Vikings: Wolves of Midgard saves itself from being a forgettable dungeon crawler by embracing its subject matter whole heartedly, and establishing a core gameplay experience that it then builds gradually as players level up and gain new skills. The first choice you’ll make when you step into Vikings is what characters abilities you want and their chosen style. This means that you start the game with a primary class, but you aren’t locked into it. If you want to multi-spec into an archer as well as your tanking set, you can do so at the cost of progression in your main class. You can even change weapon sets and classes at the press of a button, allowing you to transition through fights in a way that fits the mechanics of the moment.

Player choice is also bolstered by the ability to choose a stat to boost by 1% each time you level up. If you focus on a particular stat, you can work with a 30% increase to damage or health by the time you reach the game’s late stages. Alternatively, you can invest broadly across your stats so that you do everything a little bit better.

"Vikings: Wolves of Midgard saves itself from being a forgettable dungeon crawler by embracing its subject matter whole heartedly, and establishing a core gameplay experience that it then builds gradually as players level up and gain new skills."

Customization and character progression in Vikings are robust enough that they’re engaging, without becoming confusing. Players will fill their skill trees about half way through the campaign, and can then go back through to buff their skills in their main tree or spec into another. This means that players do not have abilities to choose from within their class, each class comes with only as many abilities as it can use, with no spares. This is both a feature and a shortfall. It have been nice to have a little more choice, but in other games with vast arrays of abilities to choose from I typically narrow in on my favorites and use them to the exclusion of all others.

Using the abilities you do have access to is exceptionally satisfying in Vikings. Each ability has a clear use, from engaging enemies in a line, to getting yourself surrounded before freezing them all in a frost nova and then shattering them with a flaming sweep of your sword. Even on lower difficulties, combat in Vikings feels like it has stakes, and while you may be safe taking on a single enemy at a time, tackling groups can be dangerous.

"When it’s not killing you with the environment, Vikings tries to do so with a wide variety of enemies."

The game also rewards risk taking, by granting XP bonuses for multi-kills and forcing you to plow through the levels thanks to the exposure mechanic. Many levels in Vikings take place in hostile environments, be they howling fjords or the poisonous realm of Utgard. The exposure mechanic puts a time limit on how long you can travel through a level, before you have to turn back to the safety of a fire or press on in haste to try and reach the next cave to shelter in. Most of the time, exposure just put a little pressure in the back of my mind as I moved through levels, but it did at times make for truly desperate fights and I tried to cut my way to safety, and I died more than once to the icy cold.

When it’s not killing you with the environment, Vikings tries to do so with a wide variety of enemies. Vikings successfully walks a fragile line between remaining true to the mythology it draws from, and providing players with a rich and diverse encounters and landscapes. Though averting Ragnarok is your primary goal, there are other smaller threats to contend with as well. In order to rebuild your own village you need to subjugate the other clans, and even as giants walk the hillside, crusaders from the south threaten to destroy what remains of your people.

All of these conflicts give players a wide variety of enemies to combat, without feeling like the narrative has lost focus, or that your character is being distracted from the apocalypse just over the horizon. It also means that the game takes place in a variety of landscapes, from frozen tundras to sandy islands and the depths of Hel.

The boss fights at the conclusion of each story mission are just as varied, sometimes taking the form of a single massive enemy, while others are represented by waves of opponents that seek to drown you in their numbers. Each boss fight had its own mechanics and systems to learn, and I almost always needed more than one attempt before I understood the boss well enough to take it down.

"Despite the balance that Vikings brings to player choice and the well-rounded experience that forms the game’s campaign, Vikings is not without its flaws."

Despite the balance that Vikings brings to player choice and the well-rounded experience that forms the game’s campaign, Vikings is not without its flaws. Aspects of the UI are clunky, making the act of selecting a piece of gear or the next ability to unlock a chore that you have to return to again and again. The game also suffers from a repetitive structure. Each raid consists of a zone to fight your way through, populated by enemies that can be dispatched with relative ease, concluded by a boss fight and the distribution of loot before returning to your village. This structure made for a worthwhile first play through, but discourages playing back through the game. Even if you vary your class, or bring a friend along, you’ll be fighting the same things, in the same ways, if you play the game more than once.

The story, while containing an interesting plot, is devoid of characters to sympathize with and feel connected to. The chieftain you play as is an impatient murder machine, who shows no interest in the advice of their counselors, and cares only for when and where they’ll next wet their blade.

