Roots of Yggdrasil similar games & best alternatives

Roots of Yggdrasil

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2024

Should you play it?

Build settlements, explore the Nine Realms, collect artifacts and upgrade your deck to reach the top of Yggdrasil in this post-Ragnarok roguelike city-builder! Can you survive the end of the world?

What works
  • Unique blend of deckbuilding and city building
  • Engaging strategic gameplay with meaningful choices
  • Cozy norse mythology theme and art style
  • Strong replayability with meta progression
  • Responsive and active developer support
Things to keep in mind
  • Some ui and quality-of-life issues (building placement, tooltips)
  • Story and character interactions are light and slow
  • Meta progression can feel grindy and slow
  • Runs may become repetitive after many loops
  • Lack of multiplayer or social features

What to play next

Similar games, hidden gems, and fresh directions from this game.

Top picks

Games that feel the closest overall

  • Laysara: Summit Kingdom

  • Let's! Revolution!

  • Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't

  • Dawnfolk

  • Fort Meow

  • Synergy

  • Nubby's Number Factory

  • Timelie

  • Drop Duchy
Hidden Gems

Less popular games with surprisingly high similarity

  • Let's! Revolution!

  • Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't

  • Fort Meow
If you liked…

Recommendations by what you enjoyed most

  • Strategy

    Gary Grigsby's War in the East
  • Autonomy

    Megaloot
  • Competence

    My Friendly Neighborhood

Similarity map

Explore nearby similar games and see why they’re close.

How to use the graph
Similarity map

Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Why this game works” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

  • Purple star: this page’s game — everything on the map is relative to it.
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot for a screenshot preview, score, and top score gaps; click to compare in the panel on the right.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers (hidden on purpose).

Roots of Yggdrasil: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Fellowship, Cooperation, Leadership, Violence. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Relaxation, Expression. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence.

Why this game works

A motivational profile of the game, with the closest similar game for each player motivation.

  • Autonomy

    Game with the same Autonomy vibe

    4

    "Players have freedom to choose characters, builds, and item combinations with many possible strategies."

    Capsule for Megaloot Megaloot

    "Players have freedom to choose cards, buildings, strategies, and character/scion combinations, allowing for diverse playstyles and personal decision-making."

  • Competence

    Game with the same Competence vibe

    4

    "The game offers challenging puzzles, resource management, and combat requiring skill and strategy, with feedback through progression and multiple difficulties."

    Capsule for My Friendly Neighborhood My Friendly Neighborhood

    "The game offers challenging strategic puzzles, skillful building placement, deck management, and resource optimization with meaningful feedback and progression."

  • Competition

    Game with the same Competition vibe

    -3

    "Focus is on single-player experience without competitive or ranked modes; play is at personal pace without comparison to others."

    Capsule for There Came an Echo There Came an Echo

    "Focus is on single-player experience with no mention of ranked modes or direct player-vs-player competition; play is at personal pace and self-set goals."

  • Continuation

    Game with the same Continuation vibe

    4

    "Players report long playtimes, extensive content, and habitual grinding, showing strong desire to keep playing over extended sessions."

    Capsule for Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition

    "Players report long sessions, habitual play, and strong attachment with many hours logged and desire to keep playing despite some grind."

  • Cooperation

    Game with the same Cooperation vibe

    -5

    "Entirely single-player with no cooperative or multiplayer elements described."

    Capsule for Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer

    "Entirely single-player with no cooperative or multiplayer elements described."

  • Creativity

    Game with the same Creativity vibe

    4

    "Players can design building layouts, customize cities, and choose different development paths, enabling creative expression."

    Capsule for Songs of Syx Songs of Syx

    "Players creatively build towns with flexible building placement, deck customization, and home base design, rewarded for creative combos and layouts."

  • Domination

    Game with the same Domination vibe

    -5

    "No evidence of exerting control or superiority over others; interactions are single-player and cooperative dominance is absent."

    Capsule for FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster

    "No evidence of exerting control or superiority over others; interactions are single-player and cooperative social dominance is absent."

  • Escapism

    Game with the same Escapism vibe

    4

    "Players use game as a fun distraction and stress relief; immersive Norse theme and engaging gameplay provide escape."

    Capsule for Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel

    "Players use the game as a relaxing, immersive escape with cozy atmosphere, Norse mythology theme, and stress-relieving gameplay."

  • Expectation

    Game with the same Expectation vibe

    -4

    "Players engage voluntarily out of intrinsic interest and enjoyment; no indication of obligation or external pressure to play."

    Capsule for Yakuza Kiwami Yakuza Kiwami

    "Players engage voluntarily out of intrinsic interest and enjoyment; no indication of obligation or external pressure to play."

  • Experimenting

    Game with the same Experimenting vibe

    4

    "The game encourages trying new card combos, strategies, and deck builds, fostering experimentation."

    Capsule for Blood Card Blood Card

    "The game encourages trying new builds, experimenting with cards, artifacts, scions, and strategies to find optimal combos and approaches."

