War of the Vikings is an action-based role-playing game that resembles a MOBA (i.e. Massive Online Battle Arena). The game is played online with multiple game modes to choose from. Gamers familiar with War of the Roses or Mount and Blade are in for a treat.
The well-known combat engine that made the aforementioned games a hit is present in War of the Vikings. The combat is full of bloody, non-stop carnage from start to finish.
There are a plethora of character classes to choose from such as short range and long-range melee classes, as well as two different range classes. Aside from the default character builds, you can create your own classes. As you play online, you accumulate Battle Points that can be used to unlock different types of armor and weapons to customize your build. In the beginning, the game makes the player use default builds to earn points for later use.
War of the Vikings has a class for every gamer, whether you prefer swords and shields (1h melee), double-handed swords and axis (2h melee), or long range weapons such as crossbows and longbows. The only thing that War of the Vikings lacks is a spellcaster class, which would unbalance the game.
Combat is action-based and full of bloody carnage. Swinging your sword in more difficult than just simply clicking a mouse button. Attacking, blocking and parrying requires you to hold either the left or right mouse button and swipe the mouse in the appropriate direction. The longer you hold the mouse button and the direction of your attack, the harder your attack will be.
The twitch-style gameplay that dominates the genre is not present in War of the Vikings. You cannot rush your opponent and expect to win the fight. The gameplay requires more strategy; you have to plan out your actions before engaging your opponent. The battles are brutal, fast, and downright furious. You must work with your team to survive. Weekend warriors that like to play the role of ‘lone wolf’ are guaranteed to die shortly after the game starts. You need your teammates to cover your back, especially if you’re standing in the middle of a major battle.
War of the Vikings has a wonderful community of gamers that are very easy to get along with. Some online communities are not as friendly and they’re not as understanding if you’re a ‘noobie’ to the rules of engagement. The only downside to the game is its lack of a single-player experience, sans the offline tutorials. The tutorial system explains the basics and it gives you a greater understanding of the mechanics. The tutorials are brilliant and will prep you for the battles you will encounter online.
The graphics are simply gorgeous, as the backgrounds contain moving shrubbery, grass, and trees. The environments come to life with photo realistic graphics and incredibly detailed character models. You can even see shadows on the playfield from your teammates, enemies and even from the environment itself.
The dedication and time that was spent to develop War of the Vikings is evident from the solid combat system to the extraordinary graphics. War of the Vikings happens to be one of Paradox’s best online games. Gamers who have played War of the Roses will definitely enjoy this game.
War of the Vikings is like War of the Roses before it went Free to Play — once you have purchased it, there are no additional fees or subscriptions. You can play until your heart’s content without having to worry about your subscription expiring. If you are looking for a fast-paced game that never seems to grow old, then you need to add War of the Vikings to your Steam Digital Library.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: PC
System Requirements
Minimum:
OS: Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)
Processor: Dual Core 2.6 GHz processor
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 512MB DDR3 Shader Model 4.0 compatible card (minimum: Nvidia GeForce GTX 560, AMD Radeon HD 6870) 512mb
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 20 GB available space
Additional Notes: Non-gaming Laptops and Onboard Video Cards are not officially supported.
Developer: Fatshark
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
ESRB: N/A
Price: $24.99
War of the Vikings’ Official Website
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Massive environments with photorealistic graphics. | |
| Sound |  |
| Authentic screams, battle cries and the clanging of weaponry can be heard during the matches. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Heart-pounding gameplay makes War of the Vikings simply irresistible. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| The best deathmatching game you will ever lay your hands on | |
