Forget Mjolnir—Odinfall is a zany Viking bullet hell where you'll murder a mechanised pantheon of Norse gods

Vikings and twin-stick shooters are two things you don't typically see in combination, but Odinfall is all about taking a ride on the rainbow bifrost and blasting your way through the endless hordes of future Asgard. Ragnarok has come and gone, but despite popular belief, all it did was cause a particularly nasty nuclear winter called the Motherstrom. Now, your only choice is to murder the robotic Norse gods and escape from this hell.

Does any of that make sense? Not really, but that's kind of Odinfall's vibe. In typical bullet hell fashion, it's more about having fun with the theme than anything else. Take the playable Cyberserker, for instance—one part cyborg, one part berserker—or Gunilla, the dual gun-wielding gnome. You can also play as an actual moose should it take your fancy.

As you blaze your way through Odinfall's procedurally-generated arenas, you'll earn points to plug into your character's skill tree, unlock special abilities, as well as loot new weapons and discover modifications to upgrade and change the way they work. As a self-described 'Ragnarok Roguelite' you've got an uphill battle ahead, but as you acquire skills and experiment with new characters, each run will get easier. That is, until the Motherstrom rolls in.

This nuclear storm advances each time you complete an arena. If you're particularly brave, you can venture into one of the areas covered by the storm—you'll face powerful enemies and can even take permanent health damage, so it's not advisable. Conquer enough of the arenas and you'll come face-to-face with one of Odinfall's mythical bosses; that's where the challenge really begins. Thankfully, you can also team up with a pal in co-op to take on the gods together.

The game is set to enter early access in July 2024. If gun-toting Vikings sound like your idea of a good time, you can wishlist on the Odinfall steam page or try out its demo in the Steam Next Fest.