So a long time ago I found pre-alpha footage of this game and I thought it was really cool. I'm always in favor of more viking games as you can never get enough of them. I loved Rune, Volgarr the viking, and Skyrim. So I was patiently waiting to see more of this game and get news of the release. I signed up for the newsletter and waited to see what would happen. To be honest I didn't expect much but the aesthetics were cool and vikings. A couple weeks before release (3 weeks ago), I get an email from Iron Gate's newsletter about the release of the game, a code for the early supporter rewards, and a trailer. I watched the trailer and i was immediately excited. For several months I've been looking forward to an open world game similar to minecraft where I start from nothing and eventually build myself a great city. I counted the days to release and held back on buying any other game despite some of the great deals.

Finally... the game comes out... I buy it, install, and get in and just.......... damn. This game is gorgeous. Tutorial was informative but not hand holding. It gave off an impression of a brutal world but don't worry you can survive it if you put in the effort. And that's exactly what happened. Valheim slowly creeps in on you as you discover more and more about it. You discover your goal to kill the bosses, then how combat works, and then how to cut down trees, and how to make food, shelter, and survive. Then you start to notice the little details that really bring the game to life. Trees don't just disappear, they fall over and can knock other trees over (or fall on your head and damage you), deer tend to be around berry bushes, the ocean level rises with rain storms and fish can get beached (although it doesn't happen much. Mostly in shallow areas), how buildings actually follow basic physics and need supports to stay up (can't just build planks of wood half way across a river and expect it to hold), different resources in similar categories (for example copper and tin or stone and flint) are gathered the same way but found in different ways, every item in the game has a purpose and doesn't become obsolete, simple animals only stay on the edge of dangerous biomes but never deep into them, stronger and smarter enemies stalk you rather than run at you compared to the dumber/simple minded enemies, and so much more. In the 30 hours I've played in this game, i'm always discovering or learning something new. For example, a better or safer way to fight enemies, or a better way to build something... etc. Sometimes I will think... hmm... what if I do this or try that... and it'll work. Oh, and the game really makes you feel like a viking. The way you build your base and the way you fight really makes you feel like someone living in the viking times. Lastly, This game "just works" (thank you Todd Howard). The wait was worth it and I've been obsessed with this game since it released this last Tuesday.

The more you play the game, the more you will see how much love and passion has been poured into it. I've played the game for around 30 hours and I still haven't left my first island. And let me tell you, the map is HUGE (and yes it does have an end to it). There's always something to do, something to strive for, something to build. Well then again, I haven't reached the endgame yet so I don't know when it ends. And if you do run out of something to do, you can join a server and play with other people.

Now... there are a couple things that might turn people off. The game is slower than other survival games. I didn't get my first pickaxe until several hours in. But now that I know how to get it I can probably get it in 30min to 1 hour. Farming and cultivation doesn't unlock until much later. Mining takes a while in the beginning and isn't like minecraft or Conan Exiles where you get loads of resources in half an hour. This game asks for your time but in return it rewards you with a great experience.
Also, this is not a Rust/Conan Exiles type of game. You can have dedicated servers but they max out at 10 people. PvP does exist but this isn't a mass PvP game like Rust. However, maybe in the future it can be as there is a solid base for it. I believe the devs want to make a solid co-op game first. And who knows what modding may bring if it gets supported.

I do have a couple negative things to say though. The noises that Necks make are SO DAMN ANNOYING. Maybe it's just me but I unknowingly built my base around a place that's surrounded by Neck spawns and therir gurgling sound eventually got to me and now I have an occasional "cleansing ritual" where I go around and kill all the Necks in the immediate area. On the bright side they're a good source of food.
Also... there are a couple design choices that I think are weird. In order to build a campfire it must be built near workbench. Why do I need a work bench to make a campfire? When camping in the woods, who first builds a workbench then a campfire??? Also why does a workbench need to be indoors for me to use it?

The best part is, despite the game being in early access, it's so damn polished. The only bug/glitch I've run into is sometimes trees are a tiny bit wonky with their physics. A couple examples, if a tree is partially in a boulder, you cut it down, and it falls on another tree, it'll float upwards until it's out of the rock. Sometimes a "blue large creature" (don't wanna spoil it), will get pushed by a tree against a boulder and it'll struggle to move away. But besides these two things, this game is damn well polished. This is not an alpha test, this is a game that is almost ready to be released.

So with all that said.... YES buy this game! Buy Valheim! I cannot recommend it enough. All of my 30 hours I've been playing solo and I've been loving every minute of it. And it gets better with friends.