most famous work for Android and iOS devices is Vikings: War of Clans.

From our site you can download best games about Vikings on PC, Android or iOS of any genre. Here you will find unbiased reviews, watch videos and pictures to make the right choice. Also from our site you can start playing Viking games online for free.

The most powerful and terrible warriors were vikings who made their raids, robbing and sparing no one. From ancient Rus' to North America, the Vikings have left their mark, in one place as pioneers in others as professional mercenaries or invaders. Of course, after so many years, I want to feel those times and the spirit of these warriors. Therefore, many companies have released a number of games dedicated to the Vikings. In this article, we will present list of viking games for pc so that you can download and play as fearless raiders yourself.

Mount and Blade: Warband

One of the factions in Mount and Blade represents the Vikings, although it is quite difficult to notice at first glance. This faction is called the Northern Kingdom and their king is Ragnar, which is the prototype of the real Viking king "Ragnar Lothbrok". Also in this faction, the Vikings are perfectly shown, having the name "Huscarls" in place of this. Of course, in this game you will not see the famous drakkars and the culture of this people, but you will fully experience the fighting style and their tactics.

In this game, the action takes place at a time when the Vikings conquered Britain, fighting with the Saxons. There is no plot and open map here, all actions will be carried out on the battlefields. The main skills that you must possess are sensitivity and reaction, since one mistake and the hero will die, there are no lives and "force fields" in this game. You can also choose for yourself who to fight for attacking Vikings or defending Saxons. Each side has its own weaknesses, and choosing one of them, you must understand what you are getting into.

What would happen if the whole mythology of Scandinavia really existed, you can see it very well in the game Viking: Battle for Asgard. In this game, you will see a huge world filled with Scandinavian mythical creatures. Explore the lands and find the Vikings to help you in further battles, reach the leaders and destroy them, getting a big reward. When you completely pass one of the locations, you will have to fight in a large-scale battle or siege, where hundreds of soldiers from different sides participate. Such a battle looks epic, especially with trolls, who easily spread the line of people.

Vikings: War of Clans

Recently available on PC popular game from smartphones - Vikings: War of Clans. In it, you have to develop and defend your own village, as well as arrange exciting raids on other people's settlements.

“Hear me all the sacred families, great and small children of Heimdal! ..
Brothers will begin to fight with each other, relatives close to them will die in strife; painful in the world, the age of swords and axes,
shields will crack, the age of storms and wolves until the death of the world; man will not spare man."

« Elder Edda”, XIII century

Until recently, the queen of the epic was Greek mythology- any citizen of our, and not only our country, can safely go to take an exam on the topic "Olympus and its inhabitants: morals, customs, habits." Complicated Relationships Hercules and his parents occupied the minds and touched the hearts of more than one generation of fans of the series of the same name and numerous films of the same content.

However, now all kinds of "Battle of the Titans", "Percy Jacksons" and others like them, if they arouse interest, it is more polite than enthusiastic. Zeus, Hades and Perseus with harpies, centaurs and medusa-gorgons were replaced by Thor, Loki and Ragnar with seers, the World Tree and frost giants. And although the Greeks are paying for themselves for the time being, the Scandinavians are slowly but methodically capturing the market in the northern way.

In the gaming industry, the alignment of forces, however, is different. The ball is ruled by God of War, Rise of The Argonauts, Age of Mythology and Titan Quest with their clones, and the Scandinavian epic is the exception rather than the rule. But if you look closely, you understand that in games the Vikings are also not the last spoke in the chariot. Today we will see what legends of the northern peoples inspired the developers, what this led to and whether it is worth preparing for the invasion of fly agaric eaters and shield biters on consoles and PC in the near future.

Three in space, not counting axes

The first raid of northerners on the gaming settlement happened in 1992 through the efforts of the company Silicon & Synapse which later became the famous Blizzard Entertainment. Peppy platformer The Lost Vikings in general, flesh from the flesh entirely of eminent parents: the notorious Interplay Entertainment, and the second part was released by Blizzard themselves.

According to the plot, three Vikings - Eric, Olaf and Baleologist - are kidnapped by the evil emperor of the alien race of Krutonion Tomator. This amateur collector will read heroes into his menagerie for unique life forms, but, of course, ran into the wrong ones. Friends escape from the menagerie, and where only the hardship does not bring them after that: in the list of locations, in addition to the Tomator spaceship, there are Egyptian pyramids, a factory, a circus, and a prehistoric village.

L'Anse aux Meadows National Historical Park is on the list of sites world heritage UNESCO.

Against the background of other platformers, The Lost Vikings immediately stood out for its unusual gameplay - here you need to control not one character, but three at once, each with its own weak and strengths. Eric is the brains of the team and runs the fastest, Olaf holds the defense with a strong oak shield, and Baleologist crushes aliens into cabbage with a sword or shoots from a bow with an endless supply of arrows.

Real Vikings are considered one of the most formidable warriors ever to roam the seas and even oceans. For the most part, these were free peasants who lived on the territory of modern Sweden, Denmark and Norway and, in the pursuit of profit, devastated all the lands that they could sail to on their boats. Together with the Scandinavians, the Wends were noticed in this - Slavs from the Baltic Peninsula, alternately robbing either Swedish or Danish lands.

The good old Vikings set for Sega is now a treasure for collectors.

The Vikings made their bloody raids from the 8th to the 11th centuries, terrifying not only the Angles, Franks and Russians, but also the inhabitants of Greenland and America. The question of whether the Vikings sailed to America remained open for a long time, until in 1960, scientists discovered in Canada the remains of the settlement of L'Anse-o-Meadows, which belonged to them.

