Is this the right game for me?

[hardy_conrad]

Since (for once) I actually managed to beat a game in my library, thought I could justify indulging with something new. Been seeing lots of people play these sorts of survival type games recently and they seem a good fit. Question is, which one...

At first I was leaning 7 Days to Die, but for one thing it's on the pricey side and for another there are a LOT of concerns expressed about it once you dig under the surface.

Subnautica? Likely a good old game, but kinda limited and linear.

No Man's Sky? The most expensive of the bunch, and another game with mixed reviews (although not to the same extent as 7 Days).

Ark Survival Evolved? Probably one of the better games in the mix, although apparently it leans pretty heavily towards multiplayer and I'm on the fence about that.

Which leaves, Valheim. Funny thing is I first got curious about it roughly a year ago but at the time there were a lot of negative comments about it being abandonware. For whatever reason that's less of an issue now. I'll say probably the closest to a survival type game in the past I've played is Project Zomboid. I've noticed some people say Valheim is on the grindy side, but it's difficult to visualize anything more grindy than trying to level fitness in Zomboid. And, to a certain extent grindy is fun!

So what do you folks think? Yea or nay? Any suggestions or input is welcome, thanks.

[Humpenstilzchen]

Only buy Valheim if you are a masochist.

I would not recommend buying it honestly. It´s just an empty game with a friggin huge world with nothing worth exploring that ties to hide its emptyness by making everything unreasonably grindy.

Combat is crap, performance is crap, the only two biomes the devs managed to add in four years are crap, devs think tedium and annoyance is good gamedesign ect..

Nah don´t bother..

Try Grounded instead if you haven´t already. Much better in every way.

[UnluckySh00ter]

Why do you need other peoples input on whether you'll like something or not? In the time it took you to post this, you could have downloaded the game, played for and hour or so, and refunded if you don't like it. No, its no abandonware, its had major updates every several months every since release. Its hard at times and unforgiving. But its unique and fun. Try it out for yourself.

[electricdawn]

I actually kinda agree with this. :) Just go for it and have fun.

[hardy_conrad]

Ha fair point. Sometimes there are games which front-load features so the first hour is great but after the initial period you start realising there are issues. Don't mind admitting I feel that way about Starfield :(

[shyPunK]

I'm normally a simulator sort of guy: MSFS and ArmA are my stock and trade I with a few MORPGs (DAoC, Guilwars 1, WoW). I gave Valheim a go because of it's Norse theme.

One thing no one else has talked about what I consider to be on of the top things about Valheim is the combat. It is perfectly possible to play it just button mashing but I enjoy letting the mobs attack me and then parry to stun them and then attacking. There is a good variety of weapons with different capabilities that are fun to try out and it is reasonably painless to change weapons.

I have enjoyed the way to combat scales, so when you come across something like a Troll it seems just impossible to defeat but slowly over time you work out how to defeat it.

As others have said the building system is great and important. You do need to create a base that will survive the base attacks.

Multiplayer, could do with some more optimisation but it is as close as I have ever come to a game producing the same feeling I got playing Table Top RPGs (like Dungeons & Dragons).

The procedural world generation system definitely help the re-play-ability and makes every run through feel like a new adventure.

The way thinks like boat sailing and "climbing" may not be realisticly accurate but the but as someone who sailed dingies and was a climber I feel they kind of work.

I do like the way the way the game progress is liner. i.e. you know what the next set of food is the next resource you need for the next weapons and armour. The main entertainment is from the exploring and combat for me.

Who I don't think this game is good for is the "game beaters". I can quite happily spend hours walking round hunting deer. You can play Valheim in a competitive way with speed, no death runs or play it in Immersive difficulty mode (you will have to re-learn how to create fires that don't burn your house down).

Problems with game: I have not enjoyed or got through Mistlands and so I can't comment on Ashlands but honestly I'm happy with the first 5 biomes.

Finally though the graphics are simple I am happy to have that with the richness it give the game with glorious sunsets, beautiful moon and stars, the best weather (snow, rain, wind and waves) in any game I have played.

All games are a very personal thing. I look at reviews of Valheim I'm not sure they really told me I would enjoy Valheim as much as I did – Its got a Norse theme, I think I'll give that a go. Good luck, sPK

[swiftdoll]

I think it's perfectly fine to have a discussion what type a game is to get more clear vision would you like it or not, and I agree the 1-2 hours of test time is no way enough to figure out how good game is.

2 points; abandonwware? hah crazy talk. Subnautica linear and limited? More crazy talk. Unless you want to call story line and non randomized map limited and linear. It is in my top10 games of alltime, the map is incredibly well made, spooky and atmospheric and huuuge and I got 90h in from just one playthrough and I will most likely do another playthrough at some point. It still gives you all the freedom to roam around and build where ever and progress story line if and when you want to.