Still, bugs hold Vikings back more so than any design flaws. During one boss fight, the boss stood still while I hacked away, while another scripted sequence caused the game to crash three times before I could successfully move on. Hit registration is inconsistent, and enemy health displays can be wildly inaccurate from time to time.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard is a good game, with great balance in its character customization, and a fun, deep, and rewarding combat system as well as a compelling plot with enough variety of enemies and locations to keep the gameplay fresh across the fifteen hours it takes to complete the campaign. However a repetitive raid structure, and a distracting number of bugs keep the game from being a must buy.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard, a brand new action RPG from developer Games Farm and publisher Kalypso Media, is now out- it is available to download on PC globally, as well as for purchase on consoles in Europe (in North America, you can get it on March 28). To celebrate the game’s launch, Kalypso has released a brand new, thrilling launch trailer, giving us an overview of the game.

The two minute long trailer showcases some of the bloody and brutal combat in the game, while also setting up its story and premise. It also, naturally, showcases some footage from the game itself. You can see this trailer for yourself below.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard will cost $39.99 (and equivalent prices in other territories). It is available both, physically and digitally, on consoles, and digitally only on PC. Does this game interest you? Make sure to let us know in the comments section!

Super Bomberman R

Your first thought is probably, “Konami is making a game that people actually want?!” Yes but it’s surprising to see it be Super Bomberman R and that too exclusive (currently at least) to the Nintendo Switch. Regardless, our favourite bomb-thrower is back in his 2D grid-based domain with a 50 stage story campaign. Multiplayer is the main appeal of the series though. Super Bomberman R features eight player competitive play for the old-school masses who simply want to blow up their friends. Look out for it launching with the Switch on March 3^rd.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Arguably the most hotly anticipated Zelda title of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Nintendo Switch’s flagship launch game. Link returns in a Hyrule far larger than anything seen till now and will once again face the forces of evil. How is everything connected to the Ocarina of Time, if they’re indeed connected at all? Dynamic weather, wide-ranging landscapes, looting mechanics and a new Zelda are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Breath of the Wild which releases on March 3^rd for the Switch and Wii U.

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

The Atelier story may be unfamiliar to most at this point and Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey won’t really change that. However, if you’re looking for a solid JRPG series with enough alchemy to make Edward Elric’s head spin, you’ve come to the right place. Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey will feature a time limit like the previous game and you’ll be gathering items and synthesizing them together with Catalysts changing up their bonuses. Those interested in combat can take four party members into battles and see abilities and tactics change depending on the weather and time of day. Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey will arrive for on PC, PS4 and PS Vita on March 7^th.

Lego Worlds

The sandbox exploration title featuring the lovable Lego art-style is finally out in March for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Lego Worlds has actually been in Steam Early Access for a while and impressed us with its sheer variety of worlds, vehicles, NPCs and more. Plus you can ride dragons, encounter Bigfoot (and incinerate him accordingly) or just cross the sea in a grand pirate adventure. It releases on March 7^th with a Nintendo Switch release also coming in the future.

Nier: Automata

Break-neck hack and slash action, open exploration, side-scrolling platforming, overhead bullet-hell battles – Platinum’s Nier: Automata nearly has it all. The explosive action RPG turned heads with its demo in December and the awesome combo-ridden combat and expansive locales have us salivating. You can even venture out into the world to find your previous corpse and animate it to fight for you. Don’t even get us started on the boss battles. It’s out on March 7^th for PS4 in North America.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands

The recent open beta presented a new region and challenges but the consensus is clear – this isn’t your average Ghost Recon. Set in Bolivia, Ghost Recon: Wildlands features an open world to explore with vehicles and multiple tactical approaches to completing objectives. Go it alone with AI teammates or rope in three friends to bungle missions together. Partake in higher difficulties and prove your mettle as a Ghost, ideally after the open beta when Ubisoft tweaks the AI some more. The possibilities are endless when Ghost Recon: Wildlands arrives on March 7^th.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew

The oft-delayed virtual reality title from Ubisoft sees you (and your friends) occupying the eyes and ears of the USS Aegis. A story campaign is included, taking place after Star Trek (2009) but players can also engage in randomly generated missions as well. The main hook of Star Trek: Bridge Crew is that each player of a total four can take on a different role. You could occupy the Captain’s chair while someone else serves as engineer. Star Trek: Bridge Crew finally arrives on March 14^th for PS4.

Styx: Shards of Darkness

Cyanide’s fantasy stealth sequel sees the return of Styx as he infiltrates Körangar to find out more about the alliance between Dark Elves and Dwarves. Cloning, traps and invisibility return along with ropes and grappling hooks for traversing to higher areas. Co-op support has also been added, allowing you and a friend to sneak together. With a new engine and higher production values, Styx: Shards of Darkness could a decent time-waster for stealth fans when it arrives on March 14^th for Xbox One, PC and PS4.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Shepard is gone but the intergalactic journey of exploration continues. Mass Effect: Andromeda follows a new crew helmed by Pathfinder Alec Ryder with the player assuming control over either Scott or Sarah Ryder. Conflicts with new enemies called the Ket, an improved Mako, larger levels and open world activities to partake in, improved movement, revamped combat mechanics for switching classes and load-outs on the fly – the only real criticism at this stage is how long we have to wait. Mass Effect: Andromeda releases on March 21^st for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Toukiden 2

