Valheim is ruining my life

….I mean that in the best way possible. I mean, it’s not ENTIRELY ruining my life, but it is definitely back in the forefront of my mind after having dropped The Mistlands content update. Now, I haven’t gotten that far yet, but I’m excited to finally see it when I do… at least, until the game proves to me how cruel the new biome actually is, and if my first foray into The Plains is any indication… I’m in for a world of hurt.

I played Valheim obsessively when it came out. It captured my attention in a way that not a lot of games manage to, and it hasn’t entirely let go. Myself and travelyan spent so much time playing that game back then that both of us were putting in 14 hour sessions, on and off stream, and still hungering for more. We became the people we never were before; rushing content, though in the context of how we are as people, this was still a normal pace, if not slightly slow, for others. We were still trying to get gear first, find bosses first, expand the crafting tree first, and basically do everything first, and it was great. A game like Valheim doesn’t come a long that often, and by that I mean a game that entirely swallows me whole. Elden Ring did, sure, and there have been times that other games have come close. There is something magical about Valheim, however, that really does it for me in a way that many other games don’t seem to. It has a satisfying loop with its menial tasks that I find soothing, like most of the menial tasks I seek out in any given MMO, for instance. It also has the satisfaction of discovery going for it, even if you’re not new to the content – the way the seeding works makes each playthrough a little bit exciting, because the world feels so new. And then of course… there’s the building.

I loved the building immediately in Valheim, from the moment I started it. I’ve always aspired to build in other games of this nature: Minecraft, ARK: Survival Evolved, Conan: Exiles, Terraria. Any game that has a gather/craft/build survival thing going for it, I want to make an impressive build – ESPECIALLY if I get sucked into it for longer than an hour. However, I’ve never felt super great at it. Several years ago, we had a sub server for Minecraft that ran a mod of the Direwolf pack, and I built several structures in that world that I found to be supremely satisfying. The mod contained extra content for farming and smithing as well, which added to that satisfaction. Direwolf, more or less, had all of the components that I think Valheim has, but Valheim iterated on the formula in its own way. Plus, it’s a beautiful game. So more or less, what I’m saying is… I’ve been practicing builds in Valheim in the last week, having picked up the game again after a couple of years of not touching it. Hearth and Home is new content to me, as is The Mistlands, and I couldn’t be more excited to see what is in store.

Below are some screenshots of builds I’ve made in the game, both in my first playthrough back in 2021, as well as the recent builds I’ve completed in the last few days. I’ve been absorbing a lot of techniques from various Reddit artists and YouTube channels, and it’s been inspiring to let out that kind of creativity in my own little virtual rock garden. I look forward to doing more of these soon!