It goes without saying that there's not been a shortage of battle royale games over the past few years. It's a very specific sub-genre of PvP multiplayer shooters that, by now, has carved for itself an almost completely saturated niche in which it's almost impossible for smaller projects to break into.

The clever thing, then, is to do a different sort of battle royale, which is precisely what Valhall aims to deliver. This upcoming Norse-themed multiplayer melee bonanza has got a fair few things going for it, and we'll give you a short overview of what those are - right here.

Right off the bat, Valhall's setting is smack-dab perfect for a battle royale game. Set loose in a world that's just about to end, warriors must fight against one another to earn the right to wield the legendary Sword of Odin - the one and only thing that can stop Ragnarök itself. The game will be set on an island-like landmass that's separated into four distinct areas - each representing a different season. This, of course, includes weather, lightning, and environmental effects. Even the ever-shrinking Ring of Death - a trademark of any proper battle royale - fits here, as it's a world-ending gravity field that eats away the level until nothing remains.

Valhall's main selling point, however, will be its focus on melee combat instead of gunfighting. There's not been a high-profile, high-quality melee-oriented battle royale just yet, and Valhall fits the bill for this niche quite well so far. Of course, there's no way of telling it'll actually be good, but we sure can hope.

In any case, this game will pit 50 players against one another, and it promises a unique and more personal take on the sub-genre. Indeed, whereas most of the combat in, say, PUBG, takes place at longer ranges, Valhall will nudge players together. There's a lot of tension in seeing another fully-equipped Viking warrior rushing towards you across an open field, and in knowing that the two of you are about to duke it out at close range.

The potential issue with all of this is that there's an awful lot of open ground to cover in Valhall, and it may well turn out to be too much of that, allowing for an abundance of downtime that doesn't often go down well potential players.

Of course, concerns aside, it's quite nice to see independent developers taking on projects that even AAA developers haven't yet dealt with. We're excited to see what Valhall will look like once it's out, and we're especially interested in trying out some of the reality-twisting powers that developers have showcased in gameplay videos, such as gravity push and levitation.

For the time being, all we can do is wish them luck.