I agree a bit on the "tedium and annoyance" aspect of Valheim, I'd like to loosely compare Valheim to a roguelite genre, even though there is no permadeath (unless you turn it on in the settings), but if you cannot stand roguelite games you might hate the death mechanics in Valheim too, as corpseruns can get horribly tedious real quick. Valheim is very stressful game after you start to move out of Meadows, I can feel it tensing me up over time. On the other hand I really love the shifting atmospheres and moods, it has lot of gorgeousness in it. Figuring the world out by yourself is also immensely fun and exciting and with this game you don't really have to google up how stuff works as everything is quite intuitive or gives you decent info. Crafting is well made and building fantastic, but yes at the default settings hauling those materials back to the base trip after trip is a bit grindy - but not in a Primals in Shadowmoon type of grindy! There's no maddening drop rates, getting material is quite realistic in this game, just the material needs are high having you do lot of back and forth running, which is also why death can be rather agonizing if you cannot retrieve your gear.

So ultimately I'd say it's a matter of; do you prefer the game to be challenging (or more cozy game), do you enjoy crafting&gathering materials, do you enjoy exploring and is designing buildings fun to you. If the answer is no on all accounts then it's definitely not a game for you, if yes, go buy it already

[hardy_conrad]

Grabbed the game. Early going of course but I feel like it was the right move. Thanks again for all the assistance!

[electricdawn]

Good boy. :) And you're very welcome.

[Thornwood]

What is best depends on your personal preferences.

I like Valheim, Planet Crafter, No Man's Sky and Satisfactory.

All are classified as "survival games".

While they share some similarities, each game has a different setting and focuses of different aspects for gameplay.

In Valheim's "World Modifier" you can chose the settings that suit your play style.

[admos]

Originally posted by hardy_conrad:

Grabbed the game. Early going of course but I feel like it was the right move. Thanks again for all the assistance!

mark this as answer so ppl know youve decided :D

[Humpypants]

since nobody has mentioned minecraft, imagine minecraft, but with more progression structure. Explore, gather materials, make gear, move onto the next tier of materials/biome and upgrade. In between those tiers of gear, there's a boss to fight. That is valheim.

[Bored Peon]

Originally posted by hardy_conrad:

Which leaves, Valheim. Funny thing is I first got curious about it roughly a year ago but at the time there were a lot of negative comments about it being abandonware.

You actually believed the trolls?

[wampa]

7 Days, The Forest, Raft, green hell and grounded but not full price

7 Days is a full voxel sandbox game with HEAVY mod community, nothing to see with other game, we are more on skyrim like, 7 days is more about a new ways of making an open software for gamer than making a video game for money market

If you don't play the forest you need to play the forest, go play the forest the full price is 14 buck, wait a little for son of the forest

Raft is rally funny

[Guard1an4]

Of the games you listed, I have played Valheim and both versions of Ark. I have 1700 hours in Ark Survival Evolved and 285 in Ark Survival Ascendant. I have 447 hours in Valheim.

Here is my opinion:

Ark(either) and Valheim are great games. Here is some pro and cons between the two:

Valheim:

Pros:
low system requirements to run
Fun game
Nice progression system
Procedural generated maps
Strong Modding community
Fun Singleplayer or with friends
Interesting Bosses to fight

Cons:
Minimal tamed creatures
Can be a little grindy at times
New content is very slow to release(except mods)

Ark:

Pro:

Lots of creatures to tame which you can ride most and control them
Strong Modding community
Better graphics(in part due to art style of Valheim)
Fun no matter if you play single player, just with friends or some of the many servers out there(I don't recommend official servers especially PVP unless you can play a lot)
Interesting Bosses to fight
For For Ark Survival Ascendant, there are more maps dropping on a regular basis.

Cons:
Depending on server, toxic community
For Ark Survival Ascendant specifically, reasonably high system requirements.
Can be grindy at times as well although in a different way from Valheim


All in all, I would recommend either game. For me though, I feel that with both games there is so many great mods that will help the longevity of the game.

As far as Ark goes, if you haven't played either game and your system can support it I would recommend Ark Survival Ascendant instead of Evolved. The reason being Evolved isn't really being updated anymore.

[Iacelebrendinen]

It depends entirely on whether or not you value your time. The game is pretty and very fun to play at first, but once you get deeper in it gets very tedious unless you fix it with the "Difficulty Options" (see also "Quality of Life Improvements" and "Fixes To Things That We, the Developers, Intentionally Broke"). Crafting, building, exploration, gear acquisition and improvement, and even just getting to fight the bosses that are the whole point of the game are all firmly locked behind so much padding and tedium that the game misses it's own point. The game isn't done and it feels it. Whether or not its for you, wait until it's out of early access. Pay for a finished game when it's done. Right now it's a mess.