Niffelheim: a good, original Early Access survival game?
Niffelheim is a 2d survival game on developed by Ellada Games, for the PC. But unlike most survival games, Niffelheim’s challenge doesn’t revolve around satisfying the character’s needs. Instead, it goes for more objective-based gameplay by adding quests and a totem you must protect from enemies. Because of this, the only penalty for dying is losing some of your money(in the region you own, at least — if you die somewhere else, you drop your hat, which I think is the harshest punishment in the whole history of video games), but if the totem is destroyed, it’s game over.
This brings us to the next feature of the game: upgrades and building. Everything can be upgraded, and that is essential to survive. You also can reinforce the totem, first by just a small hut, then building it up into a castle with walls around it. At the beginning of the game, you have some empty space, which can be used to build a greenhouse, sheepfold or chicken coop, which will make your life much easier, as food and drink are the only ways to heal in this game. There isn’t much else to write about for now — this is the kind of game that you should play to understand… Oh, I nearly forgot about the pros and cons!
The pros
- Despite being a survival game, Niffelheim brings some new concepts to the table.
- The game has a quite uncommon occurance: good-looking and fitting 2d skeletal animation.
- Even though Niffelheim is still in Early Access, I didn’t encounter any major bugs during my playthrough.
- Niffelheim’s OST sounds just like what you’d expect it to sound.
- The earlier missions act as a tutorial of sorts, which is, admit it, much more fun than going through an actual tutorial.
- Four different regions to play in.
- When you are badly hurt, the character gets weaker and moves slower, which is realistic and encourages you to not run at a bunch of enemies with the starter sword shouting “You only live once!”.
The cons
- The walking and wood chopping speeds are a bit slow.
- The four regions don’t have any visual difference between them.
Here’s a link to Niffelheim’s Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/351100/
