Expeditions: Viking

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 132 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 132
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 132
  3. Negative: 16 out of 132

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  1. Marker27
    May 17, 2017
    5
    I had high hope for the game and followed the studio through the development of the title, unfortunately the game didn't come near to my expectations and fell short in several ways. The game had plenty of bugs, but none that killed the game experience, and were only mildly annoying that you can hope that they will fix in the following months.

    Story wise the game is an improvement from    I had high hope for the game and followed the studio through the development of the title, unfortunately the game didn't come near to my expectations and fell short in several ways. The game had plenty of bugs, but none that killed the game experience, and were only mildly annoying that you can hope that they will fix in the following months.

    Story wise the game is an improvement from their previous works, but it is still very noticeable that it is an indie company that is behind it.

    Unfortunately it is a game that is quickly forgotten once you have played it and completed it. I don't feel it is worth replaying, so I don't know if 30$ is the right price for a game without any replay value.

    When that is said. You can't complain about the graphics and animations, and the music aren't too annoying either.

    Anyway, if you are a fan of these type of games (and I am usually a huge fan), then get it when it is available at a discount, play the hell out of it, and then forget about it again.    … Expand
  2. Octomort
    May 7, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The one thing that stops me buying this game ( a friend let me 'demo' using his PC) is the timer. I work under time restraints and for me this is a no-no for an RPG style game. I want to relax and explore at my own pace.
    Other than that if you are personally OK with timers, then a great game, needs a few minor bugs, mainly with dialogue, ironing out but overall pleasant and playable even on hardest levels. My friend tried insane and said it is a real challenge but is do-able, He intends to do a full play through soon.
    Graphics are good for an isometric/top down, plot is good, combat system takes a little getting used to in terms of upgrading weapons. fights are enjoyable, good tactical combat, X-com style.
    Downside is limit of development for named party members, their attributes can never rise so it ends up being better to ditch them and hire fully customisable mercenaries once you reach Ribe.    … Expand
  3. MR67
    Jan 24, 2020
    6
    Fairly enjoyable turn-based RPG set in the historical Viking era around 800 AD that will make you feel like you're in the Vikings TV series, except this game begins in Denmark, not Norway. Basically you play as either the son or daughter of a recently deceased thegn (or chieftain), and you have to build up your wealth and power by either raiding or trading with the British Isles in orderFairly enjoyable turn-based RPG set in the historical Viking era around 800 AD that will make you feel like you're in the Vikings TV series, except this game begins in Denmark, not Norway. Basically you play as either the son or daughter of a recently deceased thegn (or chieftain), and you have to build up your wealth and power by either raiding or trading with the British Isles in order to protect your lands from the machinations of rival thegns.

    You begin in Denmark and have a set period of time to get a crew (or hird) together, arrange a ship to travel aboard and build up some experience and resources, before you have to then leave for the British Isles, where you can decide whether to forge alliances, establish trade routes or else just pillage the place, before a second timer expires and you then return home to wrap up the story. You generally travel with all your companions (some of which are, by necessity, custom characters) but only up to 5 of them can be used in combat situations, which are handled using a turn based system that feels a bit like a poor man's Divinity Original Sin 2. There is a clever camping system where you assign duties like guarding, hunting, scouting, resting to all your companions over 4 shifts when you need to rest while travelling overland. All your story companions have their own backgrounds and personalities, and behaving in certain ways may decrease their morale, which affects their physical and mental resistances in combat. Romances are also possible.

    What's good?
    - Feels like you're playing the Vikings TV series!
    - Camping system is quite involving and different from the usual "just rest for 8 hours" in other games.
    - Game music is pretty good.

    What's bad?
    - Developers seem to have omitted some "quality of life" features that normally exist in this type of game; if you're travelling through an area where combat can take place, there is no compass and no display of the current date or time; this info is only shown on the main overland travel screen. Unless you have quest markers turned on, finding some people or objects on the map can be almost impossible. You can't rest or heal any injuries in towns or villages, only at set "camping sites" on the overland map, which is a bit strange.
    - Combat often seems set up to give you the middle finger, even on medium difficulty. Most fights begin with a so-called "surprise round", where you can only move your characters a short distance to position them before the fight starts, often with no cover being available for most of them. The enemies then get all get to attack before you do, and the AI tends to target your most squishy characters first. Characters without shields or decent armour can go down in one or two hits, and you can regularly find yourself with at least one of your team down by the time you get to take your first turn. Closing down enemy archers quickly is a good idea, but enemies seem to have invisible traps all over the place which can knock you down or take off half your health, unless you have a character who can spot the traps by moving really close to them. Enemies also seem to succeed at their physical or mental resistance checks (eg. to resist a stun attack) more often than your characters do. Some strange combat mechanics mean that melee attacks always hit, but ranged attacks have a chance of missing.
    - Stingy loot system. You can't generally get weapons and armour off enemies you kill, generally just a random crafting item or a scripted item off a more powerful enemy. Merchants and blacksmiths do not generally buy or sell weapons, armour or usable items like torches or potions, just resources like wood, salvage, or hides. If you want a suit of armour from a blacksmith, you have to pay him (in valuables and salvage or hides) to craft it for you, and this is ridiculously expensive. You will usually destroy your spare weapons to create salvage, as even repairing a slightly damaged sword or shield costs 1 unit of salvage for each point repaired, and you only generally get 1 or 2 points of salvage for destroying a spare sword or knife.

