It is Thursday and I am still catching up on what happened last week. That includes checking out Valheim, which left early access on September 9th. The Deep North, the final biome, is now available and the game is complete… save for the patches.
Valheim 1.0 and the Deep North
I am not too happy about the price increase with 1.0… but also I bought the game for $20 back in February of 2021 and have played it for nearly 700 hours at this point, so I guess I shouldn’t care it is now $30. Still, I’d be more likely to buy it on the Switch 2 if it were still $20.
(And the reason I mention that is that they have implemented cross-platform play, so you could setup a server and, if I understand it correctly, have PC and console players all joined together. It isn’t cross-save however, as the local file formats are different, so you can’t play your PC character on your Switch 2, but you could still play in the same world. We’ll see.)
Anyway, that is a bit beside the point. The 1.0 update delivered a ton of new content beyond the Deep North biome. The short list of what is new includes:
- New Biome – Deep North
- 40+ New weapons
- New bombs and ammunition
- 4 New armour sets
- 2 New capes
- 2 New trinkets
- New tools
- 10+ New creatures
- 80+ New buildable pieces
- 5 New crafting related build pieces
- 30+ New crafting materials
- 20+ New food items
- New locations
- New music
- New events
- New mechanics
- Upgradeable pockets
- Achievements
Some of those obviously go along with the new biome, as each biome introduces a new round of gear and material upgrades. But there is more than that in the mix, so I set out to poke my nose into the 10th world once more to check in out.
Just launching the game gives you a new cinematic that describes the universe and the raison d’etre of Valheim. I am not sure if that needs to run every time I launch the game, but it is also skippable unlike, say, Microsoft studio logo cinematics at the start of Forza Horizon 6.
I grabbed a world seed from a Reddit post about good starting seeds (I went with the first on the list), created a new character and a new world and jumped on it, being flown in as before.
Arrival on Valheim remains the same
There was, however, something odd. That pinkish tone was due to some effect that kept firing off. Then when I was dropped off the initial animation started over and I was once again being flown over the planet. And again. And again.
Oh, right, mods. I had launched with mods from my last run at the game and… well, if you think WoW Addons are too slow to get updates, I have bad news about mods on Steam.
So I quit out and restarted without mods. The mods I favor help with inventory management, portals, and removing the mist from the Mistlands, and none of those were going to be an issue immediately.
That settled things down and I was soon safely on the ground with Munin… or is it Hugin… giving me the wind up about the place and making a shelter and what not. Also it was, as always, the dark of night, it was raining, and I couldn’t see a thing.
Time to find shelter.
Fortunately there is always some stone and wood laying around and I was able to spot an dilapidated structure. I built a hammer and a stone axe, then a workbench next to the building to I could fix it up and replace missing pieces of the roof.
Then I went inside and found there was a beehive.
A beehive, later in the game, is no problem. You just stand back and shoot it with your bow and it drops and you get a bit of honey and a queen, the latter letting you setup your own beehive.
When you have just a hammer and a stone axe however, a beehive can be a hazard because the bees will sting and poison you if you get too close. But I figured maybe the bees would leave me alone if I stayed at the other end of the building. However, the bees had a different opinion and kept stinging me and I died.
Dead in the first few minutes
The bees actually got an assist because, in classic Valheim fashion, I walked over the campfire, setting myself ablaze, adding to my misery and hastening me demise. That got me my first achievement.
Death – First of Many
I think, technically, my first achievement should have been the one you get for landing in the game, but the mod issue hid that and it showed up later.
I came back and knocked out the back of the building, extended the roof a bit, then setup a bed a bit further from the bees, who left me alone. I had my first shelter. It didn’t look great, but it kept the rain out… mostly.
Roughing it while the bees are still around the next morning
So there I was, in Valheim again… for what, the fifth or sixth run? How much appeal could the game have left for me.
However, there is something really compelling about the early game. That is true about a lot of games, for sure, but stalking about the the meadows among the beach trees has something magical about it.
I was in ideal circumstances for it too. It was late in the evening, the house was quiet, the room was dark, and I wasn’t listening to a video or a podcast or anything, but just listening to the sounds of the game, seeing a new world for the first time, exploring in what amounted to a fairly small area around the initial landing spot.
Morning in Valheim
Part of what makes the game work is how well the arguably modest quality graphics work.
Light shining through the trees
Something about it gives me a real sense of place, enhanced by the sounds of the world around me. I hear my steps, the grunts of some boars over the hill, the yips of the deer not too far off, the crunch of a greyling who is coming up behind me, and the other little ambient sounds that make the world come alive.
The whole thing can be so peaceful and engaging that I wonder why I feel I must do anything at all.
And then I go and spoil it all by doing something stupid like progressing.
I am compelled. I have to go over the hill and fight those boars. I need the leather pieces to craft a bow. I need the bow to hunt the deer who are spooked and run away so easily.
Sneaking up on the deer
(Also, I need to take care of that damn beehive.)
I need the deer hide to craft better armor and to make the upgrade for the workbench. Oh, I need some flint, and then more deer hide… and the meat, because the berries and mushrooms only provide a very modest health boost and last for a relatively short duration. Then I have to start cooking and storing materials which means boxes and inventory management… and soon I am building a bigger base and upgrading gear and ranging further afield and getting ready to fight Eikthyr and the train just keeps on rolling until at least Yagluth.
Am I ready for that? I don’t know. I have no idea how far this will go.
To start with, there are a number of other titles calling on me and there are only so many hours in the day.
But I don’t have to be in a hurry. Maybe this is something I’ll keep to hand for quiet moments.
The world tree in the sky above
We shall see. But Valheim has arrived. What the future holds… who can say?
Also, it might be nice if at least the inventory management mods I like get updates.
Related:
- Iron Gate – Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived!
- Iron Gate – Valheim Hotfix 1.0.10 & 1.0.12
- Iron Gate – Valheim Patch 1.0.14