http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Viking-Battle-for-Asgard-1200.jpg
[[caption-width:373:Next time, bring more friends!]]
Described by the OtherWiki as an Action/Adventure and Hack and Slash hybrid, ''Viking'' (developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega) puts you in the shoes of Skarin, a [[BadassNormal Badass]] Viking. Having died protecting his village he is given a second chance at life and another chance to earn his place in Valhalla by Freya. Skarin accepts and starts his quest to defeat Hel and her campaign to conquer Midgard and Asgard.

Narrated by '''{{BRIAN BLESSED}}!''' who gives an unsurprising performance stacked to the brim with LargeHam.
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This game provides examples of:

* ActionCommands: Natch, for a game that is basically VideoGame/GodOfWar [[RecycledInSpace IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY!]]
* ArrowsOnFire: There don't seem to be any arrows that aren't on fire- espicially in Hel's Army.
* BadassNormal: Every single member of your army is one of these, that is what happens when you recruit Vikings.
* BeefGate: Major locations, and some wilderness areas, need to be cleared of large enemies through staged ambushes or sieges in game's plot, or being spotted by them leads to painful death pretty quickly.
* '''{{BRIAN BLESSED}}!''': He narrates the hell out of this game. If you look close enough you can almost see where he was chewing on the landscape.
* CombatStilettos: Hel sports a pair of these.
* CurbStompBattle: Hel's Army didn't have too much real competition before Freya buffs up Skarin into her champion.
* TheDogBitesBack: Quite literally in this case, as it turns out. [[spoiler: Skarin plays {{Mook}} to Freya and does her dirty work for her in exchange for a second chance at Valhalla. She violates her promise and Skarin reponds by unleashing Fenrir, a giant fucking wolf, that kills the gods.]]
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Skarin has definitely earned the right to answer yes to this question. Especially since he single-handedly killed a god, and the Queen of the Underworld at that.
* TheDragon: Rakan is Hel's and you serve this role for Freya.
* DualWielding: Done with a variant, Skarin wields a sword and an axe.
* ElementalPowers: Runes can be applied to Skarin's weaponry, causing elemental damage for a period of time.
** AnIcePerson: The Ice Rune.
** PlayingWithFire: The Fire Rune.
** ShockAndAwe: The Lightning Rune.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: it's about a viking and a battle for Asgard
* FirstEpisodeResurrection: Skarin gets one of these at the beginning of the game when he agrees to help Freya defeat Hel and regain his chance to enter Valhalla.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: [[spoiler: After you kill Hel, Skarin is pissed off by Freya refusing to free him so he can earn entrance into Valhalla. So he invokes this trope, except it's more of the extremely uncomfortable variety as there is a very severe winter for quite some time, but it gets better. The Gods aren't so lucky.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: Freya, [[spoiler: initially she is portrayed as being in a very difficult position since the Gods aren't permitted to kill each other and must ask a mortal to do her work for her. She initially gives you a quite fair offer of a second chance to enter Valhalla if you stop Hel from taking over the world. She then stabs you in the back once you do this once she realizes the advantages of having a warrior at her beck and call that must follow her lest he be cast to Viking hell]]. It doesn't end well for her.
* FireIceLightning
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: As early as the first boss battle with Drakan, it is clear that Freya doesn't treat her champions very well and that a FaceHeelTurn is certain.]]
* GameplayAllyImmortality: Averted- the soldiers you bring into battle will die as easily as the mooks they face, making Skarin's need to kill major targets like Shaman much greater, to keep the battle in the Viking's favor.
* GodIsEvil: [[spoiler: After Skarin defeats Hel he asks Freya to release him from her service so he may get his chance to enter Valhalla. Freya refuses, despite the fact that he just kicked the ass of the Queen of the Underworld at her bidding.]]
* HeroicMime: Skarin doesn't have much to say.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Freya, if only you hadn't kept screwing over your avatars.]]
* HollywoodTactics: Skarin's battle strategies are mostly "charge enemies with lots of vikings".
