Best Viking videogames for history enthusiasts in 2024

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Whether you’re a lifelong gamer or not, if you want to begin a mythic exploration of Norse-inspired lands in an open-world RPG, or command Viking settlers in a slower-paced RTS, here’s our list of the best Viking games that anyone who loves history should play.

The best Viking videogames

• Age of Empires: II
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla
• Expeditions: Viking
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
• Jotun
• Medieval: Total War
• Northgard
• The Banner Saga
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Valheim
• Volgarr the Viking

Age of Empires: II

PC | RTS | 1999

Whether you play the original version, or 2019’s revamped and remastered Definitive Edition, Age of Empires: II is a genre-defining RTS that’s a must-play regardless of whether you love history — and Vikings — or not. Whether you launch a single player campaign or go multiplayer, you’ll take charge of a small settlement and grow it into a city, and an economic and military powerhouse, expanding into new lands, conquering and settling.

You’ll build defences, farms, castles, monasteries, and universities. You’ll create an army, and a force of farmers, miners, foragers, and hunters. The balance of this — how much you decide to prioritise your economy or your military might, and whether you want to focus on attack or defence — is entirely in your hands.

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You get to choose what ‘civilisation’ you want to play as – whether that’s the Aztecs, the Byzantines, the Vikings, or many more. This choice isn’t just superficial either. It has a material difference on your gameplay. Though yes, this does often lead to some ahistorical matchups where your Viking berserkers will be fighting Japanese samurai.

If you do choose to play as the Vikings, you’ll have access to their unique berserkers and longboats. Your ships and infantry will have bonuses, though, you’ll have very limited cavalry options compared to other civilisations.

This means that it’s entirely possible for you to create a match-up where you’re acting as Vikings launching an attack on some corner of the English coast, looking to expand and beat back Britons. Yes, you might find some of the historical details annoying (the Vikings won’t ever have had to contend with the English longbow, but can be confronted by this in Age of Empires: II) but broadly, it’s a great way for you to create a Viking civilisation from the ground up.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 | Action RPG | 2020

For anyone who wants to delve into a specific period of Viking history, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla takes you directly to the politically complex years of AD 872–878, during the reign of Alfred of Wessex, the man who will become King Alfred the Great.

Within this framing, you play raiding warrior Eivor Varinsdottir – a man or a woman, at your choosing – on a mission to establish a clan in England after departing from Norway.

In doing so, you’ll visit locations across Anglo-Saxon England, including Viking Jórvík (modern York), Winchester (the seat of Wessex power), and London, all of which are explorable. It’s easy to get pleasantly lost in these locations as you complete the game’s quests, which see you embroiled in a fight against a shadowy group of assassins while establishing your settlement and Saxon defences.

Within this context, there’s lots of opportunity to spot historical Easter Eggs, and nods to Norse gods, legends, and history, with namedrops to figures like Ragnar Lothbrok and Ivarr the Boneless, making it especially enticing for anyone who knows a thing or two about Norse history and lore (though, with a lot of the broad inaccuracies, that can also be something of a curse too).

As for the actual gameplay mechanics, this is a typical Assassin's Creed affair: you control the character from a third-person perspective, battling enemies, dodging attacks, and sneaking around, with some light-touch role-playing elements. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s solid enough.

The focus, really, is on the Viking-era setting. There’s a lot of attention and care devoted to the to the aesthetics, culture, and society of the in-game Vikings, even if they’re not always accurate.

Expeditions: Viking

PC | Strategy RPG | 2017

Set in AD 790, Expeditions: Viking begins with your father's death and places you in the role of a newly appointed chieftain of a modest Viking clan, leaving you to lead your people in a time of desperate need. No pressure.

The goal, as it would have been for many real-life Viking settlers on Anglo-Saxon soil, is to secure your future through exploring, raiding, trading, and forming of alliances across the span of the British Isles.

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There’s a sense of authenticity to Expeditions: Viking, compounded by the detailed, painstaking world-building, and a nuanced portrayal of Viking society with due attention being paid to Norse mythology, rituals, and social dynamics.

Keeping things varied and exciting is the gameplay itself. Expeditions: Viking is a blend of tactical turn-based combat and role-playing. You'll make critical decisions that affect the storyline, manage your resources, and develop your characters' skills and abilities. These core mechanics are bolstered by well-crafted narrative-driven quests with believable and engaging character interactions.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

PC, Xbox Series X/S, Switch | Action-adventure | 2017

A psychological horror action-adventure that draws heavily on Norse mythology and Celtic culture, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice might not be what you’d initially expect from a ‘Viking game,’ but it is fantastic.

