Exclusive: Tribes Of Midgard has a sword that summons lightning, and other shiny Epic Gear
Eat your heart out, Thor
Viking-y action-survival-RPG-majig Tribes Of Midgard is out tomorrow, and if you were asking me for an elevator pitch I'd say, "Think Valheim meets Diablo meets Hades," which is a pretty decent pitch as these things go. If the idea of those three games mashed into one has whet your appetite, then you're in luck. Developers Norsfell have given us an exclusive sneaky peek at some of the late-game megaweapons and magic god armour you'll be able to get yer angry mits on to really stick it to the game's pesky giants.
Tribes Of Midgard's Epic Gear draws inspiration from Viking myth and legend (which you may remember from every third game you have played in the last five years, including Assassin's Creed Valhalla). But many of them seem to be deeper cuts than your regular Thor's Hammer business.
For example, Baldr, who in the legend is known for being a hotty that everyone loved, has given his name here to Baldr's Blade, a sword that can dish out a big 'ol whilrwind attack, a passive healing AOE, or call down a lightning storm.
Eat it, Mjölnir. There's also Baldr's Bulwark, a shield that buffs your fire, ice and lightning damage. That's a pretty good ROI for a shield. The shiny gold look isn't for me personally - I'm more of a goth and/or nature gal for this sort of game - but it'll definitely get you noticed on the battlefield.
The Elivigar Bow has a knockback ability, plus extra features called Sticky Drain and Grim Barrage. Definitely a life leach vibe with this one. I like the ability to fire your AOE attacks further into the distance, but I dunno, that just really makes it feel like a magic bow, you know?
Meanwhile, the goddess Vullveig has inspired Gullveig's helm, who was apparently burnt and reborn three times, which is a pretty tough gig. This helmet definitely has the grungy look I'm drawn to. It has a bunch of passive elemental defense buffs but, as you'd imagine, is best at protecting you from fire damage.
My favourite from these sneak peaks, though, are Fornjȯt's Chestplate and Axe. Ya boy Fornjȯt is the elemental being and father to many of the jötnar, the giants. His axe is a big frosty axe with a big bonus to slashing attacks, and ice-themed abilities like a horrible blizzard. Could have done with that in the UK last week, eh? Eh? EH?
But Fornjȯt's Chestplate is the one I most want to try in game, if only because it's a ridiculous misnomer. If someone was like, "Would you like a chestplate with very high ice damage protection?" you'd be like, "Sure, I guess?". But if someone said, "Would you like ice to incase your right arm and grow up to cover part of your chest?" you'd probably have some questions.
One interesting thing to note is that in these GIFs we can see the player has an array of other bits and bobs that look like they match the Epic Gear in question, which is good news for completionists.
But wait! There's more! We've also got the details on all the Runes in Tribes of Midgard. These little fellas are modifiers that add passive buffs or abilities to your little warrior. There are 30 Runes in total, which you unlock by playing the base game - though some you can only get by completely a particularly hard quest, or craft with rare drops, that kind of kidney.
Some of these have a bit of a Hades flare to them. Take Rolling Thunder for example, where evading has a 50% chance of triggering a lightning strike, or Booming Shield, where every time you successfully block with your shield you cause an explosion. There are a few that will specifically allow you to overclock bow attacks as well. This kind of spec-friendly, simple buff arrangement is one of the things I most enjoyed about Hades, in fact, so I am in favour of seeing more of it cropping up.
We're having a play of Tribes Of Midgard, and will have more thoughts on the actual game to share with you soon. But for now feast your eyes on these explosive GIFs, and take a look at the Steam page to see if this cell-shaded Viking hellscape is the kind of raid you want to get behind.