JochiGoldenHorde

I had the same feeling! I picked it up recently and enjoyed its great trippy indie uniqueness (Undertale, Parappa). There's a strong rhythm game underpinning as well, which is the best adaptation of "dancing" into a game that I've played in a while.

My first play through is on hard. I've made it maybe a couple hours in(?) and I'm finding it really challenging yet rewarding (great difficulty subtitle btw). Plays a bit like guitar hero at points, but also really free form in a way that could encourage improvising through battles once you're capable of plain surviving.

Exited to see the story unfold and also see which new directions they take the central rhythm game battle mechanic into.

Been playing a lot for a few days now. I started off sour and disoriented with the chunky graphics and cryptic gameplay. But something kept me there, and as I continued with Valheim, more and more nuance came to the surface to keep me playing.

I'm curious about the graphics, mostly because they seem to come from the mind of a "programmer". The forest canopy occludes volumetric light differently depending on its density. In a thunderstorm, rain pelts, tree tops bend sharply in the wind. And if you happen to be by a large body of water, huge ocean swells rise and fall, carrying with them any buoyant items caught up in their maw. It all points to someone who sees the grandeur of physical phenomena and wants to render that through simulation code rather than shader packs. It's part of the reason the game stands out and is so divisive.

The reasonably deep combat system is entertaining for what it is. I found environmental interactions like hunting, travelling and building occupied me more. I read comments above mentioning the building system and, I'll admit, it was very obtuse at the outset. However, little vistas would keep showing up as I traveled through Valheim's procedurally generated worlds, and I'd get inspired to build a small waystation at a wooded river-crossing by a small bridge. Construction in the game takes into account the physical and load bearing aspects of a build material, and that acts as a grounding stylistic restraint. Other restraints like ventilation and workbench/star improvements also provide a perimeter and specify a roof. I swear I've not built the same building twice.

Anyways, I'm excited to see where it goes from here. Is this Minecraft 2.0? Or Minecraft "Young Adult"? We'll have to see what they do with millions of sales in recoupment. There was a point where I was hunting this deer in the forest, and I was crouched downwind on the low side of a hill. I could tell I was downwind cause of the particle effect pollen drifting past me. And I thought to myself, "Am I getting a bonus to my stealth rolls because that digital deer can't smell me?"

...I really want that to be true, even if it isn't.

It's neat, It's refreshing, curious to see where it goes from here.