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Valheim has become the next survival game hit on Steam

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Looks like Iron Gate AB and Coffee Stain Publishing did well, with the survival game Valheim doing fantastic.

After entering Early Access on February 2, it has repeatedly climbed up the top lists on Steam for players and sales hitting a fresh record of 131,153 online on Sunday February 7. Nothing is ever guaranteed to be a hit but it looks like they managed to find quite the sweet-spot and thankfully this hit has full Linux support, with the main developer even working from Linux.

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Not only is it doing well on sales and players, it's reviewing well overall too. It's gained over 8 thousand user reviews, with it already hitting an Overwhelmingly Positive status. The developer put up something of a teaser for their roadmap too, which gives the names of a few planned updates along with a confirmed new biome coming. We might also see multiplayer interactions, combat improvements, moon phases, tar pits, a sandbox mode and more "if Odin wills it".

Feature Highlight:

  • Huge procedurally-generated world - explore and inhabit mystical lands, from mysteriousforests to imposing snow-topped mountain ranges and stunning meadows, complete with their own creatures of legend to battle and wildlife to hunt.
  • Co-op PvE (2-10 players) - - Whether you want to brave the lands alone or venture with trusted allies, Valheim supports independent, player-hosted servers and unlimited world creation. We recommend playing co-op with 3-5 players.
  • Punishing dodge & block based combat system with a wide range of weapons
  • Build & sail ships - from flimsy rafts to imposing warships, build legendary vessels to conquer the seas and discover new lands.
  • Summon and defeat vengeful primordial bosses of myth and legend, and collect trophies to progress and craft new powerful items
  • Flexible house and base building system - raise mead halls, farms, settlements outposts, castles and more.
  • Intuitive item crafting - forge the finest weapons and armour, and craft food and mead.
  • Dedicated server- for players who want to run a persistent server. If you prefer not to run a server on your PC, consider renting a server at G-Portal.

If you're thinking about buying Valheim - be wary of the smoke. When building your house, you need a fire. You also need a roof for your bed and once you start containing everything with walls and a roof, things get a bit tough to breath. Smoke isn't just for show here either, so be sure to come up with some sort of fireplace with a chimney.

You can buy Valheim with Linux support on Steam.

On a side-note: the excellent LinuxGSM project just recently added support for running Valheim servers, so if you're interested in hosting your own cheaply that's probably the way to go. If you want to hook up with other Linux players, our Discord has a Game Server channel with multiple people hosting already and plenty of regulars from our community joining in on the fun.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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27 comments
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abuasabu Feb 8, 2021
I totally immersed in this game. Even trying to avoid Youtube game plays to avoid any spoilers..
Spirimint Feb 8, 2021
Bought it as well and i must say its sooo good :D
Xpander Feb 8, 2021
30 hours played, still haven't reached to the end.. taking my time with it also ofc.. no rush.
love the game... runs good, looks good, plays good! no bugs or crashes during my 30 hours of playing.. thats how you do a proper Early Access.. amazing job by devs!
Zappor Feb 8, 2021
Is it OpenGL on Linux or.. ?
Liam Dawe Feb 8, 2021
Quoting: ZapporIs it OpenGL on Linux or.. ?
Vulkan by default, with a launch option picker to go OpenGL if needed.
ObsidianBlk Feb 8, 2021
Ended up getting the game shortly after the previous article on this site mentioned it.
It's absolutely beautiful, and runs very very well (especially when compared to some other big survival titles) even as an early access game. Personally I find the crafting/building just complex enough to be interesting and fun, but not so overly complex that I'm spending hours just trying to figure out how to build a club or camp fire.

That's not to say it's perfect... I love how the camp fire thing works, but I really wish there was some explanation given in game regarding how to put the camp fire IN your house. It's ultimately pretty easy, but I had to look that up. There are times when combat feels just a little off. I'll be in the middle of a swing and the enemy takes a sudden turn and, just that small turn causes me to miss. Can't count how many times I thought I was lined up for that to happen and waste my attack. Then there's the key combination for dodging. IDK... doesn't feel right to me. In the middle of combat, I keep screwing up the dodge combo and jump instead.

Still... I love this game and it's only bound to get better!
Shmerl Feb 8, 2021
It's a pity itch.io release was canned.
Nanobang Feb 8, 2021
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: liamOn a side-note: the excellent LinuxGSM project just recently added support for running Valheim servers, so if you're interested in hosting your own cheaply that's probably the way to go.

I might be interested in this down the line, but what kind of money are we talking about here? I've done a cursory once-over their site and found not even a mention of them wanting money.


Last edited by Nanobang on 8 February 2021 at 4:07 pm UTC
slaapliedje Feb 8, 2021
I bought this, installed it, started making a character, sadly got bored or distracted by something else and left it for now. But then got sucked later into playing Half-Life: Alyx finally. It did seem like it'd be sweet to play though.
Liam Dawe Feb 8, 2021
Quoting: NanobangI might be interested in this down the line, but what kind of money are we talking about here? I've done a cursory once-over their site and found not even a mention of them wanting money.
LinuxGSM is just a tool you use to automate self-hosting wherever you want.
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