Interestingly, the Vikings began and ended their conquests on the same island - Britain. The first attack - on the county of Dorset in 789 - ended in a complete victory for the pagan sailors, and the last sortie dates back to 1066, when William the Conqueror defeated the remnants of the crushed Scandinavian army at the Battle of Hastings.

One of the most popular tactics in The Lost Vikings is Olaf shielding Baleologist while he deals with the aliens.

But let's get back to the three Vikings, who, by the will of the developmental fantasy, found themselves already in space. In addition to the joys of strategy and tactics, The Lost Vikings is also a very fun game. Here is an example of a standard exchange of pleasantries during spaceship adventures:

- If this Tomator is so evil, why did he leave all these useful things for us - bombs and stuff? Olaf inquires.

- Look, no one asks questions like that in other games! Eric answers.

- Yes, Olaf, - adds Baleologist. - Stop being boring!

The public liked the game so much that in 1997 it got a sequel - The Lost Vikings 2, in which the restless Tomator again teleports the trinity to his ship. In the second part, two new characters appear - the dragon Scorch and the Transylvanian wolf Fang, although only three of the five heroes can still be controlled at the same time. The dragon, as it should be, flies and spits fire, and the wolf for some reason climbs the walls and, of course, scratches.

Blizzard Entertainment still keeps a fond memory of this game: in StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty in the wardroom of the Hyperion there is a slot machine called The Lost Viking.

man from the fjord

The word "Viking" literally translates as "man from the fjord". Initially, these were petty robbers who hid in secluded bays and robbed ships passing by. Where the word itself came from, scientists are still arguing. Perhaps this is how fjords used to be designated, or robbers more often hid in the bays of the Norwegian region of Vik, or the root of the word comes from the Old Norse verb "vike", which means "leave their lands, setting off to rob or trade."

Valkyrie-san

Two years after the release of The Lost Vikings 2, the Scandinavian theme was turned ... by the Japanese. Company tri-ace with the support of Enix(now - Square Enix) released a fairly successful role-playing game Valkyrie Profile for PlayStation 2, later ported to PC.

The Japanese are Japanese for that, so that if you take on the Scandinavian epic, then with all seriousness and attention to detail. The main character here is the Valkyrie Lenneth, who accompanies the souls of the dead warriors to Valhalla, where they train in anticipation of Ragnarok. Along the way, Lenneth tries to remember her past.

Exclusive Rune 2 art courtesy of Human Head Studios.

Visually, Valkyrie Profile is a mixture of 2D and 3D: we move around the world map in 3D, through cities and dungeons - in 2D. Although a small squad can be assembled in the game, only Lenneth is subject to the player during battles: she jumps, fights with swords and freezes enemies with ice crystals. Flying over the world map, the Valkyrie uses her main ability - spiritualistic concentration, with which she opens dungeons, finds enemies and souls suitable for teleportation.

Those who have not been fond of northern mythology at their leisure immediately stumble upon unfamiliar or unfamiliar terms in the game. What kind of Valkyrie is this, what other einherchs, aces, vans, Asgard, Midgard, Valhalla, Ragnarok ... Let's figure it out.

At the dawn of time, Odin, the supreme god and lord of the Ases (besides them, there are also Vans - also gods, but much older and wiser; Vans and Ases either squabble or reconcile with each other), raised the seer velva from the grave and ordered her to tell the fate of the world. The Völva announced that Ragnarok is coming - the death of the gods and all that exists, and it will happen immediately after the final battle between the gods and monsters, personifying the power of nature. Odin will be killed by the huge wolf Fenrir, who in turn will be slain by Odin's son Vidar. Thor, the god of thunder and storm, will kill the serpent Jörmungandr, but he himself will fall from his poisonous bite.

The British love to entertain themselves with the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings.

Freyr, the god of fertility and summer (here he is from the Vanir, like his famous sister Freya), will die in a battle with the fire giant Surt; Heimdal, the guardian of the gods and the World Tree, will fight Loki, the god of cunning and deceit, but neither will be able to prevail. Seeing that the forces of evil and good are approximately equal, the giant Surt will unleash all his fiery power on the ground, destroying both Midgard, the world of people, and Asgard, the abode of aces (what is this, if not cheating?).

Scandinavian myths, though cruel as usual, do not put in the prophecy of Ragnarok either a gloomy black dot or a mysterious ellipsis. Völva told Odin that the death of the world would be followed by its revival: the surviving sons of Odin and Thor would settle in Asgard, and in Midgard - two people who survived the cataclysm, from whom the human race would again go.

Vikings aboard the Hyperion.

So, the task of Lenneth in Valkyrie Profile is to collect the souls of the bravest and noblest warriors, the einheryas, and deliver them to a feast in Valhalla, the heavenly halls in Asgard. There, the Einherjar not only eat and drink, but also prepare for Ragnarok, and Lenneth is in charge of their training. Each warrior has a scale of significance - it shows how ready he is for last battle, in which, according to the Japanese version, for some reason, aces and vans will converge (but what about Fenrir, he is supposed to absorb the sun ... a mess!).

Valkyrie Profile was re-released more than once, but in small editions, and therefore the prices for a licensed disc jumped up to hundreds of US dollars. And praised "Valkyrie" in the first place for a fantastic story, gleaned by its creators from northern myths. Although there are no less typical Japanese (read anime) elements in this game than Scandinavian ones.

