Vikings: War of Clans

Game overview

Vikings: War of Clans is a strategy browser game set in the thematic world of Vikings, where as Jarls, players must build their kingdoms, armies and heroes to wage war against each other.

The game offers the traditional, addictive kingdom-building gameplay that we've learnt to appreciate in many games of the same genre, on top of an in-depth progression system and an interesting hero system to provide some much-appreciated variety and additional complexity.

The game also features truly excellent 3D animations that give Vikings: War of Clans terrific scores for graphics and presentation. Our town is alive, and you can see the townsfolk bustling around your buildings, working the forges, mines and farms...
This, paired with the pleasant and thematic soundtrack, really does a great job in letting the player enjoy and "live" the atmosphere of the game.
It comes with some cons though, such as pretty high loading times.

Overall, Vikings: War of Clans is a great browser strategy game that, despite not being able to offer anything new to the veterans of this genre, does provide a top-notch and addictive war game experience to all those looking for an old-school, traditional gameplay.

➔ Main points:

• A 2017 strategy browser game built under the most classical gameplay standards of the genre.
• Excellent graphics and convincing atmosphere based on the world of Vikings.
• Hours of addictive kingdom building and strategic warfare solo or with a clan.
• Deep progression systems for strategy lovers that offer many different ways to play.
• Does not require payment to enjoy the full experience, although advantages for paying users are quite visible.

Trailer

Full review

Prelude To War

Vikings: War of Clans is the latest browser-based war strategy game by Plarium, set in the ruthless world of Vikings. Like many of its predecessors, this game uses a tried and tested formula of fusing strategic city-building mechanics with MMO warfare.
When players first start their journey, they are introduced to the world via a comprehensive tutorial that does a good job at explaining how things work. Essentially, players inherit the role of a Jarl, and your job is to build up your town, raise armies for war and plunder while managing the various resources in the game.
At a glance, it's easy to see why the gameplay would be familiar, and the main objective is to simply become a powerful player with the largest army and influence solo or within a clan. However, beneath the surface, there are deeper progression systems in play that require players to strategically plan how their empires grow.

At a glance, there are basically two main views that will occupy most of your time: the first being your town view, and the second being the global map view.
Each town has it's own set of coordinates that can be used to locate its placement on the global map for war or diplomacy.

The town view is where players will spend the majority of their time constructing a good amount of buildings - for resource production, troop training, knowledge gathering and town defense - which increase a player's influence and stature in the world as a capable Jarl.
Buildings can be upgraded to higher levels with resources to further increase the effectiveness of training and resource productivity, but they are all dependent on the level of the palace, so be sure to make that your upgrade priority.

The global map is where the fun begins, as your view turns into a grid map showing all the towns and neutral resource spots that you can attack and raid for loot and rewards.

Progression & Combat

When it comes to progression, the scope and depth of Vikings's advancement systems are truly impressive.
While the usual experience and leveling system is present for your Jarl, your hero and town, the game offers multiple branching progression paths in the form of tech-tree research and crafting, which make things very interesting.
While pursuing each of them will cost a lot of time and resources, it's good to see that they aren't just filler content but viable areas of focus that do improve your troops, town economy and much more.

Where the game slightly dips in excitement is with its combat mechanics.
Waging war on neighboring towns is as easy as clicking them on the global map, inserting a number of various different units you own and watching them march off to the location in real-time.
The result of the clash will be determined by several factors, including army strength, town level, hero levels and wall levels.
As you see the journey of your troops on their way to their destination in animated 3D, it becomes somewhat of a let down to realize that you never actually get to see the combat unfold, getting instead the result in your mailbox with some battle statistics and loot info (if you've won some).

Waging war on neighboring towns is as easy as clicking them on the global map, inserting a set number of various different units you own and watching them march off to the location in real-time

While a minor gripe, the simplicity of the combat system allows players more time to focus on areas that make waging war fun, such as establishing or joining clans, allowing players to share resources and send aid in the form of army reinforcements.

Heroes Matter

Perhaps the most interesting element in Vikings: War of Clans is the unique hero system that really feels like a breath of fresh air in the genre.
Each player will inherit their own customizable hero character that will gain experience and level up as they progress with their empire building and war mongering.
Heroes will gain skill points which can be spent in two different trees that serve different purposes, such as the effectiveness of your armies while attacking and defending, or the efficiency of your town when there isn't a war going on.
On top of that, you can even obtain crafting materials from raiding enemy towns that can be used to create equipment that your hero can wear in his \ her equipment slots to boost said purposes above.
For a war strategy browser game, this RPG element is definitely a welcome addition in between everything else.

A convincing, lively world

Undoubtedly, Vikings: War of Clans is right up there with the best looking browser games of the modern era.
Your town is alive, and you can see the townsfolk bustling around your buildings, working the forges, mines and farms.
Players can even turn on special effects in the options to see environmental changes and magical effects that looks gorgeous.

Vikings: War of Clans is right up there with the best looking browser games of the modern era.

On the global map, it's nice to see the marching pathways and your armies moving in 3D towards a destination, giving life to the seemingly dull routine that other games in this genre usually opt for.
The developers of Vikings have put a lot of effort into making the game look and feel appealing for players, and it truly shows: we had never seen such an attention to details in a strategic browser game before.
It also benefits greatly from the Viking theme, with the art and music being authentic to the period.

When players are waiting in between building queue times and battles, the community comes alive and shines.
The world chat box is always lively and civil, with clan invitations and new-player advice popping up very often.
The developers are also doing their part in creating a thriving community, with around-the-clock in-game events that rewards players for doing the many tasks and quests available.

The Final Verdict

It's probably safe to say that Vikings: Age of War has so much to offer to strategy browser game lovers.
From the familiar empire building and MMO warfare mechanics, to the great new additions of the interweaving knowledge trees and hero system, the game does a very good job at offering players meaningful busy work. This will greatly benefit active players in the long run, thus making it an extremely addictive browser game.

Under the graphical point of view, this title is definitely one of the best products ever released to date, and the pleasant, thematic soundtrack greatly contributes to a convincing atmosphere.
Even if "immersivity" usually isn't the most regarded aspect when playing a browser game like this, it's seriously amusing to zoom into our town view and watch our little 3D citizens perform their daily routines. For the first time while playing a strategy browser game, we felt part of the world in which we were playing, and that's a huge plus.

It's seriously amusing to zoom into our town view and watch our little 3D citizens perform their daily routines.

However, questions will be asked about the very well fleshed out cash shop, which sells all manner of advantages in the form speed boosts and even resources which does smell of pay to win. In our experience, players will never be forced into spending real money to play, so that is a good thing.
Besides that, it's very hard to single out any other cons besides the fact that the game loads really slowly when first entering the game, which could be improved after release.

Ultimately, Vikings: War of Clans is a wonderful new entry for Plarium that offers a great thematic strategy game for the fans of the genre.

If you're looking for a traditional browser game that implements all the classical features in the best possible way, look no further!

Ready to enter the world of Vikings: War of Clans? Click here to play now!

---

Review summary

1. Prelude To War
2. Progression & Combat
3. Heroes Matter
4. A convincing, lively world
5. The Final Verdict