Crafting your Viking legacy in a harsh Winter world

Vinland Tales: Viking Survival, is an action survival RPG developed by Colossi Games, the creators of Daisho: Survival of a Samurai and Gladiators: Survival in Rome. Set in the Viking era, the game offers a unique experience with quests, continuous open-world progression, and exploration of Vinland along with its harsh winter. You can raid both AI-controlled enemy villages and other players’ strongholds while enjoying a blend of casual sandbox mechanics with extensive building possibilities. In this Vinland Tales review, I will share my impressions of the game and provide you with an honest rating.

For this review, I played Vinland Tales: Viking Survival on two different devices, Motorola G32, which is a low-end device, and iPhone 13, which is a mid-range device, accumulating a total of 18 hours of playtime. This has allowed me to explore all the features that the game has to offer on both devices, enabling me to provide a detailed analysis. This review will be a mix of both positive and negative remarks.

If you are just starting with the game, we have also covered the Vinland Tales: Viking Survival Guide to help get a grasp of the basics. Additionally, do check our Redeem codes article to grab some freebies along the way.

Gameplay revolves around surviving the harsh winter, building and expanding the settlement

Let’s start the review by discussing the gameplay of Vinland Tales, the game starts very simple, with basic tutorials teaching you how to find and collect different resources, rescue imprisoned clanmates, and perform basic quests.

You will get a lot of simple quests in the beginning like building the Great Hall, which is the central building of your Viking settlement. There is an AI character that gives you a short explanation of all the important structures like the Great Hall, Altar of Knowledge, Meeting Point, and more.

The early game can feel quite slow and repetitive, especially after the first few minutes. You have a lot of simple quests to do, and setting up your base in any survival game is quite time-consuming, but it feels even more slow here. For instance, it will take you 10 minutes just to fill your empty flask with water from the well. You will literally have to survive these slow-paced repetitive tasks to enjoy the survival game as you progress further.

There is also an Auto mode, which can be quite useful for hunting animals and eliminating your enemies without having to control anything. I did enjoy hunting various animals like rabbits, dears, and wild boars and it’s fun to fight with the NPC enemies scattered across the map. However, they don’t respawn, so once you have cleared the area you are provided in the beginning, you will have to explore new locations to hunt and gather resources.

On the positive side, the game offers various workstations such as a cooking pot, hunting cabin, sawhorses and stone cutters, and tailoring table, to name a few. These and many more can be unlocked from the Altar of Knowledge, which will help you build and develop your settlement more efficiently.

The Stamina system for exploring the map feels very limiting

Let’s talk about the one thing that I particularly dislike in the game, and I am sure many of you won’t like it either, which is the stamina system. These energy-based systems have become common in many new mobile games now. In this game, you can travel to different locations on the map, either by walking or running, which consumes energy.

You have a maximum of 100 energy, and the amount required to travel depends on the distance. For instance, it requires 16 energy to run to the Pine Forest from your settlement, and 34 energy to run to Burial Chambers. While you do have the option to walk, it’s very slow, taking anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes to reach a location.

Your best option is to run which only takes around 8 seconds, but it drains energy. I feel this system greatly limits both your progress and enjoyment, as you have to wait to refill your energy, which can be quite bothersome. On top of that, you have to carefully manage it to avoid depleting it, which may look like a fitting mechanic for a survival game, but it ends up being annoying rather than challenging.

Vinland Tales has a decent storyline but lacks any standout elements

If you are a fan of Vikings, you will likely enjoy the game’s storyline. The game immerses you into the dark, medieval history of the Viking Era, where there is much bloodshed between different colonies due to conflict of interest. You will get to experience what it’s like to be a Viking leader, fighting for power, glory, and land. Moreover, the challenges you will face aren’t just limited to colonies or clans, you will also have to stay aware of bandits and wild animals.

The game begins with the first story, No Man’s Land, where you must build various workstations and other structures to establish your settlement. As the King of the Norsemen, your main goal is to protect your clansmen, expand your settlement, and eventually venture into the vast Vinland, and find out what lies ahead. One thing you will love about the storyline is that you will get to uncover the tale of the legendary Viking explorer, Leif Eriksson. However, you will have to grind a lot to reach that point in the storyline.

The game offers decent visuals and audio, though nothing extravagant

Next, let’s discuss the visuals and audio. If you have played any other games from Colossi Games, you won’t feel much difference here. The game is visually decent, with a detailed description of the harsh, frozen landscape set during the Viking Era.

However, this winter aesthetic and visuals might not be very appealing to some of you, and I believe they could have refined it more. On the plus side, the game normally features a green landscape, with the entire map transforming into an icy and snow-covered terrain only during the winter, which occurs at various intervals.

One positive thing is that you can adjust graphic quality and frame rate to your liking. As for audio, it is decent, with a slow, looping track complimenting the game’s atmosphere. Even the different action sounds are nicely done. Plus, if you don’t like the music, you have the option to turn it off.

Controls and UI are well-designed without being overcrowded

The controls and UI of this game are well-designed, which is very clear and easy to navigate despite all the features and other stuff present in the game. I find it interesting and well thought out, especially considering it is an action survival RPG with sandbox mechanics and extensive building elements, all of which could be overwhelming if not done well.  

The user interface is clear and simple, making it easy to differentiate between story quests, side quests, resources, and other elements, making it easy to navigate. The controls are also simple and intuitive, and you will have a nice time, whether you are moving around, fighting against rebels or other enemies, or hunting animals. I find it smooth and you shouldn’t encounter many issues while playing the game.

You will eventually need to spend money to survive the winter and progress

While you can play the game without spending any money, the slow-paced nature and time-consuming tasks may eventually force you to spend, as the gameplay will start to feel dull. You will feel tempted to do in-game transactions to speed up your progress, especially since the game offers a lot of items that can help you improve your survival and speed up your settlement building.

Although these purchases may seem cheap, they can very quickly add up, costing you a lot in the long run. Moreover, I find the ads pretty useless, as their duration is very long for such small rewards. For instance, you have to bear watching a 55-second ad just to get x5 Hide, which isn’t worth it at all.

You can also earn 10 Gold through ads, but only for 12 times, and once per day. The game is very cheap with freebies. I only find the Mystery Shaman Chest to be useful if you consider watching ads as you can claim it once every hour.

Final Verdict

Vinland Tales is a nice game, bringing lots of stuff to the table, but it struggles to retain your attention over time. While the initial gameplay seems fun, it quickly becomes repetitive and boring. Set in a harsh winter world during the Viking era, it is a challenging survival game where you build your settlement, craft weapons, handle your clanmates or settlers, manage resources, and more, which can quickly become overwhelming.

The game shows promise but it requires more polishing in terms of gameplay and graphics, along with additional content to fully reach its potential. Additionally, you may have to rely on in-game purchases as progress. Overall, it is still a decent game, especially for survival game fans. I recommend you give it a try and experience it for yourself, as my experience may be different from yours.

That’s all from us for the Vinland Tales: Viking Survival Review! Did you find my Vinland Tales: Viking Survival Review helpful? Do let us know in the comments!

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