Runes of Asgard

Prevention of Ragnarök and the battle with the serpent Jörmungandr - the basis of the plot in economic strategy Cultures 2: The Gates of Asgard 2002 release. According to developers from a German company Funatics It will be possible to stop the apocalypse in the Scandinavian way only if the representatives of the four peoples act as a united front in the fight against the impending scourge.

The story begins when the Viking Bjarni, the son of Leif Eriksson, has a dream in which, side by side with three strangers, he is trying to stop the end of the world. Bjarni decides that the dream is in hand, and goes to England, Italy and Normandy to persuade these same strangers to join him. Fortunately, the visions haunt Bjarni not because of the abuse of magic mushrooms, so you still have to fight the huge snake.

Valkyrie is the daughter of the king or the bravest warrior, who picks up the fallen warriors and sends them straight to Valhalla.

By the way, Leif Ericsson - a real man, the son of the Viking Eric the Red, the discoverer of Greenland. It is assumed that it was Leif who discovered America five centuries before Christopher Columbus. His exploits in the field of navigation are described in the Saga of Eric the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders, the historical authenticity of which was later confirmed by archaeological excavations. With a team of only thirty-five men, he discovered Helluland, Markland and Vinland, potentially Baffin Island, the Labrador Peninsula and the coast of Newfoundland, respectively. Apart from Cultures 2, he is mentioned in Corsairs: the return of a legend.

But Bjarni, the son of Leif, is already a completely fictional character. Critics greeted his adventures coolly: Gates of Asgard received a solid three because of the monotonous gameplay that has changed little since the first part, boring music and lingering narration. Funatics turned out a very Nordic game.

But about rune(2000), a third-person slasher film developed by Human Head Studios, you can't say that. Who, this time, undertakes this difficult work - to stop Ragnarok?

The young warrior Ragnar learns from an elder that the Runestones standing in the central square of his native settlement are not a tourist attraction or an exterior design element, but the only means that can keep Loki imprisoned underground.

According to the Völva's Divination, during Ragnarök the sun will turn black, the stars will fall from the sky, and water will flood the earth.

As always, not without traitors - Konrak, one of Ragnar's tribesmen, chooses the side of Loki, however, with the help of Odin, the young man gets out of the depths of the kingdom of the dead Helheim and, after countless battles with superior enemy forces, saves the Runestones from destruction. Or he chooses the side of Loki himself, which never ended well for anyone - the god of deceit, he is also the god of deception in Scandinavia, because he lies as he breathes.

It would be a sin not to make a brief digression into the biography of King Lodbrok, who is also the Danish king Ragnar. For the Danes, Ragnar is the same as King Arthur for the British: there are no documentary sources confirming that he lived in this world, but there are a dime a dozen mentions of him in the sagas.

If Ragnar really once ruled Denmark, then it was in the 9th century. Why Lodbrok? There are several versions of that. According to the most common and most cheerful, "lodbrok" ​​means "leather pants". Naturally - Ragnar's leather pants, sewn to him by his wife as a talisman. Which he wore throughout his life. A more "hygienic" explanation is that tight leather pants saved Ragnar's life as a child when he fell into a pit full of snakes. Well, the most beautiful version - "lodbrok" ​​means "banner of fate", since Odin's raven was embroidered on the king's banner, and Ragnar considered himself the son of this particular god.

Again, according to legend, Ragnar Lothbrok had eleven legitimate sons and a lot of bastards from numerous concubines. This small family army avenged the death of their father, which happened in the second half of the 9th century. Although the list of Ragnar's victories includes the capture of Paris and a considerable piece of British lands, during one of the campaigns he was captured by King Ella II of Northumbria, chained and thrown into a pit with snakes. This time, leather pants, alas, did not save - either there were too many snakes, or they bit higher.

Ragnar from Rune had a better fate. From the point of view of legends, the action here definitely outweighs the plot, but it is enough to create the right atmosphere. The game is still loved, no wonder the petition demanding to release Rune 2 by the time the material was prepared, it had collected 6683 signatures. To find out what's going on with the release of the sequel, and to discuss the recent re-release of the original, we sat down with Ted Halsted from Human Head Studios.

Ted Halsted

Hello Ted! Last year, Human Head Studios re-released Rune as Rune Classic via Steam. What has changed for the company since the original came out, and what challenges are you facing now?

It was a great pleasure for us to return to Rune and we were very happy that the re-release was received so warmly. A lot has changed in game development since the early 2000s, and we think it's time for a new journey into the world of Vikings and northern mythology. Developers have more freedom - both publishers and players are ready for experiments. You can safely play the game on your own terms.

It took a lot of work to get Rune Classic out. What are the main differences between the original and the new version?

The creators of the first part came together to unite the original Rune under the name Rune Classic, Rune: Halls of Valhalla and Rune: Viking Warlord. In Halls of Valhalla, we have greatly improved the famous and furious Rune multiplayer. The addon includes an arena for deathmatches (with spectators), a headball - such a bloodthirsty, Viking-esque option modern species sports, new characters and taunts.

For an equally gritty single player experience, we've taken the new monsters from Warlord and polished the levels. And to the heap included all the extended versions of the music tracks from the game and an audio CD in OGG format.

Can you tell us more about Halls of Valhalla - history, gameplay, features?

This is a multiplayer addition to Rune. Multiplayer is one of the most popular features of the game, and we wanted to expand it by adding more modes, such as co-op. From Halls of Valhalla, you can understand in which direction Rune will develop, and its main concept is to immerse the player in chaos, where you only have time to swing an ax right and left. As for the story, the main thing here for the player is to show the best that he is capable of, that is, how deftly he cuts off the limbs of enemies with a large sharp weapon.

