Games like Valheim or Minecraft, coupled with their sandbox nature, give players an endless array of things to do. One thing that many open-world games have in common is usually the sheer size and detail of their maps that players can experience. Games such as Grand Theft Auto and Far Cry have been improving on this model for years, sticking to handcrafted environments that feel immersive in their own right, while other open-world games like Minecraft use procedurally generated landscapes to fill out the near-endless world that players can inhabit and explore.
Valheim uses a similar method to Minecraft where its landscapes are procedurally generated using a unique seed, a code of instructions that generates the world in a specific way so that no two worlds are ever alike. This is great because if a player stumbles across a world that is absolutely stunning or unique in some way, they can take their Valheim world seed and share it with their friends.
This works best for games that rely more on the game's mechanics than the actual narrative, as it would be difficult to create a procedurally generated world with a rich and detailed story. Rockstar has always had a big emphasis on narrative, and as such, none of its worlds have taken this route, yet their game worlds have often felt very large despite this.
The Open-Worlds of Red Dead Redemption
When Red Dead Redemption 1 came out, it was very well received by critics and fans alike, eventually winning multiple game of the year awards. The player controls John Marston progressing the renowned narrative throughout New Austin, West Elizabeth, and Nuevo Paraiso, taking place towards the end of the American Frontier era in 1911. The map size in Red Dead Redemption 1 is roughly 31 square kilometers, housing many deserts and canyons fitting for its theme. Though not the biggest map for players to explore, at the time Red Dead Redemption 1 was the biggest open-world map Rockstar had made, bigger than GTA 4. After all, it was a game that took Rockstar over 5 years to make.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the prequel to RDR1 lasting over 8 years in development. Similar to its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place during the Wild West era in 1899, 12 years before the events of the first game. The player assumes the role of outlaw Arthur Morgan, dealing with government entities and rival gangs, as well as the turmoil that builds among fellow gang members. Red Dead Redemption 2 focuses on realism, featuring a large and immensely detailed overworld that allows the player to take part in various mini-games and activities including harassing the NPCs and wildlife that inhabit it.
In Red Dead Redemption ,2 the player's horse plays a vital role in the game, not only carrying the pelts and carcasses of the animals a player hunts but also the larger weapons and outfits the player might decide to switch between. With the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 measuring at about 75 square miles in total, the player's horse and its longevity are more important than ever. The game introduces a mechanic where the player manages their inventory of food items for not only Arthur Morgan, but their horse as well. It is up to the player to manage their health, stamina, and deadeye vitals to ensure they have the edge when encountering the dangers that Red Dead Redemption 2 has to offer.
The Disc-Shaped World of Valheim
Valheim is an open-world survival game, focusing on exploration, building, and survival. The game takes place in a Norse-inspired world that is procedurally generated for the player to inhabit. Though it uses procedurally generated landscapes to flesh out the world, unlike Minecraft it isn't near-endless. When players first begin their adventure in Valheim, they will notice that they start dead center in a foggy disc-shaped world when they open up the map. Though they can see the edge, when they zoom out they will quickly realize the scope of this world as it is much larger than one might expect. Valheim's worlds are measured to be a whopping 314 square kilometers, much larger than any game Rockstar has handcrafted, though it's not always about the size.
Even though Valheim uses procedural generation to fill out the landscapes, its game mechanics are the core of its gameplay. It doesn't have near as heavy of a narrative focus as a Rockstar title, but it does focus on how players interact with its world. To progress in Valheim players must adventure through biome after biome, with the difficulty ramping up with each subsequent biome, ultimately leading to a boss fight. Players must hunt animals for food to survive, tear down trees and rocks to build a structure they can reside in, and also harvest precious ore to craft new weapons and armor. Comfort level is also important, so building a base from the ruthless inhabitants of Valheim is important, and necessary as the player can be swarmed by a raid of undead Draugr or a group of Trolls.
Though Valheim sports a much larger and arguably more dangerous world than that of Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2, that doesn't mean its world is better or worse. Rather, each world supports the gameplay structure of each game. An expansive and immersively detailed world benefits from the strong narrative that Red Dead Redemption offers, while a massive open world with randomly generated terrain and enemy locale benefit from the survival and base-building aspect of Valheim.
Valheim is available now in early access on PC.