Iron Gate Studio's indie survival game Valheim has been enjoyed by millions of players as it topped the Steam best-sellers charts through all of February. Players have been able to find interesting nods to the various mythological stories the game has been based on, including what seems to be the God of Thunder himself.
For those that don't know, Valheim is loosely based on Norse mythology, blending into the game various ideas about Odin, Valhalla, and Yggdrasil, The World Tree. Players are said to be battle-slain warriors, dropped into the world of Valheim, a type of purgatory. To prove themselves to Odin, players are tasked with fighting ancient creatures to bring order to the realm.
Since Valheim taps into one of gaming's biggest obsessions right now in Norse mythology, it only makes sense for the game to introduce one of the most popular gods from the myths. Reddit user Lulle5000 posted a video, showing off a unique event happening in the skies. During a thunderstorm, Thor himself can occasionally be seen flying through the skies, lightning shooting off around him.
While the lightning is presumably coming from Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, it hasn't yet been confirmed to be the God of Thunder. For now, it just seems to be a neat worldbuilding event for hawk-eyed players to notice. However, this wouldn't be the first time Valheim has introduced a major icon in Norse mythology. Several players have encountered a strange cloaked figure at night in Valheim, which many are theorizing to be Odin, the All-Father, watching over players on their journeys.
Maybe this is already well-known, but during thunderstorms you can sometimes see Thor flying through the skies from valheim
Players have plenty to look forward to as Valheim's content roadmap expects to bring numerous updates throughout the rest of 2021. Some features will expand the game's crafting mechanics, and some might add story beats to the game. Iron Gate is planning to add new biomes as well, which could come with their own mythological inspirations. One possible content addition is even Svartalfr brigands, which in Norse mythology refers to dark elves.
It will definitely be interesting to see even more Norse gods added to the game, especially if they coalesce into some story event. Either way, Valheim's Viking inspirations are immediately apparent as soon as player load into a game. No more is needed than to just look up into the sky, and see the presence of one of Yggdrasil's major branches. Who knows? Players may even be able to see Thor up close one day. If that even happens, players might not want to expect him to look like Marvel's Thor from the comics and MCU though.
Valheim is available now in Early Access on PC.