Niffelheim

Metal art-style. Cute game-play. 100% completion. 100% solo.

Niffelheim is a demanding 2D survival RPG that blends Norse mythology, base building, and methodical progression into an experience that is both atmospheric and deliberately unforgiving. Developed and published by Ellada Games, the title places players not in the glory of Valhalla, but in its opposite — a frozen purgatory where a fallen warrior’s soul must fight for redemption. Rather than relying on heroic fantasy or power escalation, the game emphasizes endurance, preparation, and persistence, presenting survival itself as the central challenge. From the outset, Niffelheim establishes a somber tone that frames the journey not as a triumphant saga, but as a grim struggle against nature, monsters, and the limitations of the player’s own resources.
The world of Niffelheim is structured around a central stronghold surrounded by several distinct regions that can be explored at the player’s pace. These areas range from forests and plains to underground caves and dungeons, each containing unique resources, enemies, and environmental hazards. Exploration is driven by necessity rather than curiosity alone, as nearly every advancement requires materials gathered from specific zones. The game allows players to choose between several character archetypes at the beginning, each offering slight variations in health, stamina, and combat capability. While these differences don’t radically change the overall experience, they subtly influence early survival strategies and add a touch of replay value for those interested in experimenting with different approaches.
Visually, Niffelheim distinguishes itself with hand-drawn 2D artwork that gives the world a rugged, mythic quality. The environments feel cold, worn, and hostile, reinforcing the narrative theme of being trapped in an inhospitable afterlife. Character designs and enemy sprites fit well within this aesthetic, offering enough visual clarity to make combat readable while still maintaining a strong sense of atmosphere. The subdued soundtrack complements the bleak tone without overpowering it, allowing moments of silence and ambient sound to heighten the sense of isolation. While the presentation may appear simple on the surface, it serves the game’s identity effectively and helps immerse players in its harsh setting.
Survival mechanics form the backbone of the gameplay loop, requiring constant attention to hunger, equipment durability, and resource availability. Players must hunt animals, gather plants, and cook meals to maintain satiety, as neglecting these systems directly impacts effectiveness in combat and exploration. Crafting plays a central role, with tools, weapons, armor, and consumables all requiring carefully gathered materials. The game’s base-building elements revolve around upgrading various workstations within your stronghold, each unlocking new recipes and progression paths. This creates a steady sense of advancement, but it also introduces a noticeable grind, as many resources must be collected repeatedly from the same locations.
Combat in Niffelheim is functional but intentionally simple, focusing more on preparation and gear quality than complex mechanics. Encounters often involve basic attack patterns, with success determined largely by timing, positioning, and equipment strength. While boss fights add some variety, combat rarely evolves beyond its core structure, which can make extended sessions feel repetitive. Death is not the end, but it carries consequences, often forcing players to retrace their steps and recover lost equipment while dealing with temporary penalties. This system reinforces the game’s survival focus, encouraging caution and preparation rather than reckless experimentation.
Progression in Niffelheim is slow and deliberate, rewarding patience above all else. Unlocking stronger equipment, accessing tougher areas, and assembling the pieces needed to escape the realm all take time and careful planning. The game provides minimal guidance, leaving players to learn systems through experimentation and observation. For some, this hands-off approach enhances immersion and satisfaction, while for others it may lead to frustration or confusion, especially during the early hours. The lack of hand-holding makes success feel earned, but it also raises the barrier to entry.
Ultimately, Niffelheim is a survival game designed for players who appreciate steady, methodical progression and are willing to embrace repetition as part of the journey. Its strengths lie in atmosphere, thematic cohesion, and the satisfaction of slowly carving out stability in an unforgiving world. While its combat and grinding mechanics may limit its appeal to a broader audience, those who resonate with its pacing and tone will find a deeply immersive experience rooted in Norse myth and survival philosophy. It is a game that values endurance over power fantasy, offering a bleak but rewarding path toward redemption for those willing to see it through.
Rating: 7/10

A rather interesting and simple survival game with a strong Norse/Viking theme.

Great game, it is similar to a vanillaware title however its mechanics are a bit on the simplistic side. Graphics are beautiful, sound is ok, controls are not very responsive, difficulty is very high and you really have to have a strategy to solve the late game encounters.

Positives
A lot of things to upgrade and craft
The style is detailed
Hard but somewhat fair
You get drawbacks from dying but in a fair way (you have to craft a potion to get rid of the drawbacks which in itself takes some time to gather - Hint: you only need ONE potion to get rid of multiple drawbacks from dying).
Sounds are great

Negatives
Some things that you craft are so tied into other things you craft that need the same stuff, there is no way to pin a recipe, which makes it tiresome.
Even though tools and weapons are made of TITANIUM they break like glass (should last easily 10x longer in my opinoin)
The inventory space doesn’t justify the amount of different things you can collect.
You have to scroll through a list in the different workbenches which becomes more of a hustle the more you upgrade. Besides that, things that you can craft is not sorted on top, you have to scroll through things you can’t craft in order to see what you can craft. And every workbench has at least 50 different things to craft. This should be sorted into different tier instead of just a long laundry list.
The game feels like a flash-game because of input-lag of some sort. Besides that the game also prefers keyboard-input more than mouse input. For example - when crafting things you only craft one at a time, if you spam RMB it waits for the greyed-out button to become “interactable” again. But when you spam ‘E’ (by default) you can easily spam that. However you don’t know how much you’ve crafted until you let go because it takes half a second for it to update how much you craft. When fighting animation sometimes do no damage or it doesn’t register, it takes time for the damage to update. That is also for things you pick up after kills (‘Q’) the prompt stays even though the item is gone.

Conclusion
The game is interesting and maybe better to play with a friend. Playing it alone is not recommended because you have to build, fight, gather, mine, craft tools and weapons that breaks constantly, fend off enemies when your base is getting attacked, gather offerings when it prompts you to do so (if you fail within the limited time you will lose progress)

If you can stand the input lag and have a friend with you it could be fun. That I could recommend. There is tons to upgrade and explore which keeps this interesting. In my 17 hours of gameplay I have just scratched the surface.

4/10 - singleplayer
6/10 - Co-op

I like. Is good. Yes.

Hyperborea