Rune Classic

Not quite as good as Blade of Darkness, but a decent entry to the genre with a cool viking theme.

Buckets of fun. Great environment and physics for its time. With it's cool art style and original storyline, this game still holds up over twenty years on. A true classic!!

I'm not really a skilled player when it comes to action games, but I have fond memories of playing rune sometime in the mid-2000s. It was a very intriguing game, with an in-medias-res beginning, somewhat cryptic mechanics and an alien feel that was partly due to the graphics. I played it a fair bit, but didn't really ever get past the underworld section. Years later, I got it on GOG and figured out the cheats for the game and beat it. Other reviewers said it better, but I think the visceral feel of the combat is what really stayed with me. I liked that the protagonist can have one of each melee weapon type at any given time, but also pick up random things and bash enemies with them, or throw them. Music was pretty good, from what I can remember. The ending of the single player story was neither here nor there, but it was serviceable. I didn't really like the part where you get big, towards the end. This is one of those games that you probably won't be into, unless you played it in its historical period, but I am glad it's still available.

If you are a fan of melee combat, Norse Mythology, Vikings, and monsters this is the game for you. The Single player gameplay is pretty solid with some areas more memorable than others and a bit wonky camera but the story is very engrossing from one Viking who has to go through Niflheim and back with great enemy designs in this dark brutal world. But the real star is the Multiplayer which has everything from player content to solid maps that are fun to fight and throw weapons at others. The hours will spirit away as you play fun deathmatches that can test your skills and timing that reminds me of the old days of Quake and Unreal Tournament it is just pure fun. This game is something you should try hands down that should be remembered instead of swept aside, a hidden gem like the developers other game Prey.

Rune is one of those games that has a special place in my heart. I used to spend hours playing and replaying the demo version I had got from somewhere. Probably one of the several gaming and computer magazines that used to come with a disc. The game is very old, so, naturally, there is nothing amazing about its old graphics and gameplay. On the other hand, I find it has a great, dark, and atmospheric Nordic setting. The journey the protagonist makes takes him from wild caves to various dungeons and fortresses You will be fighting strange wild creatures, zombies, giants, dwarves, and some others too. So generally, there are quite a few interesting ideas in the game, considering its age. The story is very barebones. However, the combat, which is probably the essence of the games, is not that great. Especially comparing it to the newer modern games. It is fast-paced and brutal, and there are no dedicated dodging or defending mechanics, so the most you can do to avoid hits is run in circles and jump around. There are shields, but they break pretty quickly and do not block all of the hits. So, at least in my last playthrough I was swinging and jumping and praying to win in every encounter. I also had to reload quick saves… a lot. Summing up – the dated and brutal combat mechanics make the game quite difficult, and in my case – frustrating, at times. Now, I have encountered a couple of bugs in my playthrough. One of them was once a snake stole my sword, I was unable to pick that type of weapon and had to start over and avoid getting my weapon stolen. I have encountered a few crashes for no apparent reason, and the game started crashing on cutscenes near the very final battle. So keep that in mind and quicksave and, more importantly, hardsave often and on different slots. Its not a bad game, but it is an old game, so it is hard to recommend if you haven’t grown up with it. If you are interested get it on sale. You also get two versions in one – classic and gold.