One of the most iconic medieval civilizations, the Vikings were a warrior people that raided and settled across Europe between the 9th and 11th centuries. In gaming, there are few other medieval civilizations that are quite as well explored as the Vikings, and that only continues to be true, with more and more games set in the Viking era being released every year. And with such high competition, Civilization 7 really needs to go above and beyond with its own Viking faction.
Each Civilization game, even from the very first 1991 release, has had a plethora of different world leaders and nations to choose from. Over time, this number has only grown exponentially, with the first Civilization offering an impressive 14, and the latest entry Civilization 6 offering an eye-watering total of over 70 world leaders, and over 50 separate nations. But while the Civilization franchise has swapped out a handful of nations every few entries, the Vikings have remained a staple of the series for a while now, and Civilization 7 is going to need to do something special to make them stand out once more, especially in the current market.
Civilization 7's Vikings Have a Lot of Competition Now
The playable Viking faction was first introduced in Civilization 2, where players could either control Canute or Gunnhild, two of the most famous Viking leaders in history. As far as gameplay goes, Civilization 2's in-game Vikings didn't have too many unique qualities about them, behaving very similarly to the rest of the factions in the game. But, if an AI was controlling the Vikings, then they would act aggressively, attempting to expand across the map as fast as possible.
Civilization 3 is where the Vikings get their first truly unique franchise portrayal. Available only in the Play the World expansion, Civilization 3's Vikings are classified as a militaristic faction, with heavy emphasis being placed on offensive land and naval units intended to be used to expand across the map quickly and efficiently. Civilization 3's Vikings also have a unique Berserk unit, replacing the standard Longbowmen troop type. The Berserk unit is one of the first amphibious units players can unlock in a match, allowing for easier global expansion. Vikings appear in a similar form in Civilization 4, and though they were cut from Civilization 5, they made a return in Civilization 6, where they received an entire Vikings Scenario DLC pack, adding three separate Viking nations to the game.
While Vikings and Norse mythology have always been popular subjects in the gaming landscape, the last few years have really taken this popularity to the next level. Though it wasn't part of the gaming industry, the Marvel Cinematic Universe played a large part in repopularizing Norse mythology for a casual audience, with characters like Thor, Loki, and Odin becoming household names in the 2010s. In the gaming space, God of War 2018's Viking and Norse mythology made it one of the first big-budget, AAA dives into this territory, and 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla was fast on its tail. The survival sandbox game Valheim opened the mythology up to a multiplayer crowd in 2021 when it hit Steam Early Access, and finally, God of War Ragnarok continued to dive head-first into all aspects of Norse mythology and Viking culture at the end of last year.
Generally speaking, all of the games mentioned above are excellent depictions of Viking culture and Norse mythology, with both Assassin's Creed Valhalla and God of War showing both the most iconic elements of the lore and some of its more hidden aspects, often through engaging story quests and compelling collectibles. Put simply, Civilization 7 has a lot of competition when it comes to Viking and Norse mythology, so if it plans on adding them as a playable faction, then it needs to ensure they stand out from the ever-growing crowd.
Civilization 7 is in development.