It was clear from the moment it release that Iron Gate was onto something with Valheim, their Norse mythology and Vikings inspired open world co-op survival game.
For an Early Access game on Steam from a new developer to hit over 1 million sales in the first week, that's pretty damn incredible considering the competition they are up against. By the second day of release they were already hitting close to 20 thousand players online, by the fourth day it was hitting close to 100 thousand online and they've since hit a peak player count of 219,465 on Thursday, February 11.
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We did reach out to the developer to see how the Linux sales went so far but no reply yet. They're only a small team and due to the popularity, they've probably got thousands of emails waiting so it's not really surprising. A lot of it was developed on Linux too, so that's awesome.
They've got a lot planned to come to the game through 2021 and perhaps even beyond considering how popular it is, they should now have plenty of funding to ensure it sees a long life. It's already got a huge amount to see and do though, it's definitely going to stay as one of 2021's best Linux games.
You can buy Valheim with Linux support on Steam. It's an easy recommendation.
Just as a reminder: 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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Got it yesterday. It's really amazingly fun even single player. And with servers apparently limited to 10 people, it may be a pretty good online environment too.
0 Likes
I bought it and after 6 hours I just can't justify the praise it's getting. I actually regret not asking for the refund while I could.
It does nothing new: the wold is pretty empty and bland, lots of grinding with extremely boring mechanics, combat is nothing special...
Building editor is decent, tho.
Last edited by Al3s on 12 February 2021 at 4:25 pm UTC
It does nothing new: the wold is pretty empty and bland, lots of grinding with extremely boring mechanics, combat is nothing special...
Building editor is decent, tho.
Last edited by Al3s on 12 February 2021 at 4:25 pm UTC
3 Likes, Who?
It's very fun, hopefully the sales will make the devs improve it for a while too
0 Likes
While the game does bring some new mechanics into the genre I don't think that's what is selling this game.
This game is selling well because of how well all of those mechanics work together, there's no other game quite like it. The level of polish and thoughtfulness put into this game continues to astound me. It's the little touches here and there that really make this game stand out in the over-saturated (and often universally bad) early access survival crafting genre.
The amount of content already in the game for $20 is outright insane. I'd pay much more for this game. As of right now I'm at ~45 hours and in the Iron Age and I'm still noticing new things. This game reminds me of runescape, fable, and minecraft all in one.
I've now got 7 people on my server and it's been a blast to play as the difficulty scales to the number of players. This game is more challenging than other games in the genre but not as punishing (game won't kill you if you don't eat, repairs don't take resources, etc). There's something to be said about having to haul loads of scrap iron by ship across a sea-serpent infested ocean (if you start on an island without a swamp). While this may be considered "grindy" by some I think the constant danger and relative scarcity of resources (especially ores) makes the payoff of building the next upgrade or forging the next piece of armor that much more rewarding.
My clan has been sharing resources (as to not have one person in full iron while there are others in leather) so hoarding isn't much of a concern but I LOVE the fact that you can build personal chests and even setup private residences (there's an item you can build that prevents others from opening your doors).
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Your character and their inventory transfer across servers. When the game releases and all of the biomes/bosses are introduced all you'd have to do is create a new world and login with your prexisting character.
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graphics tip: Turn off depth of field, motion blur, and chromatic aberration (and possible head shake!) for a much sharper looking game. This game is gorgeous, now only if it performed better with Vulkan on AMD...
Last edited by drlamb on 12 February 2021 at 10:56 pm UTC
This game is selling well because of how well all of those mechanics work together, there's no other game quite like it. The level of polish and thoughtfulness put into this game continues to astound me. It's the little touches here and there that really make this game stand out in the over-saturated (and often universally bad) early access survival crafting genre.
The amount of content already in the game for $20 is outright insane. I'd pay much more for this game. As of right now I'm at ~45 hours and in the Iron Age and I'm still noticing new things. This game reminds me of runescape, fable, and minecraft all in one.
I've now got 7 people on my server and it's been a blast to play as the difficulty scales to the number of players. This game is more challenging than other games in the genre but not as punishing (game won't kill you if you don't eat, repairs don't take resources, etc). There's something to be said about having to haul loads of scrap iron by ship across a sea-serpent infested ocean (if you start on an island without a swamp). While this may be considered "grindy" by some I think the constant danger and relative scarcity of resources (especially ores) makes the payoff of building the next upgrade or forging the next piece of armor that much more rewarding.
My clan has been sharing resources (as to not have one person in full iron while there are others in leather) so hoarding isn't much of a concern but I LOVE the fact that you can build personal chests and even setup private residences (there's an item you can build that prevents others from opening your doors).
---------------
Your character and their inventory transfer across servers. When the game releases and all of the biomes/bosses are introduced all you'd have to do is create a new world and login with your prexisting character.
---------------
graphics tip: Turn off depth of field, motion blur, and chromatic aberration (and possible head shake!) for a much sharper looking game. This game is gorgeous, now only if it performed better with Vulkan on AMD...
