Valheim 1.0 after five years in Early Access: what players still want
Shared report · updated Oct 14, 2026
A collaborative exploration and survival game for 1-10 players, set in a procedurally generated afterlife inspired by Viking culture.
Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG · $29.99 · out since 2026 · from the Steam descriptionComplaints about gameplay and design in Valheim centre on clunky combat, dull boss fights and tedious systems that reviewers say waste their time.
OneStar read 2,576 Steam reviews of Valheim posted from Jul 2026 to Oct 2026. Of the 2,576 people who reviewed Valheim in OneStar's sample, 37% complain and 80% praise it. The top complaints about Valheim are difficulty (21% of complaints), grind (20%) and gameplay and design (15%). In OneStar's sample of Valheim reviews, 2% of reviewers say they're quitting. OneStar's report on Valheim was last updated on Oct 14, 2026.
What goes wrong
Half baked, janky combat and systems. Unfun and tedious, poor combat, poor animations, poor encounter design. Just really not a good game. Not respectful of player time at all.
I played for 15 hours beat the first 2 bosses, went to the swamp biome as that was the next place I was supposed to go then died because the enemies do WAYYYYY too much damage then got spawncamped...
At its core, it is a genuinely good game, but a severe lack of basic quality-of-life features makes it completely unplayable for anyone who values their time.The developers have confused "brutal...
Unfortunately this game is marred by game-breaking bugs.
Released on PC with Console exclusive FOV. Lacks basic accessibility like FOV slider. Reliant on mods that break regularly.
What goes well
We just completed the game and it was a blast! Absolutely the BEST GAME I've played EVER!
great game. I dont know why its fun. I dont usually like this kind of game, but its really fun!
Great game. Fun to play with friends. I love the fact you can open your single player world to multiplayer whenever you want too. 10/10!
By far the best survival game. The replay-ability is like no other.
You will get your sh*t rocked by a mosquito but the scenery is beautiful. I love it.
Reasons for quitting
The main complaint of the 64 reviewers who say they stopped or are quitting
Their categories
Yes or no questions the person who shared it asked of each review
Old zones felt left in the dust, a skill system left unbalanced, and certain playstyles requiring SIGNIFICANTLY more work than others to reach their full potential.
Really good stuff here but held back by SOOO much tedious bull****. If you plan to play this game, you have to realize that EVERY single progression item is locked behind potential HOURS of doing...
Playing on someone elses server, game constantly crashes, and you loose everything that wasn't saved.
I really wanted to love Valheim because the concept and atmosphere are amazing, but the execution just isn't there. The biggest problem is that the game isn't really difficult — it's tedious.
Unfortunately this game is marred by game-breaking bugs.
What they use it for
636 of 2,576 reviewers said; shares are of them
They keep making updates that break my worlds and make them unplayable. I have a world I've spent the last 5-6 years building up with friends of mine and made a new world for 1.0 SOME HOW BOTH ARE...
This going to remain a bad review until the devs fix the drop rates rare trophies, especially for the cultist trophy and the bear trophy. They tweak drops after 1.0 and ruined it.
I have been playing basically only solo, so all mentions about difficulty reflects that. When I have played co-op everything has seemed much more easier. Relatively simple, but challenging gameplay.
What they ask for
130 reviews ask for something
Who is saying it
The biggest clear differences between audiences; 4 more with a free account
TenureLong-time user: say they're quitting 3.0x as often as everyone (7% vs 2%).
UseCollecting and completing: say they're quitting 5.1x as often as everyone (11% vs 2%).
Made with OneStar's Steam review analyzer. Run one on your own game or a competitor's, free with no card. Wondering whether a wave of thumbs down is real? Read how to tell a review bomb from a real problem.