Gaming has only intermittently embraced Viking lore historically as well, with games like The Lost Vikings taking a comedy tack on them and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla moving much closer to what you might see in the TV series. There are a few other notable examples too, such as Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, strategy game The Banner Saga, and even arguably The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim in which the Nords derive some clear inspiration from Viking culture.
Capitalizing on the success of Vikings and the demand for more burly hairy men committing violence on TV, Netflix acquired the rights to Vikings and created a sequel series, Vikings: Valhalla which was originally released in 2022. The series takes place about 100 years after the end of the previous series with Vikings raiding and settling in England and some have even adopted Christianity. Unfortunately, King Æthelred the Unready is particularly unhappy with the Danish raids and thus begins the St. Brice’s Day Massacre, kicking off episode 1 of Vikings: Valhalla Season 1.
There is a bit of historical fact smattered throughout Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 but the vast majority of the show is creative liberties taken for entertainment value. Canute the Great, Harald Sigurdsson, and notable explorer Leif Eriksson and his sister Freydis were all real people involved in repeated Danish invasions of England and eventually the takeover of the monarchy itself. It’s a fascinating and convoluted era of history with a fair amount of detail but there is no way to know exactly what happened and Vikings: Valhalla capitalizes on that with excellent drama and violence.
With only eight episodes, there’s a clear focus on telling a contained story in Vikings: Season 1 and episodes have the mix of sex, violence, and politics that you would hope for. There are some clear Game of Thrones vibes here (sans fantasy naturally) but this is a much more grounded story that will keep you engaged right to the bitter, bloody end. That’s really all you can ask for from a show only loosely based on Viking history and while it certainly manages to entertain, don’t expect to apply that knowledge in a World History class.
The Blu-ray set for Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 is a minimalist affair, coming in a single disc-sized case with no outer sleeve or fancy adornment. There are only two discs in the set and the inside cover is devoid of liner notes with the episode list on the back cover. While this isn’t a collectible set, it does seem like minimal effort was made to create an aesthetically pleasing case, though the cover art is quite good. It’s always nice to have a series that fits on the shelf easily though and unless you’re a hardcore aficionado, the presentation here is both sufficient and functional.
Coupled with the bare bones style of packaging is the equally bare bones content. Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 loads to a static menu with no special features whatsoever, simply a Play All and Episode List along with options to adjust audio and subtitles. English and French audio are both available, both in 5.1 and subtitles are available in English and French as well. If you’re looking for deeper insight into the series, film notes, interviews, and other content, you’ll just have to look elsewhere because none of that sort of thing is included with the Season. That’s becoming increasingly common though with many new releases limiting the amount of additional content they include, presumably to keep costs down somewhat.
Fortunately, the transfer itself is quite good. The encoding uses standard codecs at 1080p resolution and as the series was filmed in HD, you’ll find that the video quality is very high. Details seem to jump out of the screen, even with a smaller 55” display and color balancing is well done, especially considering that the vast majority of the show is shades of grey, green, brown, and red with some noticeable filter usage. There was no noticeable artifacting or any other film issues either during The aspect ratio is preserved as well, maximizing the screen effectively and creating a high immersion level.
Vikings: Valhalla might not be the same experience as the original series but it’s an entertaining watch with high production values. With the series finished, it’s definitely going to be worth waiting for the official releases of the second and third season. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many extras for fans to enjoy but the first season is a great watch in its own right and fans and new viewers alike are going to be entranced by the solid acting and vicious action of season one of Vikings: Valhalla. At only $29.98, this season isn’t going to break the bank either and you have to appreciate decent pricing with how expensive some Blu-rays are getting. This is a series you’re definitely going to rewatch so don’t hesitate to pick it up if you get the chance.
This review is based on a physical copy of Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 provided by the publisher. It was viewed on a 55” Sony 1080p TV. Please note that black borders are due to capture software used and are not present when watching Vikings: Valhalla Season 1.
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.