There’s a new Toukiden out in March and no, it’s not Age of Demons. Taking place two years after the events of Toukiden Kiwami, the Slayers return to do battle against the demons. With a focus on open world exploration, you’ll now engage in battles seamlessly, identifying which regions to assault based on their hazard levels. Hunting Grounds also make a return along with a new day and night system, customization options. Those suffering from a Monster Hunter hangover take note – Toukiden 2 arrives on March 24^th for PS3, PS4, PS Vita and PC.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard

Gauntlet meets Norse mythology in Vikings: Wolves of Midgard. Travel the world as a hulking male warrior or a nimble shield maiden, battling ice demons and growing your Viking village with rescued survivors. Combat is complex with different abilities like projectiles, charging attacks and much more. Each character has their own unique attacks and the sheer beauty of this frozen wasteland makes it worth a look for its co-op. Vikings: Wolves of Midgard is out on March 24^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix/Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix

Okay, so Final Chapter Prologue may have been a venerable mixed bag of sorts for the Kingdom Hearts faithful on PS4. But with the release of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5/2.5 Remix this March, you get a lot more Kingdom Hearts goodness for your buck. Along with Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix as playable games, you get 358/2 Days and        Re:coded as cinematic retellings. Will they help you understand the whole convoluted mess of a story? Probably not but both HD remaster collections arrive on March 28^th for PS4.

MLB The Show 17

Have you seen those hair textures? You must have seen those hair textures but regardless, there are plenty of other reasons to check out SCE San Diego’s MLB The Show 17. There’s the Retro Mode which throws the action back to the two-button controls of yore and Road to Show, a branching storyline mode packed with excitement. Want a team of Legends and All-Stars? Diamond Dynasty’s got you covered and we can’t wait to see how this all looks when MLB The Show 17 releases on March 28^th for PS4.

Strafe

Old-school Doom/Quake action meets rogue-like mechanics in Strafe. This pixelated first person shooter from Pixel Titans pays homage to the granddaddy of all shooters while featuring randomly generated levels, gore that constantly remains in your surroundings and tons of replay value. Strafe also supports Oculus Rift for those who want to frag out in virtual reality – it’s out on March 28^th for PC, Mac OS X and PlayStation 4. Now if only Glory Kills could be patched in post-launch…

Has-Been Heroes

Frozenbyte’s rogue-like RTS/turn-based strategy hybrid is something different. It follows a team of heroes as they escort some princesses to school. Baddies lie in the way and along with collecting tons of epic loot to vanquish them; you’ll need to think on your toes amidst the constantly approaching enemies. It’s an interesting mix of strategy and action, one that we didn’t expect given the studio’s last major release Shadwen. Has-Been Heroes releases on March 28^th Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

A number of games these days have begun to support the PS4 Pro and quite a number of titles are hopping aboard the 4K bandwagon (whether through checkerboard rendering or simple upscaling). However, there’s a bit of effort that goes into enabling such support.

Speaking to Games Far CEO and head of development Peter Nagy, who’s currently working on Vikings: Wolves of Midgar, we asked if it would be possible for the Diablo-inspired action RPG to support 4K resolution and 30 FPS on the PS4 Pro. After all, it would be running at 1080p and 30 FPS on PS4 and Xbox One.

Nagy responded that, “We are still evaluating our options with performance. We definitively want to deliver the best gameplay experience on both consoles but the fact is that Vikings is heavy on performance because of its visuals. We aim to deliver a great gameplay experience in the first place and we are doing our best to get stable 1080p/30fps on both consoles. But we need some more time to confirm this is possible without staggering at some places.”

At this point, it seems that, “PS4 Pro will definitively support 1080p/30 fps. Unfortunately we may not be able to squeeze 4k/30fps from PS4 Pro; but we are still evaluating our possibilities with PS4 Pro.”

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard is out in “early 2017” for PC, Xbox One and PS4 so there’s time yet. Stay tuned for more information in the meantime.

The Xbox One Scorpio is touted to be the most powerful console ever made, when it launches next year. It will have a monstrous 6 TFLOPs GPU, better CPU and memory, and… actually, that’s all that we really know about it. We don’t know much about any other specs on the machine, and though Microsoft talk about the console a lot, we are left in the dark about the specifics regarding it.

That was one of the things implicitly pointed out by Peter Nagy, CEO of Gamesfarm, currently developing Vikings: Wolves of Midgard. When the conversation with him inevitably turned to the Xbox One Scorpio, he pointed out several important things- that an assessment of a console’s power couldn’t be made when just its GPU was a known quantity, given that there is so much more to a console than just that; that the Scorpio will be releasing near the end of 2017, at which point 6 TFLOPs may not even be that impressive to begin with; and finally, that a stronger console doesn’t necessarily mean better games if gameplay improvements are not allowed.