Last edited by drlamb on 12 February 2021 at 10:56 pm UTC
10 Likes, Who?
If developers read this - please release the game on GOG too. With good sales numbers it should be possible.
3 Likes, Who?
graphics tip: Turn off depth of field, motion blur, and chromatic aberration (and possible head shake!) for a much sharper looking game. This game is gorgeous, now only if it performed better with Vulkan on AMD...
What issues are you having with Vulkan? OpenGL and Vulkan works the same for me with AMD (~30-40 fps with everything in high).
0 Likes
Who said survival games are dead. I bought it as well to keep Linux numbers going and so far, 6h in, i like it!
0 Likes
I've read that at 1440P the performance really starts to tank. Vulkan's frame times are all over the place. It does not feel smooth all of the time. I'll be running at 70+ FPS one second and then sub 50 the next. Even with freesync the stutter is noticeable under Vulkan. OpenGL, while not perfect, at least doesn't suffer the same inconsistent/stuttery performance.
Last edited by drlamb on 12 February 2021 at 10:59 pm UTC
0 Likes
apocalyptech Feb 12, 2021
Congrats to the devs! The game itself isn't my personal cup o' tea, but it's always great to see an indie studio hitting it big like this. Keep up the focus, Iron Gate! And enjoy your popularity. :)
2 Likes, Who?
TheRiddick Feb 13, 2021
I still don't understand why this game is so popular, is it the large coop functionality? I also am not a huge fan of the retro fortnite style graphics. (and gameplay in the sense of construction and mining).
Last edited by TheRiddick on 13 February 2021 at 5:53 am UTC
Last edited by TheRiddick on 13 February 2021 at 5:53 am UTC
0 Likes
slaapliedje Feb 13, 2021
I legit love Conan Exiles, probably the funnest game I've played in years, and the way the story line is something you actually have to find and discover as you travel around rather than force fed to you through linear story telling is fantastic.
My question is; how similar to Conan is this game? I need to play it some, I guess. Now that I'm done with work for the week, I'll give it a try (though don't want to be too distracted from Alyx).
My question is; how similar to Conan is this game? I need to play it some, I guess. Now that I'm done with work for the week, I'll give it a try (though don't want to be too distracted from Alyx).
0 Likes
TheRiddick Feb 13, 2021
Valheim lets you deform the ground, and basically everything looks and feels very arcade like.
0 Likes
I still don't understand why this game is so popular, is it the large coop functionality?Yeah, well, when you start keeping chickens pretty soon you understand how important the large coop is.
6 Likes, Who?
TheRiddick Feb 13, 2021
I gave up on coop random drop ins long time ago. Also I don't know anyone who plays games that I do so basically I'm a solo guy these days.
0 Likes
I bought it and after 6 hours I just can't justify the praise it's getting. I actually regret not asking for the refund while I could.
I think it is normal, that the game is not everyones cup of tea. I am sure, there is no game out there, that is fun for everyone.
I am nearly 40hours into the game. Even if it starts to get boring today, I got about 40hours of fun for less than 17€.
A good deal for me.
It does nothing new: the wold is pretty empty and bland, lots of grinding with extremely boring mechanics, combat is nothing special...
Building editor is decent, tho.
There could be more to be found in the world. But hey it is EA!
And there are some details I really enjoy and did never see in a game. The smoke of my fire has to be taken into account when building my viking house for example.
0 Likes
I've read that at 1440P the performance really starts to tank. Vulkan's frame times are all over the place. It does not feel smooth all of the time. I'll be running at 70+ FPS one second and then sub 50 the next. Even with freesync the stutter is noticeable under Vulkan. OpenGL, while not perfect, at least doesn't suffer the same inconsistent/stuttery performance.thats probably some AMD related issue then... vulkan works perfectly smooth for me (on nvidia) with good framepacing 1440p and all maxed, except blur, bloom and chromatic. vkbasalt sharpness on top of it. 80-100 fps most of the time... can go to 120+ near the water and rarey drops below 80.
0 Likes
PublicNuisance Feb 14, 2021
It's not my cup of tea but i'm always happy to see a game with a native Linux version have success.
2 Likes, Who?
Now over two million copies sold: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/892970/view/4627981752752748715
1 Likes, Who?
slaapliedje Feb 15, 2021
Now if I can just figure out how to get it running full screen in 3840x1200@144hz!
0 Likes
Thunder_Tw Feb 16, 2021
Now if I can just figure out how to get it running full screen in 3840x1200@144hz!Why would you need to run this on 144Hz? Dang I'm not even capable to get this running on 60 at a full HD screen, and enjoy it without any doubt on 30-40 Hz.
First world problems are fascinating, and terrifying at the same time.
Thumbs up for the game, I love the atmosphere. Loads of fun playing it with friends.
Last edited by Thunder_Tw on 18 February 2021 at 9:34 am UTC
0 Likes
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