Valhalla is supposed to be the final reward for warriors who fall with honor. Forsaken by Valhalla begins with a less fortunate group: fighters who reached the end of their lives only to find the gates closed to them.
Currently in development by Martin Istvanek, Forsaken by Valhalla is a dark turn-based tactical roguelite RPG built around Norse mythology, positional combat, and a party of fallen warriors searching for redemption. The game explores guilt, truth, and the reasons each character was judged unworthy of Valhalla.
Its first public demo is already available through itch.io and can be played directly in a browser. The build covers a complete expedition through Midgard and offers an early look at the combat systems the developer intends to expand throughout development.
Small Parties, Plenty of Positional Decisions
Combat takes place across clearly defined formation slots, with room for three heroes on the player’s side and four enemies opposite them. The current demo limits each run to two selected heroes, however, making party composition an immediate tactical consideration.
Three characters are presently available:
- The Berserker is the aggressive option, relying on mobility, pressure, Bleed effects, and straightforward damage.
- The Shield Maiden occupies a more protective role, shielding companions while interfering with enemy positioning.
- Finally, the Seer approaches encounters from a control-oriented angle, manipulating status effects and formations while influencing how fights develop.
Forsaken by Valhalla allows combatants to be pushed and pulled between slots. That means movement itself can become part of an attack sequence: disrupting an enemy formation may expose a vulnerable target, interfere with an opponent’s plans, or create a better setup for another character. Even defeated combatants leave corpses behind that temporarily influence positioning.
Turns follow a traditional initiative structure, with heroes and enemies activating individually. The playable demo also uses individual Action Point pools, adding another resource players need to manage as they decide when to attack, reposition, defend, or deploy more specialized abilities.
Status Effects and Enemy Encounters
Forsaken by Valhalla currently includes several status effects, including Frost, Frozen, Burn, Bleed, Poison, Dodge, and Protection.
These effects can be combined with movement abilities and each hero’s individual skills. Some characters are better suited to applying conditions, while others can take advantage of the situation created by their companions.
The same positional rules also apply to enemies, which means formations can change several times during a battle.
The demo eventually leads to The Gallows Warden, its final boss. Unlike regular enemies, the Warden can perform multiple actions and has its own pool of Action Points.
A 10-Room Expedition Through Midgard
The current demo consists of a 10-room expedition through Midgard and takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete.
Not every room contains a standard battle. The route also includes elite encounters, events, traps, a Rune Altar, and a Rest Site before the final boss.
This structure gives players opportunities to make decisions between fights and prepare their party for what comes next. Rune choices provide additional bonuses during the run, while rest locations offer a chance to recover before continuing.
As this is still an early playtest, many parts of the game remain subject to change. The developer is currently gathering feedback on difficulty, combat pacing, hero combinations, and general clarity.
What’s Planned for Forsaken by Valhalla
The current Midgard expedition represents only an early portion of the planned game.
Future versions are expected to introduce additional heroes, abilities, enemies, bosses, and expeditions. The developer also plans to add other realms from Norse mythology and a longer-term progression system connected to Yggdrasil.
Story content will also explore the backgrounds of the playable warriors and explain what prevented each of them from entering Valhalla.
For now, Forsaken by Valhalla is still in development and does not have a confirmed release date. Anyone interested in trying its combat system can play the current demo for free through itch.io in a web browser.