Loyal Rune fans have started a petition for the release of Rune 2. Do they have any reason to hope for a second part in the near future, or do you have such plans yet? If there is, what will be in Rune 2, share conceptual ideas?

It is very nice that the fans continue to support us, and their interest does not dry out. We listen to them and are glad that people are still going to play Rune. In the future, it will definitely focus on bloody melee combat both when playing in a clan and solo.

The story of the second Rune will focus on one thing: what it is like to be a warrior. With an emphasis on battles, conquests, profit and honor, glory and, if the player wants it, the success of his clan. Ragnar will remain a key character in the story, but there will also be a new protagonist, the great Viking conqueror, whose adventure is all about which way the player leads their warrior - or female warrior - throughout his or her life.

The new Rune story will highlight the richness of Norse mythology, but from a different perspective. The game will not be sky-fantasy, but more focused on Midgard. The myths are real, they surround the warrior. Dreaming of success on the battlefield or at sea - if you please, consider what this or that god wants. It will be possible to make sacrifices to him or lay the booty at the altar, or you can go to war against his followers, exhausting them with raids and skirmishes.

The release date is not clear yet. We are now talking with several potential partners about the next phase of development. The situation in the industry has changed dramatically, the best time for the release of unusual games and games focused on multiplayer, and you can not imagine. It's time for the next Rune.

It turns out that the second Rune is already being developed with might and main?

The hero of Rune is the famous Scandinavian warrior Ragnar (especially after the recent Vikings series). What can you tell us about the real Ragnar, did you dive into his story during the creation of the game and how deep?

We read a lot about the real Ragnar and his adventures, his story was a good start to create a powerful character. We also really liked the sound of his name. In the future, Rune will focus on how a warrior can succeed as a conqueror, so the complex history of a king like Ragnar Lothbrok will be directly connected to the game.

And yes, we are big fans of the series.

The Scandinavian theme is not very popular among developers yet, you were one of the first to pay attention to it. And why, in fact, did you choose northern legends for Rune, is there any personal interest here?

Norse mythology combined with history creates one of the richest and richest worlds for games. For us, the first Rune was just the beginning. We now understand northern legends much more deeply than when we were working on the original, and we look forward to bringing the world to the next epic chapter in the history of the Viking conquests.

Personally, I have always admired northern mythology and history, and now my six-year-old daughter is fascinated by this and is in a hurry to correct me if I’m making a mistake somewhere: “Dad, this is Loki - mother Sleipnir (the eight-legged horse of Odin, the offspring of Loki. - Note. auth.)".

What are your favorite Scandinavian legends?

But how can you choose one or two here! I learn new ones all the time. Recently I have become interested in stories about the Volsung clan, Beowulf and everything connected with them. The more you learn, the more you get upset about how much has been lost over the past centuries, and what remains, of course, has been changed by later cultural layers.

And what about the gods - are there any favorites?

Again a difficult choice, but I, perhaps, will focus on Odin and Thor. Many believe that Odin is such a "wise old man, the father of everything and everyone." In general, they are correct. But he is a deity not only of knowledge, but also of battles, if he fights, then to the end, and in addition he makes sacrifices for the sake of both knowledge and victories. And Thor, among other things, acts as a protector, which few people know about. It is to him that they call for salvation in a storm or for a harvest in calm times.

And also Ymir. Imagine a giant so huge that the whole world was created from his body.

And the last question - do you believe that Ragnarok will ever come, or is it a myth, is it a myth, so as not to believe in it?

He is coming.

Lived once

What was the life of the Vikings like? Those who were richer could afford a large rectangular house made of mud-smeared wood or stone. All the numerous relatives of a wealthy owner were placed in such a house. The peasants lived in simple houses with one room, made of wood and with a peat roof. Most of the time was spent in the central room - they set up a hearth there, cooked food and slept. Sometimes pillars were placed along the edges of the room as an additional support for the roof, and the resulting gaps were used as bedrooms.

Too viking

After the release of Cultures 2, the Scandinavians were forgotten for six whole years, until the “northern breakthrough” happened in 2008 - three games in the action-adventure genre came out one after another, exploring this topic from different angles: Tomb Raider Underworld, Viking: Battle for Asgard and too human.

If many have heard about Underworld and Battle for Asgard, then Too Human's path turned out to be much more thorny. Canadians from Silicon Knights, despite a budget of more than sixty million dollars, they made one, but fatal mistake: they made a game on Unreal Engine 3, “forgetting” to pay for the rights to use the engine. After litigation with epic games they had to destroy all unsold copies of the game and pay nine million dollars to the affected party.

There are a lot of resources for building in Gates of Asgard: there is wood, and stone, and tiles, and brick, and marble, and clay, and iron.

However, a certain number of copies still reached the players, and the game did not remain “terra incognita”. The main character here is Baldr, the god of spring and light, out of the kindness of his soul helping humanity to fight against alien invaders. Scandinavian mythology in Too Human is intertwined with science fiction: for the most part, aliens are huge robots, and aces-gods use... cybernetic implants to enhance their abilities.

A more traditional version of northern legends was used by developers from The Creative Assembly responsible for Viking: Battle for Asgard. The plot is as follows: the gods in Asgard quarreled to smithereens, and most of all, the goddess of death Hel, the daughter of Loki, resented the course of the party, for which she was expelled from the heavenly kingdom. Hel, naturally, was indignant, decided to release the wolf Fenrir and arrange Ragnarok for everyone. In order to take her threats more seriously, Hel raised the Vikings from their graves and went to Midgard with fire and sword.

