When does Nidhogg get good?

Hooks you almost right away. In the first 2 hours 1 in 6 reviews are negative (17%); after 3h it's 1 in 20 (5%). Fully opens up by hour 3.

How many players finish Nidhogg?

43% of players who start reach the ending.

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Nidhogg

Jan 13, 2014 Steam: Very Positive

Hooks you almost right away

Gets good by 2h almost every game dips in hours 2–3

Fully opens up by 3h rated like by long-time players

Reach the ending 43% of players who started

Started playing 66% of owners

Steam reviews 90% positive of 7,953

What the data shows

In the first 2 hours 1 in 6 reviews are negative (17%); after 3h it's 1 in 20 (5%).
Fully opens up by hour 3.
The opening is criticised less than in 80% of games we track.
43% of players who start reach the ending.
Most players drop off before “FLESH AND BLOOD” (Beat the singleplayer game): only 43% of starters get there.
Only 66% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 8,021 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 296 reviews: 3h for positive, 0.8h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (65.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

Started playing 100%
FLESH AND BLOOD Beat the singleplayer game Most players quit here 43% −57

story milestone ending biggest drop-off

Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.

All achievements (12)

story milestone ending side

COMEBACK KID Get eaten by the nidhogg after nearly allowing your opponent to do the same 100%
MEMORIES Trap your opponent on your sword for a long time while moving it up and down 71%
FLESH AND BLOOD Beat the singleplayer game 43%
PERFECT STRIDE Win the faceoff and never lose the arrow in a singleplayer match 38%
BLOODLUST 100 total kills in one match 29%
PROMETHEUS Run across your final screen in the castle with your sword cocked the whole time 11%
TRAPPED IN DONKEYSPACE play a match lasting longer than 20 minutes 3.9%
GTD Finish an 8 player tournament 3.8%
SLOW PLAYED Let the timer run out in your opponent's last screen and win in sudden death 2.6%
VALKYRIE Win 100 games through matchmaking 1.5%
NSA Intelligence gathered 1.1%
HOGGLIKE Dominate every level in one singleplayer game 0.8%

Steam page Updated: 2026-10-19.