Developer: Human Head Studios
Publisher: Human Head Studios
Platform: PC – GOG*, Steam

In 2000, Rune released on PCs. After a bit, the Halls of Valhalla expansion pack was released. From there, the game was repackaged as Rune Gold. The game was renamed and ported as Rune: Viking Warlord to PS2 in 2001. This still wasn’t the end of the road for Rune though! A “remake” of sorts came named Rune Classic, which included enemies from the PS2 game and reworked (and outright deleted) some original levels. Now that you’ve got the slightly convoluted history in your head, let’s talk about Rune Classic.

Rune Classic starts you off as a young, burly warrior named Ragnar. On the day of his initiation into the viking fold, enemies attack. Unfortunately for them, the enemies have Loki on their side and kill everyone almost instantly (except, of course, our pal Ragnar). Ragnar seeks revenge and that seems a very fitting setup for a game about vikings.

The gameplay also manages to capture what most would expect of a viking. Ragnar can wield a great deal of weapons that slash, bludgeon, and smack. Although the game is getting on in age, it still felt fluid and fast. Perhaps the only issue is a use key initially defined to Ctrl. Changing a few of the keybindings is definitely suggested for a more “modern” experience. In any case, there are a great deal of enemy types to destroy and it’s usually fun to do so!

One way in which Rune Classic fails is that it isn’t particularly good at signboarding where to go next. Actually, this might be a bigger issue because of how dark some areas are. It is easy to lose your way and end up inadvertently backtracking, which is never fun. Then there’s the multiplayer which requires more effort than it should to get running. It seems like a fun way to play – if you have the tech savvy to work it out.

There are better action games to play these days, but when it comes to viking-themed titles there are far less to choose from. And some of the ones that do exist are poor, so Rune Classic is definitely a better choice. If you want to play but don’t want the “butchered” version, GOG downloads also come with Rune Gold. This isn’t the case with Steam. No matter which you choose, Rune is still a blast.

3 out of 5 alpacas

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