This categorically did not suit Freya, the goddess of love and war. She turned to the young warrior Skarin for help, and he could not refuse the beautiful goddess. Although in vain she fooled the guy's brains - it was worth Skarin to find out about true reason of Midgard misfortunes, how he ... himself freed Fenrir, saving people from the daily presence of the gods.

Surt is the lord of the Muspels, the fiery giants.

By the way, Freya is one of the most popular goddesses in the gaming industry. She is mentioned in World of Warcraft, Lineage II, Ragnar?k Online(more on that later) and Final Fantasy IX, and indeed in almost all fantasy role-playing games, like Neverwinter Nights or series The Elder Scrolls , items enchanted by this goddess are regularly found.

Freya is the daughter of Odin's adopted son Njord, whom the Vanir left as a hostage in Asgard after a truce was concluded with the Aesir. After Frigg, the wife of Odin, Freya in Asgard occupies the most honorable place among the goddesses and controls the Valkyries. And her beauty has no equal! Freya can turn into a falcon, and after the disappearance of her husband - either a person, or the incarnation of Odin in mortal form - she cries with golden tears. It was Freya who taught the Aesir magic, previously known only to the Vanir.

Like Cultures 2, Battle for Asgard lacks stars from the sky: the game was criticized for its monotonous gameplay and an empty world consisting of three almost identical islands that the hero can explore in search of allies - or opponents. There are two pluses - interesting combo tricks and a special atmosphere, although the plot itself is quite primitive.

And instead of a heart, a fiery ax

The Vikings fought most often with spears about one and a half meters long or with swords. Swords were also preferred long, with a small guard. Only the top of the blade was made sharp, and the lower part was either not touched at all, or honed weakly. They instilled real horror in the enemies Scandinavian axes- thin axes with lateral jaws and a wide, symmetrically diverging blade.

Raider of Helheim

They worked their story very carefully. Crystal Dynamics, "parents" of Lara Croft from the seventh to the ninth part. In Underworld, the logical continuation Legend, Scandinavian mythology is explored with encyclopedic thoroughness. If you print out all the relevant entries from Lara's personal diary, you get a good selection of "Everything you wanted to know about the legends of the north, but until now did not bother to read."

In what, in what, and in the blood of the Battle of Asgard is not lacking.

Already in the first chapter, Lady Croft goes in search of Niflheim, the land of eternal darkness and fog, where frost giants live. According to legend, there are nine worlds in the universe: in addition to the mentioned Asgard, Midgard and Helheim, Vanaheim grows on the World Tree - the abode of the Vanir gods, Jotunheim - giants-jotuns live here, Muspelheim - the world of fire, the entrance to which is guarded day and night by the giant Surt, Svartalfheim , inhabited by dwarf dwarfs, Ljosalfheim, where light elves, or elves live, and, finally, Utgard, the world of demonic magic, where only the chosen one can enter.

Unlike other worlds, Utgard exists outside the ash tree of Yggdrasil, and it is not really known where he, in fact, is. He does not obey the world order, which the aces brothers Odin, Vili and Ve established when they placed the sky (Asgard), earth (Midgard) and the underground, where the souls of the dead (Helheim) go to the space they created.

In Rune Classic, chopping enemies to pieces with an ax is still fun.

Underworld scriptwriters not only retell the main content of the northern myths, but also offered their own, and very logical, explanation of the prophecy of Ragnarok. Jörmungandr, a huge serpent whose awakening should provoke the final battle of gods and monsters, is in fact a chain of tectonic faults encircling our planet. As in any chain, there is also a weak link here - and if you break it with special mechanism Yggdrasil, an endless series of volcanic eruptions will begin, which will lead to the death of mankind. Lara will have to play the role of Thor and with the help of a full set of his weapons - gloves, belt, hammer - hit the snake, that is, destroy the mechanism that can initiate Ragnarok.

However, not everyone takes Scandinavian mythology so seriously. Swedes from Arrowhead Game Studios released in 2011 a humorous action adventure Magicka. The game showed great promise and was even named game of the year at the Swedish Game Awards in 2008 while still in development, but the final version, alas, could win the race for the number of bugs and lack of balance.

With the help of runestones, each weapon in Rune can be activated additional features- for example, suck out of enemies vitality with a blow of the sword.

The story revolves around four magicians from an ancient order trying to prevent the sorcerer Grimnir from destroying Midgard, although it later turns out that the real threat comes from the demon Assatur. Scandinavian legends here are nothing more than an excuse to mock a whole galaxy of hits to their heart's content: they stretch out and Warhammer, and The Legend of Zelda, and Dungeon Keeper, and Diablo, and even the films Star Wars, 300 and Monty Python. Choosing any of the four wizards, the player fights with opponents with the help of a magic staff and melee weapons. The sword in the stone from the legends of King Arthur can also act as the latter - in literally words a sword sticking out of a stone and, accordingly, used as a hammer - and even an M60 machine gun.

Sailing on the blue sea

The Vikings were famous for their skillful shipbuilders and could boast of a large fleet. The bulk of the ships were drakkars - wooden warships with a high bow and stern, designed for one hundred - one hundred and fifty soldiers. Smaller warships were called snackcars: they could accommodate up to sixty people. Ships were built from ash, pine or oak, and the sails were sewn from sheep's wool. Then the wool was covered with lanolin - a fatty layer that protected the sail from water. The Vikings and merchant ships were built - knorrs. Wide and roomy, knorrs were often used for long-distance reconnaissance campaigns.

online artifacts

Although most of the Scandinavian-themed games are made in the action-adventure genre, northern legends are also honored in online role-playing spaces. The most famous game here, without a doubt, Ragnar?k Online, the brainchild of a Korean company Gravity Co..

