50+hrs in the demo 18+hrs EA Feedback:

[FOE*HAMMER]

Everything I say here is because I *LIKE* this game very much I don't usually do feedback. (I don't do discord.) Thank you devs for making this game. These are just my opinions for entertainment purposes only (please don't cancel me bro!).

Good News. Things I like:
*Viking themed visuals. I Love The Elder FUTHARK Runes, very special to me personally. I really like the music, has a great Viking feel. The overall art tone is awesome. The Humans are ugly but the rest looks great.
*The NPC's actions/interactions are good. I like making sure they are taken care of, and they have a personal feel to them. I like that they wave when I get close (maybe not for so long though lol), feels like they like me. Makes it worth looking after them. (its sure not because they are good looking LOL)
*Being in charge. I like that I have say in the order and importance of what step comes next. I feel like a real Jarl. I feel the weight of the village on my shoulders. The pin recipe mechanic could use a little more explanation though.
*Village layout. This is the key thing I like about Aska. In *this* aspect I feel real potential, it feels like chess. Easy to learn, impossible to master. The housing scores are a good mechanic. The ground leveling is currently wonky but on the right track. I feel like my wisdom and planning make a huge impact, the more I 'get good' the better my village does.
*The gamma slider. Yes I Love it, I can see again! I keep it maxed out, I could use a little more.

Bad news. Things I wish were different:
*Ancient Roman propaganda- The Human sacrifice theme/mechanic is highly ironic to me as one who has done their homework on Norse culture. My research shows these myths were started by Roman soldiers who were throwing mud on The Norse culture. Feels like it has more to do with current day than ancient times. You can do what you want, but It doesn't belong IMO.
*Combat. Its too dang wonky for how much you are putting in the game-play cycle. It's EA, I get it, adjustments will be made over time ( I hope), but for now the mechanics of combat are under-cooked and over-used IMO. The hit delays alone make it feel like every button-press are mere suggestions my character will get around to when he has the stamina. Dodge doesn't work half the time. Is my character a Viking with stamina who swings weapons for a living or a sedentary gamer from 2024? In its current state, I would disable combat completely if given the option. Not fun, not interesting, not skill based enough, too punishing, not rewarding. I would not say the same about Valhiem. Right now the combat just keeps me from the parts I do enjoy about Aska. It would be better if I had an easy way to get my NPC's to help, on a moments notice, like a battle horn or something.
*Grinding, WAY too much grinding wasting precious time. I've said it many times. Grinding isn't hardcore its just boring and a game-play filler. I need too much stuff in early game, and then I have wood resources (none of which I need anymore) laying everywhere just a while later. Even when I start losing frames from all the junk laying on the ground I still have to go out and get stuff my NPC's can't / won't get. Making me hold the key down for the entire time I need to harvest anything makes it 100 times worse. Again it just keeps me from the parts I like. Some tuning of resources required to craft vs how many gathered and can be carried is needed IMO. Also the RNG of terrain generation makes some tasks almost impossible on some maps but too easy on others (like getting enough fiber/rope).
*The map is out of scale. Throws me off every flippin' time, it was funny the 1st few times, but it gets old quick. Even knowing this and trying to adjust for it doesn't seem to help much. Not sure how you might fix this, but something is really off about it. Looks like a longer distance on the map than what it really is. This makes it harder to place the gathering markers in a good spot as well.
*The gathering markers. Too expensive to place, too small of an area covered. Where did all the food go from the demo?
*NPC's can't help with 'Jotan blood'. The stone cutter could use a 3rd basket from the start. Am I really a Jarl or a miner? Also where did all the blood nodes from the demo go?
*Food/water/cold/healing mechanics are too punishing. I think Valhiem's food/survival mechanic is just this side of too much but it feels enabling not restrictive like Aska does. My character feels like a wimp that can't go without a snacky, a blanky, and a sippy-cup for too long. I understand the time-scale is sped up, but its a nagging feeling. Vikings had more stamina than most other peoples, its why they were considered tough, right? My character comes off as a delicate flower, poor thing.


In conclusion:
I really do hope this helps. I mean it all constructively. I've had a lot of fun with it so far. It's fun to play and fun to watch content creators play it as well. I'm getting frustrated with the game though and taking a break from playing, so I figured I'd come here and try to help out.

Sorry if I made anyone mad. I'm not here for a flame war Thanks in advance. See you in Valhalla. Much Love Vikings.

[ThunderfulPaige | Community]

Hey firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback it is super helpful and we really do appreciate it.
I'm so glad you are enjoying the game!