Rune (video game)

For the Japanese role-playing game by the same name, see Lost Kingdoms.

Rune
Developer(s)Human Head Studios[a]
Publisher(s)
Take-Two Interactive[b]
Producer(s)Timothy Gerritsen
Programmer(s)Paul MacArthur
Artist(s)Ted Halsted
EngineUnreal Engine
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
Mac OS
December 4, 2000
Linux
June 21, 2001
PlayStation 2
  • NA: July 30, 2001
  • EU: October 5, 2001
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Rune is an action-adventure video game developed by Human Head Studios which was released in 2000. The game is based on Ragnarok, showing the conflict between the Gods Odin and Loki and the buildup to Ragnarok. Built on the Unreal Engine, the game casts the player as Ragnar, a young Viking warrior whose mettle is tested when Loki and his evil allies plot to destroy the world and bring about Ragnarok.

Upon release, Rune received generally positive reviews. A standalone expansion pack for the game, Rune: Halls of Valhalla, was released in 2001. Both the base game and expansion were ported to Linux by Loki Software. Ryan C. Gordon, a former Loki employee, would also later port Human Head's 2006 title Prey. A port to the PlayStation 2 was also released under the title Rune: Viking Warlord in 2001. The game was re-released digitally under the name Rune Classic in 2012, with the expansion included. A sequel, Rune II, was released on November 12, 2019.

A pen-and-paper adaptation of Rune was published by Atlas Games.[3]

  1. ^ Bye, John "Gestalt" (November 3, 2000). "PC Releases". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on November 20, 2001. Retrieved May 2, 2022. There's a bumper harvest of fresh new PC game releases this week, headed up [by] third person Viking action game "Rune" from Take 2 and Human Head.
  2. ^ IGN staff (October 27, 2000). "News Briefs". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 19, 2001. Retrieved December 3, 2021. Rune Ships: Pile into the longboat, Jorgeveld, everyone's favorite Viking RPG (or rolkplvaing skjalm to you Vinlanders) has gone gold today and should be invading the shores of your local game retailing settlement in a fortnight.
  3. ^ Atlas Games. "Rune". Atlas Games. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).