Tribes of Midgard Review | Game Rant
It's difficult to put into words precisely where Tribes of Midgard stumbles and excels, as the game takes a number of satisfying core concepts but stretches them in a way that will only appeal to a very specific core demographic. It's the sort of satisfyingly simple that some people will adore and others will admonish - the same appeal that Minecraft has in a sense - but tailored to people that like checking tasks off of a list.
Tribes of Midgard puts players in control of heroes sent from the heavens tasked with defending The World Tree from assault almost every night, using each day as an opportunity to gather resources and build up their defenses. It boasts the Norse flavor that's become increasingly common in games over the past few years, opening its lore up to comparisons with the likes of Assassin's Creed Valhalla and God of War.
During daylight hours, Tribes of Midgard plays similarly to the classic Legend of Zelda games, giving players an open field to explore with enemies and bandit camps scattered throughout. Players are granted the freedom to roam around and collect nodes of resources, which are essential to building up the player's home base and guaranteeing that they survive beyond the first few nights. That freedom to explore is welcome, but Tribes of Midgard's randomly generated maps aren't all that varied.
The issues with the game's world don't end there, either. On top of not feeling particularly unique, the game's handling of different elevations leaves a lot to be desired. Many of the game's mountains and hills use a tiered system, rather than a smooth ramp-up. It's possible to jump up or down these jagged slopes, but it isn't a smooth way to get around obstacles. Tribes of Midgard does feature a way to build ramps and bridges, but it's all too easy to get stuck in one of the structure's cracks.
Besides exploring the overworld, players are going to spend most of their time battling monsters. Tribes of Midgard's combat system isn't particularly complex, but there's at least some beauty in its simplicity. Standard rank-and-file enemies pepper the overworld, usually in the form of goblins and wolves. However, the game also includes bigger, more challenging enemies for players to tackle. Most large camps will have mini-bosses for players to tackle, which can spike up the difficulty pretty sharply if players go in under-prepared.
The real stars of the show are the Jotun that will invade the world every few days. The Jotun are massive elemental creatures that spawn a fair distance away from the player's camp, slowly lumbering towards them, hell-bent on taking out The World Tree. Jotun are a big threat to the player if left to their own devices, easily knocking down the player's fortifications if they manage to make it to the camp. The battles with Jotun are some of Tribes of Midgard's most interesting, though they happen a bit too frequently, becoming more of an annoyance over time.
Slay a Jotun, though, and players will be rewarded with a healthy portion of souls. Souls are an essential currency when it comes to leveling up the player's camp, as they're needed to fill The World Tree's health bar, level up vendors so that they can sell higher tier gear, and build defensive and resource structures. All of those are key to ensuring that the world doesn't end, which makes protecting small hoards of them increasingly important as time presses on. Players lose their souls when they die, though their other items are dropped by their corpse like Diablo 2, which adds a satisfying edge to each combat encounter, even on a small scale.
It's difficult to overlook the balance issues that permeate some of Tribes of Midgard's core concepts, though. Certain resources are vital to staying competitive, but finding enough of them can be a bit too challenging considering how essential they can be to the entire experience. For instance, elemental weapons become increasingly important for battling Jotun as the game presses on, but some of the resources to build Tribes of Midgard's elemental weapons only rarely drop. That can make crafting a single weapon a multi-day endeavor, as some resources are only readily available at night.
Tribes of Midgard shines most when playing a close group of friends. The game supports co-op with a group of up to ten total players, as well as a matchmaking function for those looking to mingle with strangers. Playing Tribes of Midgard with friends makes the entire experience more enjoyable, as it allows the group to delegate certain tasks and focus on efficiency. It makes enemies a bit tougher, but the tradeoff is well worth it.
With a consistent group of friends to play with, the appeal of Tribes of Midgard is evident. It's easy to hop into a match, play around for a while, then let everyone go their separate ways when things start to feel stale. On the other hand, the solo experience isn't quite as compelling, as managing everything can start to feel tedious after some time alone.
Tribes of Midgard's quality is largely dependant on what the player enjoys but not in the traditional sense. It's a sort of all-or-nothing enjoyment where those that like making a task list and scratching off objectives will find something worth spending hundreds of hours in, but those that are on the other end of the spectrum will find it dull. If the player is that specific type of person, Tribes of Midgard will be well worth the investment, but if not, things may start to feel stretched a bit thin.
Tribes of Midgard is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.
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