The original source of RO is Korean comics-manhwa by Lee Myung-jin, after the game it was also adapted for anime. Most of names and names borrowed from Scandinavian myths, but there are cities in the game, stylized, for example, under Arabic or English fairy tales. A nice feature of Ragnar?k Online is that its universe is constantly evolving: the game world is regularly expanding, new classes, skills, professions, monsters, quests, etc. appear. All key updates are referred to as "episodes".

This is what Leif Ericsson looked like.

Initially, there was only one nation in RO, and all players began their adventures in the kingdom of Midgard, but in the 10th and 11th episodes, the technocratic Republic of the Schwarzwalt and the religious state of Arunafelz were added. Niflheim and Valhalla migrated here directly from Scandinavian mythology, but to the heritage of the north, that the first part, that Ragnar?k Online 2: Legend of the Second have little relationship. Just take a look at the typical anime character portraits and imagine how these pink-haired and purple-eyed beauties and beauties would look in a group photo with real Vikings.

In addition to RO, there is a less well-known Haven&Hearth, a free-to-play MMORPG by Fredrik Tolf and Bjorn Johanssen, two Swedish student enthusiasts. The game was recognized at the Saturn Game Awards, although it is still extremely unstable: the world of Haven & Heart has already experienced seven "wipes", that is, complete resets with map redrawing.

Interestingly, in H&H, it is allowed to kill a character who is not on the Web if he committed theft or killed someone himself. At the same time, the deceased cannot be resurrected, and the only option is to create a new hero, to whom from 25 to 75% of the skills of the deceased will pass. In addition, there is a specific crafting system: you need to go through the entire process of creating an item, from preparing tools to procuring materials. For example, to make a barrel, you need to cut and saw a tree, but first you have to assemble a saw, an ax or a hammer from stones and branches. The more the set of necessary skills is pumped and the better the resources used, the better the quality of the resulting item - up to the level of the artifact. Everything is like in life.

The Vikings also appeared in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The original game has Valhalla (although it’s called differently, and we’ll even get there in the story), and on the cover of the first official Dawnguard expansion, a stern northerner flaunts.

Speaking of artifacts. Norse-Scandinavian mythology could not do without these unique things, often endowed with magical properties. They are also found in games - for example, the Thor armor set mentioned above from Tomb Raider Underworld or Too Human.

Mjollnir, which translates from Old Norse as "destroyer", is perhaps the most widely publicized of all divine artifacts and is present wherever there is even a hint of Thor or his relatives. The almost weightless hammer is as beautiful as it is deadly. In addition to the thunder god, only the sons of Thor, Magni and Signy, could lift it, and then with the help of iron gloves and a belt, whose rings double the strength of the owner.

Mjollnir has an interesting history of making: once Loki argued with the miniatures Brok and Sindri, who was the best blacksmith in the dwarf kingdom. Brok and Sindri forged a hammer, recognized by the Aesir as the best dwarf creation, and the trickster god of the dispute, respectively, lost. However, Odin did not allow the Zwerg to cut off Loki's head, as agreed in the terms of the dispute, and as a compromise, the god of deceit had its mouth sewn shut. But due to the intrigues of Loki and thousands of attempts to prevent the dwarves from winning, the hammer came out with a short handle.

Another exclusive art sent to us by the authors of Rune 2,

In addition to Mjollnir, the Scandinavians have a dozen more unusual artifacts. For example, Gungnir, the spear of Odin, which always hits the target and kills with one blow; Skidbladnir, the largest ship in the world that can be folded so that it fits in a pocket, or another ship, Naglfar, made from the nails of the dead, on which Hel will swim out of the realm of the dead before the start of Ragnarok (by the way, therefore northern peoples always cut off the nails of their dead). And, of course, Gjallarhorn - a horn of pure gold, which Heimdal will blow, announcing the beginning of Ragnarok.

And then there is the necklace of the goddess Freya Brisingamen, which, like a true lady's thing, can do nothing of the sort, but is beautiful to the point of insanity, sparkles and pleases the eye. Even Thor himself wore it when he had to change into a woman's dress in order to regain the stolen Mjollnir (yes, Loki was also involved in this story).

Whether Ragnarok will ever happen or not, we do not know, but there is no doubt that he excited the minds of the developers. As well as the fact that legends are treated very freely in games, although Crystal Dynamics' rethinking of the myth of the end of the world in Scandinavian style deserves respectful applause.

Unfortunately, in the near future, nothing foreshadows either the active intervention of the Vikings in gaming life, or at least the appearance of a single hit that will move away from the theme of Ragnarok and truly immerse gamers in a multi-layered German-Scandinavian epic. The only thing that will definitely come out is an arcade slasher based on the second part of the Thor movie, and we can only hope that this time Marvel release something better Thor: God of Thunder, which, despite all the goodies for fans, such as voice acting by Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Jamie Alexander, after half an hour of familiarization with the gameplay, goes to the shelf with games of the "Y" category.

Although a surprise is a surprise, to strike the imagination unexpectedly. Well, let's wait for a balanced project, thought out in terms of plot and action, inspired by the myths and legends of the peoples of Scandinavia, to fall on our heads. Let's wait.

