Viking Survivors.
The Vampire Survivors genre is booming. Almost every type of aesthetic you can think of has dipped its toes into these auto-battle waters. However, most approach the genre with cartoony visuals or the pixelated nature that Vampire Survivors is known for. Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel; however, has visuals that are more in line with Diablo, making it stand out from the pack. This journey into Norse mythology comes with many of the characters you know, the powers you expect, and dangers that swarm all around you. While the genre is packed with almost endless options, Hordes of Hel is without a doubt one of the best ones out there.
The similarities to Vampire Survivors are certainly there, but the slick visuals can easily make you think you are playing some sort of mod or additional mode featured in the likes of something like Diablo IV. Honestly, its visuals are what pulled me to the title in the first place. The levels are more than just a flat environment with simple arrangements of trees or rocks scattered about. The initial area, Niflheim, is a frozen wasteland filled with dangerous foes and difficult challenges as you attempt to summon the boss and return with your spoils.
From the start, you'll have access to the Berserker class, with more characters unlocked as you complete the requirements to make them playable, such as beating the first level on normal or harder difficulties. The Berserker has their own stats, skills, cosmetics, and abilities, many of which can be upgraded as the run goes on. However, as you continue to collect experience orbs, you'll also have access to the familiar Norse Gods; Thor, Odin, Loki, and Freya, each offering their aid in a variety of active and passive skills. In typical fashion, each level has you crafting a build on the go, hoping you find a mixture of abilities that make for a successful run.
As you complete runs, you'll earn coins. These are found around the map and rewarded for completing a series of challenges. Some offer more and ask more of you, while others are easily completed such as collecting mushrooms, horns, or defeating sub-bosses. The more difficult ones have you destroying a stationary object, leaving you incredibly vulnerable, especially those that prevent you from using your abilities. Coins are used to upgrade your warrior, purchase new weapons with greater stats, or increase the effectiveness of the powers the Gods bestow upon you. This then makes each run about getting in and getting out with as many coins as you can. Thankfully, death doesn't wipe your earnings from the face of the frozen earth, making every run feel like you are chipping away at some progress.
Currently, there are four characters present in the game; the Berserker, Seeress, Flame Sister, and the Revenant. The Berserker will be unlocked whereas the others are available once you complete certain levels on their required difficulty. Each has their own abilities that make them unique, such as the Berserker’s rage applying health regeneration, or having their damage increase as their health depletes. The Seeress may have some advantage of her range, but her health is another story. That said, she has a shield that is applied when she takes damage, granting her a moment of invulnerability, that can be useful once it is leveled up.
Each class also has their own skills. The Seeress can autocast a destructive mind pulse or cast down an area where time stands still, causing anything in its wake to freeze. The Berserker has a series of various axe skills, each of which are immensely useful as they cleave or swing around him. What helps these characters differentiate themselves is how varied their skillsets are and don’t come across as just palette swaps from one another.
I’ve yet to dive into the other classes as I’m still working on making my Berserker fit for hard mode, allowing me to complete the first level on hard and subsequently unlock the Revenant as well. Regardless, the Revenant is joined by a Wolf Spirit, whereas the Flame Sister uses the power of flames to see her through. These characters look interesting and as I continue to push through and see the game to its final release, I’ll certainly update this review in progress to determine their worth in the whole package.
The Gods themselves offer many a boon from passive skills that work in the background to enhance what is already present, to active skills like Thor’s lightning, Odin’s spear, or Loki’s serpents. Each God has a series of skills that can be upgraded, allowing them to work harder and often provide more, such as additional lighting strikes or a great range of their attack. The Gods also provide perks, such as Loki’s allowing for a better drop rate on gold, to Thor being able to grant both additional health as well as increased damage. These are upgraded by exchanging gold for skill points, even if the system to do this exchange is a bit janky.
Currently, only Niflheim and Muspelheim are available in Early Acess, with Midgard, Jotunnheim, and Alfheim being teased in the select screen. Niflheim is the only available level when you first start with Muspelheim being available should you conquer Niflheim on hard. There is also insane difficulty, but you need to complete Niflheim on hard to access this. While I’ll talk about the technical issues shortly, they are why I have yet to beat Niflheim on hard.
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is far and away the best looking game in its genre in regards to its raw graphical fidelity. Character models, effects, and each currently available environment are all impressive. As the title is currently in Early Access, I did have some performance snags that saw the game drop to unplayable levels during the boss encounter more than a handful of times. While likely a memory leak, since I never had that issue on Easy, most attempts on Normal saw the game drop to single frames during the entire boss battle. This issue was present both on Steam Deck and my Laptop. While I can get to the boss on hard, this issue has prevented me from being able to actually defeat him, keeping me in check for the time being until an update comes to address this issue.
Even in Early Access, Jotunnslayer excels at creating a solid gameplay loop with considerable replay value in regards to progression. Each class has its own abilities that truly feel unique, even if they still rely on the varied Norse Gods powers in the same way. Fans of the genre may be burnt out by the wave of copycats, but with the impressive visuals, it certainly helps it stand out from the pack, even despite its rough performance woes.
Developer - Games Farm, ARTillery
Publisher - Grindstone. Released - Early Access January 21st, 2025. Available On - PC. Rated - (N/A) - No Descriptors. Platform Reviewed - Steam. Review Access - An Early Access review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.