Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment

6 video games to play if you liked The Northman

Guillermo Kurten
By

Director Robert Eggers’ The Northman has given audiences a bloody, Viking-themed revenge epic with an enticing touch of mysticism and fantasy to chew on. Vikings and Norse mythology are an unsurprisingly popular backdrop for such action-fueled stories and those that walk out of the theater hungry for more movies like The Northman shouldn’t have to look far.

Video games are another medium with plenty of Viking and/or Norse-inspired worlds to become immersed. And while not all of them are strictly Viking tales, their settings and influences based on those stories should make these games more than immersive enough.

Related Videos

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (2020)

The protagonist of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla shouting in battle and wielding two axes.

Undoubtedly the most relevant game to The Northman here, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is the publisher/developer’s latest entry in the franchise. While longtime fans are understandably burnt out on what once was an assassin-themed stealth-action game turning into a more run-of-the-mill open-world game, Valhalla was still well-received for what it was.

Its strong reviews came from being a fun Viking romp featuring an open-world RPG wrapping, with Ubisoft having tweaked their mechanics since expanding the series into an open-world RPG format. Players can even build their own settlements and raid rival tribes. What more could you want from a Viking game?

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor/War (2014/2017)

Split image of Talion combined with the wraith in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and War cover arts.

These are the first of the games that aren’t necessarily Viking-focused, but the world that revered fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien meticulously crafted borrows from several elements of mythological folklore. WB Games and Monolith Productions’ Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War should scratch that fantastical revenge-themed itch.

The games are set in their own canon separate from the books and movies, and star an original character and Gondorian Ranger named Talion who bonds with the spirit of a fallen Elf Lord named Celebrimbor. This prequel story sees the two team up to exact revenge on those who murdered their families, which evolves in the sequel to raising an army against Sauron. It’s a fitting theme coming off The Northman, and Monolith excels, in particular, with tits Batman: Arkham-inspired combat system and signature “Nemesis System” in defeating and changing the power hierarchy of enemy orc tribes.

Both Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and War are available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

God of War (2018)

Kratos and Atreus riding in a boat together in God of War promo art.

Sony and Santa Monica Studios’ tentpole God of War franchise started on the PlayStation 2 as a Greek mythology-focused epic, but the 2018 soft reboot flexed its creative muscles. The original PS2 and PlayStation Portable games were praised as high-octane and bombastic action games, but the latest entry takes Kratos’ story down to a much more cinematic and intimate level.

Kratos now has to raise his son as a single father while being haunted by the ghosts of his vengeful, blood-soaked past and being confronted by major mythological figures. These elements combine for an engrossingly personal narrative with a satisfyingly visceral combat system.

God of War is available on PS4 and PC.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017)

Senua wearing her war paint in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice promo art.

Developers Ninja Theory created one of the most inventively cerebral and psychologically thrilling games in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The story puts players in the shoes of the titular Senua, a Celtic warrior traveling through the Norse land of Helheim desperate to save the soul of her murdered husband from the goddess Hela.

It’s a grippingly cinematic game, using elements of the survival-horror genre to explore otherworldly beings in intense combat, as well as plumb the depths of Senua’s traumatized psyche with an impressive balance of tact and intrigue. The game is due for a sequel in the form of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and the stunning cinematic nature of these games seems like something The Northman‘s Robert Eggers himself would have directed.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is available on PS4, XBO, XSX|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

The Dragonborn poised for battle with the shadow of a dragon looming.

Similar to the aforementioned The Lord of the Ringsgames, Bethesda’s sweeping high-fantasy world of The Elder Scrolls also borrows elements from Norse mythology. Especially so with the oft-released fifth entry, Skyrim, as its land draws heavy visual and thematic inspirations from its folklore.

The land of Skyrim is set against the backdrop of political turmoil between two major Nordic clans, all while the Dragonborn protagonist needs to deal with the threat of Alduin, the draconic World-Eater, from leading a dragon-ridden apocalypse. This open-world action RPG was a landmark game for the medium, and its addictive level of replayability stands even after almost 11 years.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX|S, Switch, and PC.

Robert Eggers’ The Northman is now playing in theaters.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
5 video games to play after you’ve watched Black Adam
Lego Black Adam with lightning coming out of him in the game Lego DC Super-Villains.

Dwayne Johnson will make his grand DCEU debut with the upcoming Black Adam. Starring as the classic DC antihero, the seemingly infallible Johnson will attempt to inject a jolt of much-needed electricity into the otherwise gloomy and decaying DCEU. And, with Black Adam shaping to be one of the most powerful characters in the DCEU and some help from a fan-favorite character who spent too much time away from the screen, the highly-anticipated film has everything to win at the box office.

Seeing The Rock doing his sparkly thing might leave some fans in the mood for other similar properties. And while multiple films might scratch that itch -- indeed, the current cinematic market has superhero films up the wazoo -- several video games will also get the job done. Whether they have Black Adam as a playable character or major antagonist or simply feature similar themes or settings, these games will satisfy fans looking for something similar to Black Adam.
Injustice: Gods Among Us / Injustice 2

Read more
5 video games to play after you’ve watched Halloween Ends
The main characters of The Quarry on the game's poster.

Halloween Ends will come out this week, seemingly bringing the decades-long battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode to an end. The third film in a rebooted trilogy that ignores everything after the original 1978 slasher classic, Halloween Ends will bring the original final girl, Jamie Lee Curtis, back for one last round. It promises to bring the franchise to a satisfying, albeit hardly final, conclusion.

Fans of the series and the slasher genre might have bittersweet feelings about Halloween Ends; it will be the end of an era for what is arguably the mother of all slasher franchises. However, they shouldn't worry or wallow for too long. Aside from a plethora of films that will surely satiate their slasher thirst, numerous video games also succeed in capturing the survival aspect of a classic slasher flick. And unlike a film, players can experience the violent plot in a more personal and interactive way and maybe even discover what it's truly like to be running away from a deranged killer. Here are five of our favorites.
The Quarry

Read more
If you have a Netflix subscription, don’t sleep on the service’s games
A blue cat chasing a creature.

When Netflix first announced it was pushing into video games, the news was met with some healthy skepticism. By that point, we’d seen a few non-gaming companies like Google and Amazon try to elbow into the space with services that struggled to deliver strong, consistent content. Netflix seemed doomed to go down the same path when it launched its first batch of games, an unimpressive list that included mobile games. That slow start may have put the steamer on the wrong foot as only 1% of subscribers were reportedly engaging with its gaming offerings earlier this year.

A lot has changed in the past few months. Netflix has gone from zero to 60 since June, seemingly releasing a notable new game every few weeks. That sudden explosion hit another high note this week with the release of Desta: The Memories Between, a standout mobile title that’s exclusive to Netflix members.

Read more