Write different letters

The writing of the ancient Scandinavians was runic, and in the Swedish province of Dalarna they wrote with runes until the 19th century. One of the most famous finds that have preserved the original writings are runestones in the Danish city of Jelling. This is how the inscription made by the first Danish king Gorm the Old looked like. This is read as "kurmr kunukr karthi kubl thusi aft thurui kunu sina tanmarkar but", and translates as "King Gorm made a memorial stone in honor of Tyura, his wife, Danish lord / mistress." This is the first written mention of the name of this country, found on its territory.

Fans of computer games studio Platinum is well known. This company does not limit itself to work only with a certain genre. In this article, we will talk about the next masterpiece of this studio - MMO, with which you can travel back to the Viking Age. You can download Vikings War of Clans to your computer from our website. This game, originally released for mobile devices, will sparkle with new colors on big screen your home PC.

About the game

As with most strategy and MMO games, Clash of Clans will require you to develop your village from scratch and make it the greatest city in Scandinavia. For this purpose, you will have to enter into trade and military alliances, redistribute resources and create an army that will become the strongest in its region.

Interesting

The game Vikings: War of Clans is advised to be used as a business aid for studying planning and leadership by professor of journalism Paul Gleder. He published his note on this topic on the page of Forbes magazine.

Vikings: War of Clans belongs to the multiplayer strategy genre. It touches upon the period of military dominance of the Vikings in medieval Northern Europe. In order to become the strongest among the many militant Scandinavian tribes, you need leadership skills. Learn how to properly spend resources and make military alliances. And then you will be able to claim the throne of the Viking state.

Video review

Gameplay and features of the game on PC

This strategy appeared in the Play Market in 2015. Today there are also browser versions of this game. But, they have a somewhat truncated functionality. If you want to enjoy full version of this game, download Viking War of Clans on PC.

Interesting

The game initially had support only for the Russian language, and only after a while the English version appeared, and then it was adapted for other markets.

In Clash of Clans, the outcome of the battles is played in a very interesting way. You can completely destroy the enemy, and wipe him off the map, or make the rest of his life work for you. Of course, you need to understand that they can do the same to you.

In the game, it is important to constantly pump your hero. You can develop it in several directions. And increasing the level of power is only one of them. You can choose the most optimal form of pumping the hero and, thanks to this, get good bonuses. For example, to carry out lightning attacks, swing the damage indicators. You can also download economy or defense skills. Choose what is closer to you and make your hero the best in your formation.

If you do not want to deal with the skills and abilities of the hero, then this can be left to the mercy of the game algorithms. They will choose the most suitable ones. At first, this is very convenient. But, when you understand all the mechanisms of this game, it is better to choose skills and abilities on your own.

The gameplay of Vikings: War of Clans is addictive very quickly. A variety of opportunities for development, various bonuses and a large number of battles will help to find something of their own in this game, for everyone who likes strategies. But, you cannot survive on your own in the world of the Vikings. Therefore, you need to understand that the time will come when you will have to join the clan. Of course, such an alliance, on the one hand, facilitates the gameplay and makes it more exciting, and on the other hand, imposes obligations. Which will have to be done.

Moreover. Clans, in turn, can also form alliances. The battles of such kingdoms are very epic. If you win, you will share territories and resources. And you can become one of the most powerful players in Vikings: War of Clans. Speaking of battles. They are very diverse and multifaceted. Over time, you can learn a lot of military tricks that will help your army win.

If you are just about to install this game and start playing it, feel free to link your account to Facebook. Thanks to this synchronization, you can protect your account from hacking and immediately receive 1000 gold for development into your account. After that, proceed to the development of your village. Accumulate resources and attack players who cannot fight back. For example, those who have not appeared in the game for a long time. You can find out who has no defenders with the help of a scout.

Game control

Playing Viking War of Clans on a computer is quite simple. Thanks to the BlueStacks emulator, all actions that can be performed using the touch screen are transferred to a computer mouse. It won't be difficult. On the contrary, a large computer screen and convenient mouse control will allow you to enjoy the "Clan War" with great comfort.

How to install Viking War of Clans on a computer

To install this game, like any other Android application on your computer, you will need the help of an emulator program. One of best products this kind is BlueStacks. This most popular Android emulator already has a built-in . With it, you can enjoy all the delights of mobile applications on the big screen of your home computer.

In order to install Vikings: Clan Wars for PC, use one of the two options:

Like films that are good, bad and Indian, so games can be bad, good, and about the Vikings. Games about Vikings are a specific thing. Much is forgiven for such games if they correctly reflect that harsh era, fanned by German-Scandinavian myths. And you're in luck if you like these games, because right now I'm going to talk about ten games that smell like Valhalla and Ragnarok. In the name of Odin, let's begin!

Let's start with antiquity. In the 90s, a lot of things came out about the Vikings, but those games, with all due respect to them, are too old, but this slasher is still quite okay, and those who want to stumble can easily run it, including on widescreen monitors. Some compare this game with Blade of Darkness, which, in my opinion, is not entirely correct: the Blade of Darkness is a difficult action game with very difficult battles, and Rune is an arcade slasher whose main advantage is excellent graphics for those times. The game surprised me at the time. beautiful picture, which now, of course, is unlikely to be appreciated by many. However, with the Vikings out there full order.

It cannot be said that everything here really revolves around the Vikings, but, nevertheless, they exist, and what I can say for sure is that they are more like real ancient, warlike Scandinavians than the fantasy Nords from Skyrim and the inhabitants of the Skellige Islands from Witcher. In its genre, this is one of the best games of our time and a slightly distant past. It is highly recommended to those who have a weak computer. In extreme cases, if you do not like the Vikings, but on the contrary, hate them, then you can successfully fight against them.

