Iceland might not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of gaming, but its influence is stronger than you’d expect. From Reykjavík-based developers crafting space operas to indie games spoken entirely in Icelandic and big-budget blockbusters drawing on Iceland’s mythic past and volcanic landscapes—Iceland is quietly everywhere. This post explores the Icelandic influence in games, whether that’s through mythology, setting, language, or creators.
The Icelandic influence in games comes through in many forms. Icelandic developers make some games, others borrow Icelandic landscapes or use the language, and many are inspired by folklore preserved in Iceland’s medieval manuscripts. The country’s natural isolation and cultural depth have helped shape various digital and tabletop experiences.
Whether you’re a fan of Norse mythology games, looking for Icelandic RPGs, or just curious about how video games inspired by Iceland have evolved, there’s plenty to explore here. This guide covers a wide scope of Icelandic games and their unique place in the gaming world, from blockbusters to indie gems and homegrown tabletop titles.
If you’re interested in Viking history or Icelandic mythology, we recommend you join our Private Viking Age Walking Tour or The Icelandic Storyteller Experience.
Icelandic Influence in Games
Made in Iceland
EVE Online (CCP Games)
Released in 2003 by CCP Games in Reykjavík, EVE Online is a sci-fi sandbox MMO that’s basically a second job—or a second life—for many players. It drops you into a huge galaxy where almost everything is controlled by players: trade, politics, war, you name it. You can be a miner, a pirate, a corporate spy, or a warlord commanding fleets of ships. The economy is fully player-run, and some battles have cost thousands of dollars in real-world losses.
But what really makes EVE stand out is how much it thrives on player drama. Betrayals, backstabbing, and long-game politics are part of the experience, not side effects. Alliances rise and fall, entire regions of space get taken over or destroyed, and some of the best stories in gaming come from what players do—not what the game scripts. It’s slow, sometimes unforgiving, and definitely not for everyone, but it’s unlike anything else out there. In many ways, it mirrors Iceland itself: tough, strategic, and quietly powerful. It’s a perfect example of the Icelandic influence in games on a global scale.
Starborne (Solid Clouds)
Also built in Reykjavík, Starborne takes the vastness of space and blends it with grand strategy. It’s an MMORTS—massively multiplayer online real-time strategy—where you build up a space-faring faction over the course of days or even weeks. You’ll spend your time managing fleets, expanding territory, forging alliances, and inevitably breaking a few. Politics plays just as big a role as combat.
The pace is slower than most online games, but that gives it a kind of cold-war tension. You’re always watching your neighbours, wondering who’ll strike first. Like EVE, it rewards patience, planning, and diplomacy as much as raw firepower. There’s definitely a through-line between Iceland’s biggest gaming exports: they favour brains over button-mashing, and Starborne carries that torch well—another strong reflection of the Icelandic influence in games.
Isle of Winds
Isle of Winds is a story-rich indie adventure set in a magical world inspired by Icelandic folklore. You play as Brynhildur, a girl exploring strange lands filled with spirits, elemental forces, and remnants of an older, mythic time. The art is painterly, almost like an interactive fairy tale, and the dialogue is all in Icelandic—complete with voice acting. That alone makes it stand out, but the game goes further, weaving Icelandic cultural references, legends, and worldview into everything from worldbuilding to puzzles. It’s not just a game with Icelandic flavour—it’s an Icelandic game through and through.
Language / Cultural Reference
Mythic Iceland
Mythic Iceland is a casual RPG that leans into Nordic folklore, though in a lighter and more family-friendly way. You collect characters, battle myth-inspired monsters, and explore an island full of magical creatures. It includes references to runes, trolls, and other familiar figures from Norse legend, but without digging too deep into any one mythology. It’s not an Icelandic game, but you can spot the influences easily. It feels a bit like a simplified intro to the stories that appear in more grounded or culturally specific games.
Einar
Einar is a short third-person action game with a strong atmosphere and a striking sense of place. You play as a lone warrior—Einar—through a rugged, wintry world that draws inspiration from Norse and Icelandic environments. Students made the game as part of a university project, and while it’s fairly small in scope, it’s well crafted. The visuals are stark and cold, and a feeling of isolation fits the tone. It doesn’t over-explain itself—it just drops you into its world and lets you experience it.
