DaRmaZat There’s definitely something inherently intriguing about the idea of Norse mythology wrapped in a bullet-riddled roguelike shell. Vilde, developed and published by Chaotic Minds, was released on June 12, with the bold ambition to throw players into a chaotic loop of procedurally shifting levels, high-concept weapons, and ancient powers. But from the moment the game opens—with you waking up on a stylized Viking ship, confused and unequipped—what follows is less a mythic journey and more a frustrating, undercooked mess that stumbles over its own ambitions.
Lost In The Roots of Yggdrasil
Vilde wastes no time dropping players into its version of a Norse-inspired world, but sadly, it provides almost nothing in terms of orientation or context. You begin your journey on a drakkar, but there’s no introduction, no storytelling hook, and no explanation of the interface or mechanics. What should be a captivating mythological backdrop ends up feeling like window dressing: vague references to Yggdrasil, enchanted anvils, and some elemental runes are scattered throughout, but none of it builds into anything coherent. You’re left to piece together what little lore there is through fragmented names and visual cues that barely register. It’s an aesthetic theme rather than a fully realized setting, and one that feels hollow the deeper you go.
Combat in Vilde is an exercise in endurance rather than excitement. Enemies swarm in disorganized waves, frequently clipping through each other or becoming stuck in the terrain. The action is fast but rarely fluid—movement is floaty, aiming lacks weight, and the AI behaves erratically. Dashing becomes essential not out of strategy, but simply to escape the sheer confusion on screen. Instead of offering tactical challenge or encouraging clever play, fights often devolve into awkward slugfests where camping in corners becomes one of the most viable approaches. The layouts of the levels, supposedly reshaped each run, only make things worse: tight, repetitive corridors create a stifling sense of sameness, and the lack of verticality or breathing room leaves combat feeling boxed in. Rather than delivering the slick, high-tempo energy expected from a modern roguelike shooter, Vilde comes off as clunky and disjointed.
Systems That Never Connect In This Flat World
Underneath the messy firefights lies a web of mechanics that sound compelling in theory. You collect sap from defeated enemies, which fuels a three-branch upgrade system covering combat, defense, and utility. There’s a crafting component linked to smithing, dynamically generated side-objectives during runs, and a pool of twenty-four weapons ranging from ice-forged assault rifles to black hole launchers. But these systems rarely feel impactful. Upgrades are barely noticeable, weapon feedback is inconsistent, and the enemy variety is more cosmetic than functional. You can carry up to two weapons per run, complete optional challenges for minor rewards, and interact with enchanted anvils to tweak your loadout mid-run—but none of it truly changes how the game plays. It all loops back to the same problem: everything feels conceptually ambitious, yet the execution is so rough that nothing ever clicks into place.
While Vilde attempts a stylized look, its visuals fall into that familiar, overly saturated middle ground that many indie shooters occupy. It’s cartoon-like, but not charming; detailed, but never distinctive. Environments blur together, enemies lack identity beyond surface-level designs, and the UI does little to help you make sense of the chaos. The technical state of the game only worsens the experience—long loading screens, frequent stutters, and occasional crashes are common. At times, runs simply break: no enemies spawn, progress halts, and your only option is to quit to the hub.
The soundtrack, meanwhile, feels like a mismatch from another game entirely. Rather than embracing the atmosphere of its Nordic inspiration, Vilde blasts out high-energy, club-like tracks that feel out of sync with the game’s sluggish, cluttered combat. It creates a strange dissonance that never resolves—an audio backdrop that seems to ignore the tone and pace of what’s happening on screen.
Final Thoughts
In a genre already saturated with polished, inventive roguelikes, Vilde doesn’t just fail to stand out—it fails to meet the basic bar for engagement. From its incoherent worldbuilding to its broken pacing and bland mechanics, it’s a game that constantly trips over itself. The chaos isn’t exhilarating, it’s exhausting. The systems don’t invite experimentation, they confuse and frustrate. And the overall experience, plagued by technical and design shortcomings, offers little reason to return once the initial novelty fades. Vilde set out to turn Norse legend into something thrilling and new. Instead, it feels like a half-formed prototype of a better game that has yet to fully arrive.
Additional Information
Release Date: June 12, 2025
Reviewed On: PC. Download code provided by the developer and publisher.
Developer: Chaotic Minds
Publisher: Chaotic Minds
Website: https://vilde.io
Relevant Links: Vilde on STEAM