Contrary to the common trend that Viking games are always action games, this game is a strategy game. It's still in Early Access, but it's still getting very positive press. The world of strategy is not just the world of warlike Vikings, but the world of warlike Vikings, surrounded by creatures from their own myths and legends. In short, fantasy. You have a small village at your disposal, which you need to develop by exploring the surrounding lands, fighting with neighboring tribes and monsters, and extracting anything useful. The strategy is perfectly executed technically, and in general, like many indie games, it is made with soul. And in general, an RTS about the Vikings, I can’t remember anything else, so this project doubly noteworthy.

And another non-action game in early access, in which the Viking atmosphere is also in order. You will have a hero at your disposal, who will need to rebuild his home, consisting of several themed halls that perform different functions, extract resources, fight enemies, and pump, pump, pump. All this, by the way, is done in 2D, that is, with a side view. The game is also made with soul, but it needs to be finalized. For example, to make battles more interesting, and to add more high-quality Russian-language localization, of course.

Now here's the action. Yes, there is also medieval knights, and exotic samurai, but there are also Vikings, and the Vikings, it must be said, are extremely colorful. They are pretentious, decorated and stereotypical. In general, in the full style of Ubisoft, but many of us love just such Vikings. For example, real Vikings wore yellow trousers in battles, so that they could be seen in the sea fog, and not to get lost in battle, but if you see a Viking in such trousers, you will say - what kind of clown? So we believe that the Vikings are correct here. They also fight correctly: they push, swing axes, apply force to enemies. The best viking fighting game so far.

Now this is a step by step strategy. You are the leader of a small wandering tribe. The lives of those around you depend on your decisions. They did not make a halt, did not rest, and got tired into a new battle. You were gentle with your enemies - they aroused the anger of your comrades-in-arms, who reproached you for your softness. In general, there are a lot of role-playing elements, but the main thing here is turn-based battles with an isometric top view, made in a corporate and unique style. There is also a second part of the Saga, but it is better to start with the first one in order to better understand the plot. If you are too lazy to sit at the computer, you can play it on the tablet.

And another indie game made with soul. You are offered an isometric, drawn adventure with a view from above, about a world full of fabulous, often not at all good creatures, and opportunities to accomplish so many feats that skalds will compose visas about them for many tens or even centuries to come. The main advantage of the game is the contemplative atmosphere. It is difficult to call it a game for years, which you will remember for a long time, but there is definitely something special in it.

And now RPG in the style of click & slash. The developers positioned the project as an ideological continuation of Diablo, and I will add: ideological and budgetary, because in order to make something similar to a game from Blizzard, you need to have a lot of money, and the creators of the Wolves of Midgard did not have much money. I also note that the game is also available on consoles, which left a certain imprint on it, because it is easier to control here, for example, using a gamepad, and in order to speed up the hero a little, you need to constantly press the roll. The plot is as follows: you are a tough warrior - the head of a tribe who was unlucky enough to find himself in the center of a conflict between the inhabitants of the human world and the other world. In general, demons and monsters crawled out of all the cracks, which must be harassed. The game will not cause delight, but it has several interesting features, such as the effect of cold on the course of the battle. Well, the Vikings are good here.

This is also an RPG, only with turn-based combat. The game was made by the guys who once released Expeditions: Conquistador, and then, 4 years later, they released a game about the Vikings, which I personally consider to be the best RPG on the Old Norse theme at the moment. The plot is as follows: the father of the protagonist has died, and now he will have to shoulder all his worries, which will be many, because his father was the leader, albeit a small tribe. The battles here are turn-based, collective and tactical. The plot looks like a movie, or even a book. Russian-language localization is not bad, and reading the dialogues is really interesting. In addition, the game is highly non-linear, and your decisions and responses can send the scenario in diametrically opposite directions. In general, an excellent game for those who are in no hurry, ready to read, and ready to be humiliated, because the main character will be mocked a lot, and he will have to wave his weapon a lot to calm all the boors and rude people.

This game has not yet been released, but it is still here, because the permanent, main character - Kratos - was brought to the northern edge of the snowy mountains, where he retired, and where he took up the upbringing of his son. But the pension did not work, or, on the contrary, it did, because the hero's peace was disturbed, and he will again have to fight the gods, but this time the Scandinavian ones. It is difficult to say whether Kratos looks like a Viking or not. I would say that, after all, no, because a real Viking will not go against his gods, but we still do not know the whole plot leaven, so it is quite possible that the hero's actions can be justified. In addition to the fights as such, the developers have also prepared some kind of puzzles that will have to be solved together with their son, who also promises to be a partially playable character. All this should be released before the end of the year.

And I close with another game that didn't come out, that few people know about, and very little is known about. Yes, and Viking comrades are presented here as enemies, because we will be offered to play for monsters that have survived from ancient times, when people did not yet know fire, and were afraid to get out of their caves after dark. Then, at night, when the goddess Nikta wrapped her black veil on the earth, power passed to absolutely incredible creatures - the creatures of darkness. But gradually people grew bolder, and these very creatures were exhausted. However, some remained. So far, the following is known: the game will be released on PC and “large” consoles, it will have a first-person view, the gameplay will be created with a claim to a survival simulator, and there will be several monsters themselves. Will they cooperate with each other, or we are waiting for several separate, so to speak, campaigns - it is not known, but the Vikings will have to exterminate a lot. And, despite such an unexpected theme, I believe that this game in its Viking atmosphere will surpass many genre competitors.

These were 11 games created and being created based on the universe of the ancient Vikings. Do you know yours? Suggest in the comments. Well, that's all. Play only good games and may the One be with you.