“It may look powerful now; but it shall be out on the market at the end of 2017 (at least that’s what they have on site),” Nagy said. “Also, it is important to note that the GPU is strong but CPU and memory are also essential for games development. So the standpoint cannot be taken only from GPU point of view but has to consider also other components. Strong GPU says that the console will be able to target 4K and VR; but it says not much about the gameplay itself. Currently 1080 GTX offers 9TFLOPs and until end of 2017 there will be at least another generation of graphics card released. So at the time it will hit the market it will be on par with average new gaming PC, or below.”

The PC comparison aside, however, Nagy did mention some of the things that he hoped he would be able to implement in his games thanks to Scorpio.

“But regardless of PC comparison where consoles inevitably fail, Scorpio will be something solid to work with and definitively the most powerful console on the market,” he conceded. “It will certainly allow developers to utilize new visual and gaming features in larger scale and develop visually more stunning games. We hopefully will be able to use more extensively dynamic terrain tessellation, better looking shaders, improved lightning techniques and at last (but not least) finally start with really working with 4k resolution which is in the moment tricky…”

I do agree with everything he has said here- while I don’t doubt that Scorpio will be the most powerful console on the market when it releases next year, we have no way of knowing how powerful until we know more about the system at all. And just having a better GPU or more power all around doesn’t necessarily mean better games- it can mean better looking games, but not necessarily better playing games, especially if Microsoft mandate parity with the original Xbox One, which right now it looks like they may do.

Update: The headline has been updated to correctly reflect the story.

Original story:

The PS4 Pro is now a thing, which means we can stop speculating about its impact on the market, and start actually analyzing that. One of the ways we do that is by talking to the developers who are working on games for the PS4, and asking them any questions we have about the PS4 Pro directly. So when we had a chat with Peter Nagy, CEO and Head of development at Gamesfarm, the folks currently developing Vikings: Wolves of Midgard, we decided to ask him some questions we have about the PS4 Pro.

We asked him, for instance, what he foresaw the PS4 Pro’s greatest weakness being- would it be the CPU, which had always been the weak link on the PS4, but would be even more so on the Pro, given the extent of improvements all other aspects of the console got? Nagy, however, felt that it would be something else entirely- it didn’t have to do with anything wrong with the architecture of the PS4 Pro itself, it had to do with the PS4 Pro’s compatibility mandate.

“The major problem for us as the developers is that there is going to be line-up of different but still same consoles with mandatory backwards compatibility,” he said. “So it only adds more requirements we have to take care of instead of focusing on the development. Tuning the game to a single platform is well possible; but tuning the game to multiple performance wise different platforms is very annoying and requires additional costs without any real gameplay benefits beyond some visual improvements. I understand that incoming VR and 4K has different needs but the market may become a bit overpopulated with income of XBOX ONE S and Project Scorpio.”

That said, he did also sound off on what specific weaknesses on the PS4 Pro would be, in his opinion- he pointed out that the memory and CPU would probably become bottlenecks for PS4 development going forward, even on PS4 Pro.

“I consider CPU and memory as primary drawbacks for PS4 – we already experienced certain performance issues during Vikings: Wolves of Midgard development… This did not improve a lot with PS4 Pro,” he said.

This is another admission from developers that having to support an additional SKU might be a problem, and I can empathize with them to an extent- I take note of the fact that so far, smaller developers have been the ones who have exclusively pointed out this problem at all. That said, as I have pointed out before numerous times, iterative consoles are the way of the future, and this transition period, while inevitably painful, is a necessary evil. I also cannot fault Sony for their overly conservative policies mandating compatibility with the PS4 Pro- they are treading new ground here, and they don’t want to alienate 50 million PS4 owners. I get it.

So, while I feel Nagy’s pain here, I must assert that I personally also feel that the PS4 Pro (and the Scorpio) are both blazing the trail for the future, and that the painful teething period will be worth it in the long run.

Kalypso have released the very first trailer for Vikings – Wolves of Midgard, the upcoming action RPG by Games Farm- and it should be something that appeals to fans of old top down CRPGs. Vikings looks to be most like those games, with a similar camera angle and similar kind of combat.

That said, there are new things about it that should definitely endear it to a broader audience- for instance, the game will support online co-op, and its Norse mythology based setting also makes it far more appealing than the often arcane Dungeons and Dragons based campaigns old CRPGs used to have.

There’s also the fact that while Vikings may be CRPG inspired, it will be available to more than just PC players. It will be launching in early 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PCs running Windows, Mac, and Linux- so you don’t have much of an excuse to not play it.

Check out the trailer below.