Odin & Thor are watching you from Valheim.

When Valheim from Iron Gate Studios released in February 2021 CE, it blew up & sold 5M copies in its first month! Watching the initial gaming streams of it, Valheim looked too grindy for my liking, and the premise that there was a separated 10th world also seemed repeated from Marvel Thor back in 2013 CE where Odin cuts off & hides a whole unknown Realm as vengeance for the occupants apparently killing his daughter (and yes, that storyline's a ridiculously heavy-handed retcon for the sake of inserting of Angela from Spawn as Thor's incredibly angry sister [!?!], do not recommend), but then I heard that the Gods make cameos:



The horizon also has a gargantuan view of Yggdrasil looming in the distance as a contextual setpiece.

As an aside, there's also a weird craft called The Tolroko Flyer from an unpublished earlier game that can only be unlocked via a cheat, but it doesn't do anything other than litter the landscape & look anachronistic.

What I can't help but be reminded of by this Easter Egg instead is Odin's timecycle from the cover of 1983 CE's Time Patrolman, and have to wonder if this might also be a possible homage as to why it's in Valheim.

In the Norse Lore, specifically in The Saga Of The Volsungs, a very observant Odin shows up to nudge, challenge, and collect the heroic members of this saga's family line, which gives the impression that his mode of normal operation may very well be to keep an eye on those of us who create opportunities at earning enough worth to later dine at his feasting table and be among the Æsir's deterrent force, so Valheim's Odin isn't so far off the mark. 

[thanks to the Nordic Mythology Podcast for mentioning the appearance of Odin, and YT user Whitelocks for capturing the above clips!]

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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.

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