Human Head Studios first made a name for itself back in 2000 with Rune, a linear, story-focused game set in the world of Norse mythology. While the developer would move on to other projects (including the original Prey), Rune remained an IP they have long wanted to return to. Now, their wish comes true with Rune (previously known as Rune: Ragnarok), a reinvention of the series that put them on the map.

Rune once again pulls its lore from Norse mythology, explicitly setting the game during the events of Ragnarok. Fearing his own death, Loki sought out a way to freeze the calamity, successfully stopping it mid-occurrence. With the world partially flooded and frozen, players must work to undo Loki’s spell.

In stark contrast to its predecessor, Rune features a vast open-world that allows players to define their own character. After choosing a god alignment (Thor, Odin, Hela, Freya or Loki) and customizing your look, you’re thrown into a luscious map filled with a wide variety of biomes. For the demo, we were thrown into a wintry forest filled with wolves, deer and bloodthirsty bandits. Of course, Rune features plenty of callbacks to the original game, such as consuming lizards for health or ripping off an enemy’s arm and beating them to death with it.



Rune features a combo-heavy combat system of light and heavy attacks where movement affects the direction of attacks. For example, moving left will see you swing your sword right-to-left, but rightwards movement changes it from left-to-right. Strafing around and leveraging your movement is the key to defeating enemies because standing still will just get you killed. Enemies in Rune are brutal and will not hesitate to surround and overwhelm you should you stay still.

It’s fortunate that Rune provides the tools necessary to deal with all manner of threats. Players can acquire spears, swords, axes, and bows and arrows. Common variants litter the landscape, but every so often, players can come across a rarer variant, such as a burning axe. Players will also be able to craft weapons by collecting materials, leveling up and unlocking recipes. In fact, Rune features a comprehensive crafting system that allows players to build weapons, traps, healing items and banners for their gods.



Rune is set to be a significant title for PvE and PvP players. While the game can be played solo offline, it will also feature a suite of online options for co-op and competitive players. Human Head hasn’t decided on a final number yet, but they do hope to have 64 players running around on a single server by launch. Separate PvP modes allow players to test their skills against one another, though details remain under wraps.

Human Head Studios is working closely with the Rune community to bring back this IP. They’ve made it clear they want to get this right and are going to great lengths to give the community the tools they need to customize the experience to their liking. In addition to official servers, players will be able to set up their own servers and tweak the rules of the world to their liking. It’s a decidedly pro-consumer move on Human Head’s part and fans are likely to appreciate having these options.



The demo ended with a look at the type of mythological battles players will encounter throughout the game. In the end, we faced off against a Frost Giant who stood tall when compared to the player character and bandits. The fight was long and brutal, but the result was the defeat of one of Loki’s commander’s, which drew the wrath of the god. Loki called down curses from the sky, ending the demo with a spectacular display of particle effects.

Rune is shaping up to be a loving reminder of the past and a push forward to create a new future. With a new open-world and the introduction of RPG mechanics, Rune is charting an exciting path for old and new players. Human Head Studios is looking to get the game into player’s hands soon with a closed beta and a full release sometime this year.

Rune is out for PC sometime in 2018. There are no concrete plans for PS4 and Xbox One versions currently, but the studio is considering them for the future.