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions)
It was not made in Iceland, but it is deeply connected to it in look and feel. Death Stranding takes place in a strange, post-apocalyptic version of the United States, but the terrain? It’s basically Iceland. Kojima’s team used drone footage and location scouting from Iceland to design the dramatic landscapes—black sand beaches, moss-covered lava fields, and misty mountains. The soundtrack features the Icelandic band Low Roar, adding to the quiet isolation. Most of the game involves travelling through this eerie, beautiful wilderness alone, which nails that feeling of Icelandic emptiness—lonely, stark, and oddly peaceful. It’s one of the clearest cases of Icelandic influence in games coming through visual design and tone rather than storyline.
Mythology & Landscape Inspired
Jötun
In the hand-drawn action-exploration game Jötun, you take on the role of Thora, a Norse warrior who must prove herself to the gods after dying an unworthy death. To do that, she battles towering elemental giants—jötnar—in massive boss fights across mythic landscapes. The game embraces Norse mythology but with a quiet, meditative tone. It has no HUD, no dialogue trees, and very little exposition—just music, art, and the weight of the journey. The name “Jötun” comes directly from the Icelandic word for giant, tying it right back to its mythological roots.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Ubisoft’s take on Viking history in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla pulls from Norse mythology and saga literature—much of which was preserved in Iceland. You play as Eivor, a Viking raider, exploring medieval England and Norway, but also venturing into mythic realms like Asgard and Jötunheimr. The story mixes historical fiction with magical realism, and the Icelandic-sounding names, myth references, and connections to the Edda texts make it feel right at home on this list. Even though it’s not set in Iceland, it shares a lot of cultural and mythic DNA.
God of War: Ragnarök
Kratos returns in God of War Ragnarök, the sequel steeped in Norse mythology. You travel through the Nine Realms, meet gods like Thor and Odin, and get caught up in Ragnarök—a term from Icelandic texts like the Völuspá. The game mixes action, myth, and character drama in a big, emotional way. Its landscapes—from icy tundras to volcanic wastelands—take clear visual cues from Iceland. It plays fast and loose with the source material, but the roots are there, making it a strong example of Icelandic influence in games.
Northgard
Northgard is a real-time strategy game where Viking clans explore and settle new territory, all while managing food, weather, and mythic threats like draugr and giant wolves. You assign villagers to different jobs, expand your reach, and survive harsh winters. It’s more stylised than historically accurate, but the visuals evoke Nordic and Icelandic landscapes—snow-covered forests, rocky coasts, and mysterious ruins. It’s a game about adaptation, survival, and slow, strategic growth, which all fit the theme well.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory)
Senua’s Saga, the sequel to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice brings back Senua’s journey into a world shaped by myth and trauma—this time with an even more striking visual style that draws even more clearly from Icelandic landscapes. Set in a brutal, mystical version of Viking-era Iceland, the game leans into its location with scenes that look straight out of a volcanic hike or black sand coastline. Steam, fog, cliffs, mossy stone—every frame feels like it could’ve been filmed in the Icelandic highlands.
The first game, Senua’s Sacrifice, hinted at this with its bleak, otherworldly tone. Hellblade II fully embraces the Icelandic influence through its setting and mood. Norse myth and psychological storytelling feel even more immersive in an environment that’s raw, ancient, and real.
Tribes of Midgard
Tribes of Midgard is a colourful, fast-paced survival game where you and your friends defend a village from waves of mythic enemies, including giants (jötnar), undead draugr, and other creatures from Norse legend. The gameplay is cooperative and a bit chaotic—you’re collecting resources, building defences, and rushing to stop world-ending events. While it’s not deeply serious, it’s still rooted in myth, and the presence of jötnar ties it loosely back to Icelandic storytelling traditions.
Board / Tabletop Games
Made in Iceland
Askur Yggdrasils
This Icelandic tabletop role-playing game was created in 1994 by Rúnar Þór Þórarinsson and Jón Helgi Þórarinsson. It draws on pre-Christian Norse cosmology and features gods, spirits, monsters, and warriors across the Nine Realms. Players use character sheets and dice to guide their improvised stories, blending roleplay with Icelandic myth. Written entirely in Icelandic, it was one of the first attempts to localise the RPG format for Icelandic players.
From massive online worlds to quiet indie games and local RPGs, Iceland’s influence is everywhere—sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle. Whether it’s the language, landscape, or old gods in the background, these titles all carry something unmistakably Icelandic. They show just how strong and varied the Icelandic influence in games really is.
Please signup for our newsletter for more fun facts and information about Iceland.
The post Top Games with Icelandic Influence appeared first on Your Friend in Reykjavik.