Amazingly hand drawn backgrounds and characters, together with a crispy atmosphere, offer a unique Norse vibe to this crafting/survival 2D experience. Suggested for diehard fans of the genre or for those looking for a Scandinavian themed setting. Otherwise it suffers from a barebones combat system and pacing issues that make the game repetitive and cumbersome after a while. It works as a whole but doesn't stand out against similar titles.

There is a lot of time consuming busywork in Niffelheim, whether foraging, crafting, completing quest events or running back to a fallen corpse. Crafting games can be relaxing time sinks, but the presence of deadly enemies makes crafting cumbersome. 2D action games can of course be a lot of fun, but the necessity of time-consuming crafting ruins the flow of combat. Niffelheim looks impressive but hasn’t quite figured out the magic balance between two competing mechanics.

Overall Niffelheim hits the mark in regards to setting, story and world building but misses terribly in play mechanics like combat and progression. It's a shame because in many the world begs to be explored and discovered. If you can stomach the grind then I do think there is some charm in this 2D side scroller RPG. However, for the average player, it's going to be tough to see base the deery combat and farming.