The Viking Way

Review

The Viking Way; an ambitious project that aims to bring a Viking experience into the 3D RPG world. Upon playing I could see the amount of work being put into this project, through their slowly chipping away at every unpolished surface in the game with every update.

It’s Medieval times, when the Vikings rule the high seas and warring factions fight for new land and dominance over other factions. This is where I come into play; I am about to set off on a journey to represent the Faction Ribe and make my father proud.

I gather up my small band of men and a single ship to begin my voyage. This voyage will shape me as a Viking and set the future for Clan Ribe.

Gameplay: The Viking Way brings in time-tested gameplay machines with some unique flair and flavor built into them.

Voyages and ship combat play out in a three-dimensional world. By simply using W and S you can control and sail, which helps the ship to speed up or slow down using wind as propulsion. You can also rotate your Ship by simply hitting A and D, which helps you guide the ship.

Ship-to-ship combat also plays out on a three-dimensional world.  Simply holding the left mouse button and dragging to the intended target will prompt ranged attacks, and holding right and dragging to the intended target will give you a Ballista, which can be equipped in a shipyard.

You can also buy, sell, and upgrade your ship at any Shipyard in an area that you have captured.

Ground Combat: you can raid Villages, Towns, and Faction hubs in The Viking Way. As soon as you enter an opposition-held area, you will be prompted into intense melee and ranged combat. In the beginning, you will have limited possibility with a small ship and 8 combatants, including you.  Choosing when and where to strike early on in the game is very important, wrong decisions will lead to death and destruction; the game punishes you for making wrong decisions about when and where to attack. But you will still be left alive, fleeing for your life with a badly injured Eric by your side and no crew or supplies (which is even more punishing and stressful; a simple checkpoint restart would have been much better).

Currently, there are limited 3rd-person POV melee combat machines in place with generic left and right mouse button attacks. For the most part, this generic combat system works adequately, but dodging is where the system comes short. Early on you will have limited funds to purchase much-needed items, which is not enough for buying armor. And due to not having a decent dodging machine you will lose if you don’t pick your battles wisely.

Supplies Management: The Viking Way lets you purchase ships and hire crews to help in your long voyages. This means you will have to stock and re-stock supplies to keep your journey uninterrupted. With the limited amount of gold you have stored early on, you can easily stock up on supplies for your first journey.

Crew Management: as you progress and purchase more and better ships, you will have to hire crews to man them. Currently, there are few different types of crew that you can hire, with each having their own skillset, health, and cost added to them. The current crew management system is based on an very simplified two-button system, which I found to be adequate and helps reduce the complexity of the game.

Map: currently, The Viking Way has an impressive and vast world to explore, with its large water mass and large communities based around the seashore. A well-designed handy map of the continent helps you guide through the massive body of water. There are clear markers and names in place to help you navigate through the sea, but you cannot place your own marker.

Perspective: for the most part, the ground-based and shipboard melee combat perspective felt sluggish but was adequate. During the ship voyage and ship combat, however, the need to be able to change perspectives and camera angles was urgent, yet absent. Currently, if you’re not paying attention and you’re zoomed-in, there’s a high chance you’ll hit some obstacle on the way or encounter enemy faction ships, which needs to be avoided early on in the game.

Game Saving:  the game only allows you to save from a town/ village/ monastery, which creates annoyances throughout the game. Travelling from one point of action to another takes some time but you won’t be able to save the game during this time.

Review written by BiteMexD for Zeepond.com!