** Which is rather funny because the game, like it's predecessor [[{{SpartanTotalWarrior}} Spartan: Total Warrior]] was developed by British studio The Creative Assembly, whose other, main product is the [[{{TotalWar}} Total War series]] - games which are known for their tactical depth and military and historical realism (not to mention the turn-based strategy part). Absolutely all of which is lacking in both ''Spartan'' and ''Viking''.
* {{Homage}}: The last battle against Hel is played very much like a more properly mounted [[TheLordOfTheRings assault on Mordor]].
* InsurmountableWaistHighFence: '''Averted''', unlike so many other games in the genre- Skarin simply leaps over top of them without pause.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Rakan, [[spoiler: who fell in love with Freya and made a pass at her. Not the greatest of ideas as "the hearts of men are fragile and not meant to touch the divine". Long story short, Freya rejects him and sends him packing.]] Hel's champion and leader of her armies who is now quite bestial in nature.
* MagnificentBastard: [[spoiler:Freya, who's been playing you the whole time. When you kill Hel she breaks her promise to allow Skarin to seek entry to Valhalla. It doesn't end well for her since if she had just kept her promise she would still be alive and Skarin wouldn't have caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.]]
* MightyGlacier: Drakan. Skarin too, though he gets a little better with various upgrades that give him some speedy attacks.
* AMythologyIsTrue: Norse, natch.
* {{Mook}}: You, to Freya.
* OffWithHisHead: The combos in this game tend to leave every enemy in Skarin's way missing a number of body parts, and nearly every finisher takes performs a decapitation at some point.
* OneManArmy: Skarin easily qualifies.
* OneWingedAngel: Hel pulls one of these in your final fight with her.
* OpenSaysMe: Skarin will kick in every door, gate, or anything like them to open them regardless of if he just unlocked them with a key.
* PersonalSpaceInvader: The Assassins will leap onto your head and start stabbing at your back until you can pull them off.
* PhysicalGod: Because it's kind of hard to kill them otherwise.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: These are Vikings we're talking about...
* RewardingVandalism: Money is earned for shattering random urns throughout the world.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Rakan goes on one when he is spurned by Freya. Skarin gets one too, [[spoiler: when Freya refuses to release Skarin from service he goes on one of these. What does he do you ask? He brings about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt! He unleashes Fenrir and Fenrir's subsequent rampage kills the Gods allowing men to choose their own paths. Fenrir counts too given what he does once he's released from his chains.]] Come to think of it, this game is just one long case of these to the point where they just start colliding with each other.
* ScrappyMechanic: While the combat was good and commanding your army worked well, the stealth sections where you have to infiltrate enemy strongholds are particularly annoying. There's no real stealth mechanic, you just have to sort of run from cover to cover hoping the enemies can't see you. If they do spot you (and they will, many times) every enemy in a very large radius will be alerted to your presence and confront you. Did we mention this was a game that could support hundreds of enemies, and they can all run faster than you? MookChivalry also does not apply to them, making detection certain death.
* SlidingScaleOfLinearityVsOpenness: A type 4.
* StealthBasedMission: See above, though only a few missions really require noting but stealth, and there's some breathing room for errors.
* TheUndead: Hel's army is solely made of these.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Skarin wears parts of armor, but is still mostly topless the entire game.
** Many of Hel's soldiers follow this fashion style too.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Hel mentions that she wants to control Midgard so that she can create her own world where all men are treated as equals. She just happens to go about making this possible by destroying and corrupting everything with an army of undead.]]
* WarriorHeaven: Naturally, for a game about Norse Mythology, this is mentioned.
* ZergRush: Attempting to bypass a BeefGate is...not recommended. This also seems to be Hel's go-to tactic on the battlefield. It's also Skarin's, really the only ''other'' tactics you see him using are ambushes.

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