In this dark, single-player action-adventure, you play as Senua, a Pict warrior embarking on a harrowing journey into Viking heartlands to rescue the soul of her deceased lover from the Norse god of death, Hela.

The game's portrayal of Viking mythology is an interpretative one, but it is always is intense and immersive, emphasising the pull of the supernatural as Senua journeys to Helheim. This all contributes to the game's haunting atmosphere, beautifully rendered through meticulously crafted environments inspired by Norse and Celtic art and folklore.

As for the game’s story: it’s magnetic and addictive. The narrative is visceral, exploring grief and mental illness as Senua suffers from psychosis, depicted through distinctly memorable auditory hallucinations and visual distortions, while the combat system is simple but satisfying.

Hellblade takes its Norse inspiration and crafts it into something unique and exciting. It will leave anyone with a passion for history — and Vikings specifically — with plenty to mull over.

Jotun

PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch | Action-adventure | 2015

With its creative hand-drawn art style, Jotun immediately marks itself out as a creative and attractive offering on the list of the best Viking games, not least because it’s so unique from the others.

In Jotun, you play as Thora, a Viking warrior who dies an inglorious death and must prove her worth to the gods to enter Valhalla.

But doing so doesn’t involve constant action and combat. Instead, to facilitate her wish, you progress the game through a combination of tricky exploration and puzzle-solving, interspersed with occasional fun boss battles against a Jotun, a frost giant.

Across this adventure through the fictional purgatorial realm of the Ginnungagap (the yawning chasm from which all Norse cosmology was born) you’ll encounter a variety of mythical creatures, gods, and landscapes and each boss fight is a test of skill and strategy.

But, really, it’s Jotun's beautiful visuals, design, and inspiration from a rich mythological context that make it a must-play.

Medieval: Total War

PC | Turn-based strategy | 2002

Medieval: Total War — with the addition of the Viking Invasion expansion pack — is a grand strategy game that includes the Norse warriors as a playable faction. With the main game being set during the Middle Ages, you’re tasked with commanding various European, Middle Eastern, and North African factions in a quest for regional dominance.

The Vikings expansion dials back the clock to AD 793–1066, vastly expanding the map of Scandinavia and the British Isles. Playing as either the Vikings or one of the Anglo-Saxon or Celtic kingdoms, your goal is expand your territories throughout Scandinavia and Europe, raiding and pillaging as you go. But, that belies the game’s nuance and complexity.

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Total War’s detailed strategic layering involves managing your economy, diplomacy, and military, while the tactical battles are fought in real-time, offering a mix of large-scale warfare and intricate tactical manoeuvres. This variety means it really never gets boring or predictable.

The historical depth and dedication to accuracy within Medieval: Total War is impressive too, providing a wealth of information about the period and the various factions involved. This, and the game's overall portrayal of Viking warfare and society is grounded in research, making it an especially rewarding experience for history fans.

Northgard

PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch | RTS | 2018

Set in a mythical Norse world — the kind of icy, harsh, heroic world imagined in Viking legend — Northgard is a real-time strategy game with a twist, combining traditional RTS gameplay with elements of survival and city-building.

Your goal is to lead a clan of Vikings striving to explore, conquer and settle in new and hostile lands, while facing up to the prospect of impending winter, disease, famine and war.

There’s serious pressure, here, in all aspects of short and long-term decision making, with trade-offs abound and no easy options. This forces you into a level of strategic depth, and the delicate balance between resource management, exploration, and combat is central to the gameplay.

But the joy of Northgard is also in more than the gameplay. A magnetic tone is wonderfully evoked by an aesthetic inspired by Norse mythology and Viking culture, carefully crafted environments, and a rousing soundtrack.

Northgard's blend of historical and mythological elements, coupled with its strategic depth, makes it a standout title for anyone interested in Norse myth and Viking history, but it demands patience, and the ability to cope with stress and failure, too.

The Banner Saga

PC, mobile, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch | Tactical RPG | 2014

Like a handful of other games on this list, The Banner Saga uses inspiration from Norse legend as a starting point, rather than any real Viking history. It follows the story of a caravan of Viking-esque warriors navigating a world frozen in constant twilight, plagued by evil creatures called the Dredge.

