Culture news Vikings and video games: From Erik the Viking (1984) to Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020)
Once feared and now fantasized, the Vikings and their world occupy a prominent place in modern popular culture. All media without distinction witness helplessly these Scandinavian raids, and video games are no exception … quite the contrary. These pagan hordes land on its banks and become a source of inspiration. The editorial staff of igamesnews.com therefore decided to trace the presence of Vikings in video games, from their first forays to their popularization.
A cultural breath from the North
Long before the video game era, the majority of the media were already interested in Vikings and their culture. In August 1962, Marvel (American comic book publishing company) was openly inspired by Nordic mythology to create the character of Thor and his lore. Fifteen years and a crossing of the Atlantic later, the Franco-Belgian comic strip gives birth to Thorgal, a tale of heroic fantasy openly drawing on Scandinavian myths. Literature, comics, cinema … examples abound, although the phenomenon was still marginal at that time.
In 2005, the successful historical manga Vinland Saga written and drawn by Makoto Yukimura sheds new light on these warriors from the North. But it was indeed in March 2013 that the Vikings finally landed on our shores. The Vikings television series broadcast on the History channel unleashes passions and is emulated. The Last Kingdom in October 2015, the animated adaptation of Vinland Saga in July 2019, Ragnärok in early 2020 … to name but series … works inspired by the Vikings have proliferated in recent years. And the curiosity of those who responded to the cultural appeal of the Far North is not about to die out.
20th century: The first fun raids
What about video games? When was the first game stamped “Viking”? The first traces of such a game date back to 1984. The Saga of Erik The Viking (a textual adventure developed by Level 9 Computing) and Viking Raiders (a turn-based strategy game developed by Mark Lucas) act as pioneers if they do not make a lasting impression. Seven years later, in 1991, a second raid released three new titles to the video game market, including Heimdall, an action-adventure game that borrows its name from the eponymous god ase in Norse mythology.
It was in 1992 that the Vikings really established themselves. Under the supervision of Blizzard Entertainment (formerly Silicon & Synapse) The game The Lost Vikings quickly becomes a classic among the classics and initiates a genre in its own right, the platform-thinking game. The latter and its suite released in 1997 are exceptional in the twentieth century video game landscape. The majority of games taking Scandinavian history and / or mythology as a framework relies on strategy in all its forms, real time or turn-based, to impose itself on DOS and MS-DOS with Kingdoms of England II: Vikings, Fields of Conquest then Hammer of the Gods before tackling Windows in 1998 with Saga: Rage of the Vikings.
A third-person action-adventure game, however, concludes this first century of conquest. Rune, developed by Human Head Studios, tells the story of Ragnar… resurrected by Odin to thwart Loki and prevent the Ragnarok.
21st century: Scandinavian colonization
The first decade of the twenty-first century is marked by the ubiquity of management and strategy games on PC, and this befits people from the North. Without being the main subject of the franchise The Settlers or Medieval: Total War, the Vikings manage to settle permanently in the gaming landscape. Scandinavian mythology takes this opportunity to shine with the general public.
Everything accelerates over the next decade. Ragnar Lothbork and his lineage intrude into popular culture with great blows and impose the image of the Viking. This Nordic fever then seizes studios and publishers who multiply projects. The Banner Saga franchise, with three episodes released between January 2014 and July 2018, is an edifying example. These flawlessly produced Tactical-RPGs take advantage of the growing interest in Scandinavian mythology in order to shine a spotlight on a culture and a genre.
The potential of such a lore is obvious to historical actors who mainly turn to the general public. The traditional strategy game gives way to the accessible adventure game and its variations. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, independently developed by Ninja Theory, brought a psychotic setback to the video game market in August 2017. A warning that heralds the advent of the Viking Age. In spring 2018, the God of War storm tore everything in its path. The Vikings have never been more present and influential in video games.
The recent announcements from AAA Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which takes up the torch from For Honor, only confirm the grip of the Nordic universe on video games. The Vikings have definitely colonized PC and consoles to the delight of players.
By Silent_Jay, Journalist igamesnews.com
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