    The *TLDR* section:
    - In summary, a fairly enjoyable turn based historical RPG for fans of games like Divinity Original Sin 2, that's perhaps let down a bit by a lack of polish and an often difficult, tedious, and frustrating combat system.    … Expand
  4. Goby
    Oct 6, 2022
    6
    I did not expect to spend as much time on this game as I did... 60 HOURS! And I skipped a couple side quests, sorry... but I thought I was close to finishing the game after spending a little too much time in the first large city you come across. Oh boy was I wrong. Most of the game does not even take place on the continent of Europe, where you as the new leader of a viking clan are based.I did not expect to spend as much time on this game as I did... 60 HOURS! And I skipped a couple side quests, sorry... but I thought I was close to finishing the game after spending a little too much time in the first large city you come across. Oh boy was I wrong. Most of the game does not even take place on the continent of Europe, where you as the new leader of a viking clan are based. I was THIS close to uninstalling the game when I realized this was only the beginning.

    I'm not a fan of reading fiction, unless it is something very significant everybody and their mother recommends. Frankly I was caught off guard by all the reading you have to do in this game... When I first launched this game some four years after first hearing about it, I was expecting to be met with more action than I ended up getting, but honestly.. the reading-intensive gameplay grew on me and I kept going simply because I was curious about how the story was going to play out. All the important characters are essentially just a combination of static profile pictures on the UI and low-poly models in the field, but they grow on you through dialogue and storytelling.

    I'll leave my personal judgments regarding shortcomings in the story out of this, but I will say that the dialogue is exceptionally well written, clearly perfected to the word. Spoken dialogue, which is rare, is usually a little awkward with accents and the pacing... But in my opinion that's irrelevant - most of the time you're reading, so everyones' voices and character are up to your imagination. Basically - if you already enjoy reading, you'll probably go through this game in half the time I spent on it and read it like an animated book of sorts. Otherwise you may feel inclined to look elsewhere. I suggest you take a chance with it, like I did.

    Let me be very clear though: this is 100% an indie game and you can feel it in most aspects of the game. I am almost certain the guys behind it could do a lot more, given the resources. Combat on the hex map is innovative and entertaining, but there are some bugs, imbalances and situations in which something you'd expect to work, simply doesn't (read: "it can be unintuitive and unclear"). Stay away from the hardest difficulties in the beginning of the game unless you're looking for excuses to uninstall!

    I've seen many reviewers complain about surprise rounds, which is when the turn-base combat kicks off with the enemy getting the right to perform the first attack with all of their combatants. Yes, this sometimes make zero sense, but somebody's got to start the round off and sometimes that somebody is not going to be you. Deal with it. And if you can't, simply lower the difficulty and enjoy the story. I usually challenge myself with harder difficulties, but seeing the balancing issues in this game I deicided to go through it on normal difficulty and honestly, it got a bit too easy towards the end. However you can increase the difficulty at any point if you want. I was lazy.

    Overall I wouldn't thrash the game over any particular aspect of it - just don't expect perfection and you're good to go.

    I have more complaints and compliments, but I'm not getting paid to write this, so I will end it here. Peace.    … Expand
  5. LaDix
    Feb 13, 2021
    7
    Good fun "small" CRPG game.

    I am danish so ofc I love vikings. I love DnD so ofc I like CRPG games. I would 100% recommend it on sale idk if it is 30€ worth but it is fun and intresting. I would highly recommend to use portraits mods, sins them there is, is fine but some of the mods is just way better looking, and use the wiki | fandom to get info about the game mechanics beacuse    Good fun "small" CRPG game.

    I am danish so ofc I love vikings.
    I love DnD so ofc I like CRPG games.

    I would 100% recommend it on sale idk if it is 30€ worth but it is fun and intresting.

    I would highly recommend to use portraits mods, sins them there is, is fine but some of the mods is just way better looking, and use the wiki | fandom to get info about the game mechanics beacuse they dont explain anything useful in the game.    … Expand
  6. Traxillion
    Apr 14, 2022
    6
    Better in every technical aspect than its predecessor but along the way loses a lot of the charm that Conquistador had and becomes a rather bland RPG.

    Still competent and worthy of your time.

Awards & Rankings

89
#89 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
88
#88 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
  1. RPGamer
    Aug 31, 2017
    80
    Viking isn't the most refined game, with limited camera control, repetitive graphics that lack detail, and a lack of high-production presentation. It nevertheless succeeds in immersing the player in its world through an intriguing main story focused on local politics and motivations and driven by realistic struggles and constraints. Viking effectively impresses upon the player its main themes about the illusion of choice and the binding chains of circumstance, and also offers a multitude of poignant side-stories and strong character development. To top it off, the game features a unique combination of combat mechanics and abilities that allow creativity and enable some very interesting and satisfying strategies, as well as a novel take in timed and deliberate progress and out-of-combat party maintenance. Players looking to take part in a realistic and historically-inspired world with an engaging politically-driven story should look past the game's lack of technical polish and definitely pick up Expeditions: Viking.
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  2. GameCritics
    Aug 11, 2017
    40
    Expeditions: Viking could have been wonderful. I love its strategic combat layered atop a real world setting that hints at the fantastical without ever crossing the line. It has intriguing moral choices that aren’t afraid to shy away from making the player pick between equally terrible outcomes, and it flirts with making the player both warrior and politician. I could have overlooked the timer and the lack of information, but what I couldn’t overlook is that in its current state, the game is outright unplayable.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 5, 2017
    80
    Solid and funny RPG with great turn based combat, and above all, great freedom in choices. And you can plunder monasteries too!
 [Issue#275]
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