This is a tactical role-playing game with a glorious hand-drawn art style, which serves as a backdrop to an engaging narrative with well-developed characters, constantly emphasising the harsh realities of survival. The choices you make throughout the game have significant consequences: every decision feels meaningful, with pros and cons.

Combat in the game requires thought, too. The Banner Saga’s battles are turn-based, requiring strategic thinking and careful planning, and resource management is also a key factor in whether your caravan will live or die.

Dive into the world of The Banner Saga if you’re after thought-provoking storytelling, visuals, and gameplay, coated in a thick gloss of Viking-inspired varnish.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Switch | Action RPG | 2011

One of the most enduringly beloved games of recent times, Skyrim (released originally in 2011 and followed by a slew of new ‘editions’ — each with some new content to enjoy) is a stone-cold classic.

Yes, it might be full of game-breaking bugs. Yes, the combat system is frustratingly simple at times. And, yes, the quests get repetitive. But, for a generation of gamers who were around for its initial release it remains seminal, and for newcomers – and Viking enthusiasts – it still holds the promise of constant wonder too. It won’t teach you any real history, but it will give you a sense of being enveloped by a pseudo-Viking culture.

The setting is entirely fictional, but firmly rooted in inspiration from the Norse legends and Viking religion, steeped in Viking iconography. It plays out like a story you might expect to see recorded in the Prose Edda.

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After surviving an unceremonious would-be execution, you find yourself in Skyrim: a rugged land of ice, mountains, tundra, caves, and deep forest. This is the country of the native ‘Nords’ (a race of pale, tall, stern warriors with names like ‘Ralof’ and ‘Hadvar’) – a stoic, hardy people whose culture is rooted in the stories of their past.

They have horns on their helmets. They live for the glory of battle. They’re ruled by their local jarls. They are, for all intents and purposes, Vikings. If you can forgive the apocryphal helmets.

From there, your task is to explore Skyrim – currently in the midst of a civil war, and the occasional dragon attack – and to survive the experience. You’ll align yourself with shadowy factions, collect property, and accrue vast wealth, if you so choose. And it’s this aspect of choice (you can explore this world entirely at your own leisure, in any order) that is the game’s main draw.

Skyrim prioritises immersion, atmosphere, exploration, and worldbuilding over its decidedly clunky gameplay, and it’s these strengths that still hold up well over a decade after its release.

So despite its flaws – and it has many – it’s a classic for a reason, and what you will get, if you invest your time and patience into it, is a sprawling world of endless quests and opportunities, with hidden treasures around every corner. It’s an incredibly rich, rewarding, and satisfying game, once you get past its rough edge.

Valheim

PC, Xbox series X/S | Survival | 2021

A Minecraft-esque survival-crafting game, Valheim is an expansive open-world experience set in a procedurally generated Viking purgatory. As a slain warrior, your mission is to prove yourself to Odin — and therefore reach Valhalla — by surviving in a brutal wilderness, building settlements, and defeating powerful enemies.

To do so, you’ll need to explore a vast world of Norse mythology, traversing across diverse biomes while battling mythical creatures, and building shelters to survive. This trifecta of exploration, combat, and crafting is the heart of the game, and it offers a deep enough experience to be quickly addictive.

Trying to stay alive is a challenge, and the promise of the unknown beyond the horizon will always be a hook to stay playing, or to come back for more. Starting with a small settlement, you’ll soon have aspirations of creating grand halls ¬– if you can imagine it, you can build it.

The highlight of Valheim, though (like its progenitor Minecraft), is its cooperative multiplayer mode is a highlight, allowing you to team up with friends to explore, build, and survive together.

All in all, Valheim conjures up an atmospheric world with engaging mechanics, and satisfying mythological influences for anyone looking for a dose of history on the side too.

Volgarr the Viking

PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 | Platformer | 2013

A hardcore, retro-style side-scroller, Volgarr the Viking is a charming and challenging platformer that’ll remind you of hours spent on the SNES with games like Contra.

While the plot is simple (you play as Volgarr, a Viking warrior on a quest to defeat a resurrected dragon and save the world), what’ll grip you is the game’s notorious difficulty. It requires quick planning and reaction times, decisiveness, rapid reflexes, and strategic use of Volgarr's abilities. This is incredibly difficult to master, and a tricky challenge.

While not exactly historically accurate, Volgarr the Viking does draw all of its inspiration from Viking themes and images, bringing them to life in a dark, chaotic, heavy-metal manner. You won’t learn anything about Norse history, but you probably will want to drink mead from a horn and throw at axe at something afterwards.