  • Exploration

    Game with the same Exploration vibe

    3

    "Players explore multiple islands and environments, discovering new areas and secrets as part of the story."

    Capsule for Tales of Monkey Island: Complete Season Tales of Monkey Island: Complete Season

    "Players explore different islands and maps with some procedural elements, discovering new challenges and secrets during runs."

  • Expression

    Game with the same Expression vibe

    3

    "Customization of houses, room placement, and student training allows for personal expression."

    Capsule for Spellcaster University Spellcaster University

    "Customization of home base and building placement allows for personal expression, though some limitations and finicky controls exist."

  • Fantasy

    Game with the same Fantasy vibe

    4

    "Strong Norse mythology theme with imaginative worlds and narrative elements."

    Capsule for Munin Munin

    "Strong Norse mythology theme with imaginative fiction, gods, scions, and narrative elements integrated into gameplay."

  • Fellowship

    Game with the same Fellowship vibe

    -5

    "No social or community play; experience is solitary."

    Capsule for Source of Madness Source of Madness

    "No social or community play; experience is solitary with minimal social connection."

  • Growth

    Game with the same Growth vibe

    4

    "Players learn mechanics, improve skills, and progress through meta-progression and unlocks."

    Capsule for Drop Duchy Drop Duchy

    "Players learn mechanics, improve skills, and develop strategies over time with meta progression and unlocking new cards and abilities."

  • Health

    Game with the same Health vibe

    -5

    "Typical sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related features."

    Capsule for Dungeons 3 Dungeons 3

    "Typical sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related features."

  • Idle

    Game with the same Idle vibe

    -3

    "Requires focused attention and strategic planning each turn; not designed for passive or background play."

    Capsule for Walk of Life Walk of Life

    "Requires focused attention and strategic planning during turns; not designed for passive or background play."

  • Intimacy

    Game with the same Intimacy vibe

    -4

    "Limited emotional connection with characters; interactions are mostly functional and brief."

    Capsule for Do No Harm Do No Harm

    "Character interactions exist but are limited and often described as lightweight or not deeply engaging emotionally."

  • Leadership

    Game with the same Leadership vibe

    -4

    "No leadership roles; player controls own actions without managing others."

    Capsule for Beach Invasion 1944 Beach Invasion 1944

    "No leadership or group management roles; player controls own actions without guiding others."

  • Progression

    Game with the same Progression vibe

    4

    "Strong meta progression system with unlockable characters, weapons, and upgrades motivates continued play."

    Capsule for Atomic Picnic Atomic Picnic

    "Strong meta progression system with unlocking cards, upgrades, and home base improvements rewarding continued play."

  • Relaxation

    Game with the same Relaxation vibe

    4

    "Many players describe the game as chill, cozy, and relaxing with a good balance of challenge and flow."

    Capsule for Sail Forth Sail Forth

    "Players describe the game as chill, cozy, and relaxing with a good balance of challenge and flow."

  • Sensation

    Game with the same Sensation vibe

    3

    "Enjoyable art, music, and sound design provide sensory stimulation and emotional engagement."

    Capsule for The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

    "Enjoyable art, music, and sound design provide pleasant sensory stimulation and emotional engagement."

  • Status
    -5

    No nearest game available

  • Story

    Game with the same Story vibe

    3

    "Narrative elements and character interactions present, though story is light and somewhat predictable."

    Capsule for Battle Shapers Battle Shapers

    "Narrative elements and character stories are present but considered light and slow; story adds flavor but is not the main focus."

  • Strategy

    Game with the same Strategy vibe

    5

    "The game demands complex mental challenge, planning, and problem solving at operational and strategic levels."

    Capsule for Gary Grigsby's War in the East Gary Grigsby's War in the East

    "Game demands mental challenge, planning, resource management, and problem solving with complex strategic depth."

  • Thrill

    Game with the same Thrill vibe

    3

    "Risk/reward mechanics and punishing losses create suspense and tension during runs."

    Capsule for Dungeon Drafters Dungeon Drafters

    "Tension arises from time limits and risk management, creating suspense and excitement during runs."

  • Value

    Game with the same Value vibe

    4

    "Players feel the game offers good value for time and money with extensive content and replayability."

    Capsule for The First Berserker: Khazan The First Berserker: Khazan

    "Players feel the game offers good value for time and money with substantial content and replayability."

  • Violence

    Game with the same Violence vibe

    -4

    "Combat is minimal and defensive; focus is on building and management rather than destruction."

    Capsule for Nova Roma Nova Roma

    "Combat is abstract and minimal; focus is on building and resource management rather than destruction."

  • Survival

    Game with the same Survival vibe

    3

    "Players manage threats and resources during runs to avoid failure."

    Capsule for The Bazaar The Bazaar

    "Players must manage threats and avoid failure within time limits and resource constraints to survive runs."

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Last update: 27/05/2026