Viking: Battle for Asgard Was A Gem That's Unplayable In 2025 - Review

Mr. Fore
2 days ago
2 min read

Viking: Battle for Asgard, released in 2008 for the Xbox 360, it had very impressive scale for its massive battles, engaging combat, and storytelling, the game holds a nostalgic charm for me, I remember watching my Grandpa play it on the 360, and as a young kid who loved the world of large armies and battles, this game was so epic to me and left an impression on me even 10+ years later. But in 2025, it's just unplayable.

Big Battles, Big Fun

The gameplay is where Viking: Battle for Asgard shines. It’s got surprisingly large battle sizes for a 2009 game, with you leading Vikings against Hel’s armies. It’s pretty epic and cool, way more enemies than I expected, and it feels a bit like Shadow of Mordor with its hack-and-slash combat. The fighting is fun and enjoyable, letting you mow down foes with brutal combos and even summon dragons. That said, the capped frame rate at 32 FPS really sucks, but you get used to it after a bit.

Armored warrior with a horned helmet wields a large, bloodstained sword in a dark, rainy fortress setting. Moody and atmospheric.

Bugs & Playability

Viking: Battle for Asgard is plagued by unrecoverable crashes, especially after the Darkwater chapter. Despite extensive troubleshooting such as a spoofed Voodoo GPU, iGPU tweaks, DirectX fixes, and community-suggested patches the game remains unplayable for many. I even tried to use autosaves that were beyond the chapter where it crashed, and it still did not work and crashed. Because of this, I cannot recommend anyone to buy this game. I tried so hard to fix the crash isuses. The game has unrecoverable crashing, It’s heartbreaking because I love this game, but the crashes kill it.

A dragon flies over a canyon with a wooden watchtower and bridge. Troops march below. Misty, mountainous landscape with scattered trees.

Pure 360 Nostalgia

The design is the classic Xbox 360, with open-world and huge battlefields that were ambitious for the time. It’s got that epic LOTR charm I loved as a kid, and the mechanics are solid for an action-adventure game in 2009. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun to explore and fight in.

Armored soldiers march down a path toward a wooden gate, set in a rocky landscape. The scene is dominated by earthy tones and a sense of urgency.

Viking: Battle for Asgard Conclusion

I wanted to love Viking: Battle for Asgard for its Norse mythology and epic battles, but it’s just unplayable. The nostalgia’s real, but the crashes ruin it.