Summary
- Norse mythology inspires a wide range of games in various genres, blending sci-fi, horror, and fantasy elements.
- Games like Apsulov, Valheim, and Valhalla offer unique experiences from a futuristic horror adventure to a survival saga.
- Games such as Banner Saga and Elder Scrolls draw on Norse mythology for their settings and themes, providing immersive experiences.
With nine realms of lore and more spilled tea between the gods to fill all the cups of Valhalla, Norse mythology is a potent source of inspiration for any kind of story, video games included. Stories of glorious war sagas, primordial beasts, and the tangled threads of prophecies have inspired some of the finest virtual worlds known to gamers.
6 Best RPGs Based On Folklore, Ranked
Folklore deals with stories told through the ages and passed down from generations past, and these RPGs revel in exploring those stories.
With so many genres and ways to interpret the old Nordic myths, gamers get to experience the full spectrum of Norse legend in staggering multiplicity. From "AAA" to indie, from battling monsters in the cold and shadowy abyss of Hel to the neon-lit, techno-magical realm of Asgard, there are many ways to win glory and catch the gaze of the Allfather.
12 Apsulov: End Of Gods
A Corruption From Long Before The Time Of Odin Reawakens
Apsulov: End of Gods
- Released
- August 8, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Apsulov is not about becoming a mighty Viking but surviving a primordial evil with a taste for technology. Depicting the Norse pantheon as sci-fi is not new, but Apsulov: End of Gods masterfully blends cyberpunk and steel with Nordic-style eldrich horror.
Players explore the deepest depths of a human-led dig that uncovered the secrets of Yddrasil, and along with them, a horror that not even the gods could control. This short, immersive first-person horror game offers plenty in the way of Nordic mythos to chew through, if the player can avoid being eaten themselves.
11 ASKA (Open-Access)
Building More Than Just Longships And Lonely Mead Halls
ASKA
- Released
- June 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Crafting
Although there are plenty of stories about Vikings going their own way and forging their own singular legend, there is great appeal about being a member of a Viking tribe. ASKA allows players to become the leaders of a village during the Nordic time of myth.
10 Best Survival Horror Games With An Actually Realistic Inventory System
A realistic inventory can add further challenge into a survival horror game, and these games handled that realism the best.
Players decide exactly how their settlement should look and the rest of the tribe will work tirelessly toward its success. While player characters are out battling fearsome animals and the undead, their NPCs will work industriously to shore up their defenses, resources, and luxuries.
10 Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn
Horror That Draws From The Myths And Fairytales Of Smallfolk
Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn
- Released
- November 27, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Adventure, First-Person
After surviving a car crash out in the forested parts of contemporary Sweden in the opening act of Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn, the player character (voiced by a Swedish VO) finds themselves awash with darkness and fear as eyes as old as folk stories watch beyond the trees.
As it turns out, the trolls, wraiths, and other malevolent entities from the darkest fairytales are not only real, but make their homes within the game's abandoned mines, cabins, and copses. There are plenty of games out there that star Vikings and feature Odin and his extended kin, but fewer draw upon the rich tapestry of Swedish and Nordic folklore.
9 Munin
A Puzzler Worthy Of Odin's Wisdom
Munin
- Released
- January 10, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Platformer, Adventure
The imagery of Odin in his hall may evoke sentiments of glory and conquest, but a large part of his legend is an affinity for wisdom and craftiness. Munin tests players' mental will and determination as they help the titular Munin, one of Odin's all-seeing ravens.
Cursed into the shape of a human, across the nine worlds, Munin must retrieve her feathers to recover her old body and return home. The hand-drawn landscapes and rotatable pieces of each of the 2D puzzle platformer's levels lend a tactile and nostalgic quality evocative of pop-up storybooks.
8 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
A Viking Epic In Assassin's Clothing
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Released
- November 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Besides being able to use the eyes of a bird to scout the area (very Odin-like) and a hidden blade, Assassin's Creed Valhalla feels unlike its siblings, and not just in a way that changed the Assassin's Creed series. Valhalla may as well have been a new Viking-themed IP in the AC universe.
The "AAA" money afforded Valhalla a level of realism, immersion, and expansiveness unmatched in any other game inspired by Norse myth. In a loose continuation of the AC story thread, Valhalla brings an interesting take on the Nordic gods as part of a prior civilization, where magic and technology are indistinguishable and an ancient lust for power holds strong.
7 The Banner Saga
An Interactive Story Worthy Of A Tapestry In Valhalla
The Banner Saga
- Released
- January 14, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Strategy
The Viking influence is obvious from the tapestry-meets-Disney art style and setting in The Banner Saga, but the Nordic mythology is more low-key, at least initially. Throughout the game is a strong focus on the human elements, warring groups doomed to a world in eternal twilight in a botched Ragnarok scenario.
This requires players to adopt long-term thinking as they fight for survival in each turn-based, tactical battle. The lives of the refugees are in the player's hands, and a single death can alter the story in unexpected ways.
6 Bramble: The Mountain King
A Classic Scandinavian Fairytale
Bramble: The Mountain King
- Released
- April 27, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
While most Norse-inspired games focus on gods and warriors, Bramble: The Mountain King digs into the terrifying creatures lurking between the pages of Scandinavian bedtime stories.
Players are put into the shoes of one of those children, Olle, pitting him against a world of darkness and danger on a quest to reclaim his sister from a sinister troll. Bramble stays true to the genuinely dark, older incarnation of fairytales, rarely holding back on tension and gore.
5 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
A Harrowing Descent Into The Cold Dead Underworld
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Released
- August 16, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Few games can pull off a setting and story as raw and personal but as epic as Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Each step on Senua's journey to find her lost lover feels brutal and earned as she slugs against demons ambiguously of the Norse underworld or her own damaged psyche.
6 Historical Games Where You Can Play As A Female
As playable female heroes have gradually become more mainstream, these games take their female protagonists back in time to key moments in history.
The level of detail, from the eerie backdrop of Hel to the Senua's expressions as she struggles and suffers through each trial mentally and physically, leaves a strong impression, especially from a self-described "AA" studio.
4 Valheim
A Survival Saga Worthy of the Einherjar
Valheim
- Released
- February 2, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- r
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
Valheim puts players on a personal quest through the various planes of the Norse afterlife, where they must use all their skills and the resources available around them to prove themselves worthy of Valhalla.
There is no bloodthirsty rampage to the golden mead hall of legend though, only levels of a purgatorial proving ground where each fallen Viking must build their own glory in Oden's eyes from scratch.
3 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
A Near-Perfect Fantasy Nordic Life Simulator
Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
The Elder Scrolls comes with its own profoundly deep lore, but Skyrim's depiction of horned warriors, world-eating dragons, and magical shouts was obviously influenced by Norse myth. Skyrim wears its cultural influences on its sleeve, borrowing from cultures such as the Ancient Egyptians and indigenous Americans as well as old Scandinavia.
However, there are few other games that understand the power fantasy of being a skald and blowing away enemies with a well-executed holler. Exploring its vast tundras dotted with mead halls and standing stones feels like walking through a Viking-age folktale.