Valheim

Valheim came out of nowhere in 2021 and ate the co-op survival world alive within weeks. Iron Gate, a small Swedish studio, took Norse mythology and turned it into a procedurally generated viking purgatory that millions of players are still exploring, one biome and one boss at a time.

It's a survival, exploration, and building game set in a procedurally generated viking purgatory, developed by Iron Gate and published by Coffee Stain. You play solo or in groups of up to ten, and the goal is to survive, chop down forests, build up bases, craft steadily better gear, and take down the bosses that rule each biome to push the world's mythology forward.

It's still in Early Access, but Iron Gate has kept up a steady pace of major updates since 2021, each one adding biomes, bosses, building mechanics, and content that has practically doubled what shipped at launch. It's one of the rare Early Access cases where the community keeps growing update after update instead of fading out.

It's perfect for a small group of friends looking for a long-term shared project: building the perfect base, planning the next expedition, splitting up chores. The progression forces you to actually cooperate, and the minimalist yet atmospheric art style makes exploring every new biome feel like a perfectly good excuse to keep playing.

We keep close tabs on every major Valheim update here at WickedQuest, so don't miss what's coming next to the viking purgatory.