Valheim Review (Leventoleyto)
The game's combat design is terrible. The animations and their timing do not allow for proper combat. The enemy attack and idle behavior are poorly balanced. Stamina usage also needs to be adjusted. Additionally, the spawn rate in Ashlands makes the game unplayable.
The shield design is also flawed—when you get knocked back, a gap forms between you and the enemy. As you try to get back into range to attack, the enemy's attack cooldown naturally resets, causing them to strike again. This creates an unfair loop where you can’t properly counterattack.
The game's role-playing aspects, such as different combat and weapon styles, become meaningless due to poor enemy design. You can’t effectively play as a tank or engage in ranged combat because mechanics like drawing aggro (taunting) or staying out of range haven’t been considered.
Even with endgame gear, we still take an excessive amount of damage. Proper balancing is a must.
On top of all this, the game's optimization is still terrible. For a game that encourages extensive building, experiencing FPS drops with just 10–15 light sources is unacceptable.
At this point, you might as well just play it as a Viking construction game. As you progress, you’ll start noticing more and more balance issues. Finishing this game solo requires superhuman effort, and even with a team of 3–4 players, it’s barely manageable.
There is a difference between a difficult game and a poorly designed one.