This is the best & most joyous game I have played in ages. Buy it. Now.

You start with nothing, in my case in a bright summer meadow, it's lovely.

All around you is forest, and in that forest are scary monsters. And then there's the dark, where even more monsters come out. Not much you can do about it, other than make sure you are home before nightfall, although I hear the monsters are afraid of fire & burning torches.

I don't know what I am doing, so I spam the controls, I punch thin air, I punch a tree. The tree dies and I have wood. No fussing around crafting axes for me (although I can & I did).

My days are a mix of hunting, gathering materials like wood & stone, repairing ruins or building new hunting lodges. I explore the map, mark things to come back to, places to take shelter, and soak up the gorgeous world. I stop so many times to take screenshots.

There's no specific goals, other than some boss monsters to kill (to which is pegged progression through the game, allowing access to better kit & construction options), it's mostly just survival, and setting your own goals to achieve that end.

On a very positive note, death is not taxed heavily. You don't lose experience, and only at higher levels will you notice a slight drop in your skills when you die. Mostly, you just drop your equipment, and if you can run back you can pick it all up again. This rewards having a go at stuff. Think you can beat a troll in a fist fight? Sure, give it a go...just remember to set your respawn point (your last used bed) somewhere close!

With an updated PC (GTX 1660S), it runs at high level, and looks stunning.

The way the light is implemented means the morning sun catches the trees, the moon sparkles on the sea, etc. Combined with excellent movement in the landscapes (trees, grasses, winds, fogs), and the excellent ambient effects (general fogs, fogs in hollows, spectacular lightning & rain), and all in a subtle art style, it's like softcore environmental porn for gamers.

The gameplay itself is intuitive, relatively simple, but builds up at a good pace, and unlocking new options to build & do isn't overwhelming in detail. For example, the building system is simple but effective. You can throw up a new home in an afternoon (game time).

There's no classes, no talent tree. You simply level up what you do. If you want to be good at sneaking, sneak; archery, then use a bow; running away, then follow me!

The music & sound is excellent, I regularly jump with fright at the snap of a twig in the forest around me!

The vibe of the game is great, you do feel like a Viking (in my case, a pretty bad one initially, but getting there!).

One very good feature, you start in your own world, so unlike Rust, you don't get beaten to death for saying hello. You can choose to let others join you, or join others in their worlds.

I don't want to spoil the game, there's so many good features, it's had me hooked for the best part of a week.

I would just say, after 70 days in game on land, somewhat scared of drowning, my Viking built his boat, and all of a sudden my world was transformed. I was a land based Viking, now I am a seafarer, and much like the Vikings of old, I spot things from the boat and head ashore to investigate, or mark them for a future visit.

If you want to see how lovely it looks, my feed is full of screenshots from it.

Valhalla awaits, unless your deaths are ignoble, like mine!

This is the best & most joyous game I have played in ages. Buy it. Now. You start with nothing, in my case in a bright summer meadow, it's lovely. All around you is forest, and in that forest are scary monsters. And then there's the dark, where even more monsters come out. Not much you can do about it, other than make sure you are home before nightfall, although I hear the monsters are afraid of fire & burning torches. I don't know what I am doing, so I spam the controls, I punch thin air, I punch a tree. The tree dies and I have wood. No fussing around crafting axes for me (although I can & I did). My days are a mix of hunting, gathering materials like wood & stone, repairing ruins or building new hunting lodges. I explore the map, mark things to come back to, places to take shelter, and soak up the gorgeous world. I stop so many times to take screenshots. There's no specific goals, other than some boss monsters to kill (to which is pegged progression through the game, allowing access to better kit & construction options), it's mostly just survival, and setting your own goals to achieve that end. On a very positive note, death is not taxed heavily. You don't lose experience, and only at higher levels will you notice a slight drop in your skills when you die. Mostly, you just drop your equipment, and if you can run back you can pick it all up again. This rewards having a go at stuff. Think you can beat a troll in a fist fight? Sure, give it a go...just remember to set your respawn point (your last used bed) somewhere close! With an updated PC (GTX 1660S), it runs at high level, and looks stunning. The way the light is implemented means the morning sun catches the trees, the moon sparkles on the sea, etc. Combined with excellent movement in the landscapes (trees, grasses, winds, fogs), and the excellent ambient effects (general fogs, fogs in hollows, spectacular lightning & rain), and all in a subtle art style, it's like softcore environmental porn for gamers. The gameplay itself is intuitive, relatively simple, but builds up at a good pace, and unlocking new options to build & do isn't overwhelming in detail. For example, the building system is simple but effective. You can throw up a new home in an afternoon (game time). There's no classes, no talent tree. You simply level up what you do. If you want to be good at sneaking, sneak; archery, then use a bow; running away, then follow me! The music & sound is excellent, I regularly jump with fright at the snap of a twig in the forest around me! The vibe of the game is great, you do feel like a Viking (in my case, a pretty bad one initially, but getting there!). One very good feature, you start in your own world, so unlike Rust, you don't get beaten to death for saying hello. You can choose to let others join you, or join others in their worlds. I don't want to spoil the game, there's so many good features, it's had me hooked for the best part of a week. I would just say, after 70 days in game on land, somewhat scared of drowning, my Viking built his boat, and all of a sudden my world was transformed. I was a land based Viking, now I am a seafarer, and much like the Vikings of old, I spot things from the boat and head ashore to investigate, or mark them for a future visit. If you want to see how lovely it looks, my feed is full of screenshots from it. Valhalla awaits, unless your deaths are ignoble, like mine!