If you ever wished to role-play as a Viking clan leader, Northgard is what you are looking for. Combining city building with combat while wrapped in a stone cold steel tortilla, Northgard will whoop your ass in more ways than one, while making you beg for more.
Set during the peak of Viking exploration, you, along with other clan leaders, strive to develop a foothold on a new found continent. The aim of the game, is to become the ultimate force by extracting resources, neutralising your foes and asserting your dominance over all that reside on the continent. You can form alliances or become a lone wolf, either way, kill or be killed.
The continent is riddled with characters from Norse mythology such as Valkyries and Jötunn for example, as well as wildlife like bears, boars and wolves. Its a harsh wilderness which aims to rid you and the other clans from it at all cost. On top of this the player must face off against harsh weather such as blizzards which will deplete the players resources.
The truth is that Northgard is not a walk in the park. Even on some of the easier difficulties the player will be pushed as the game sucker punches you from every direction. The player must use the best of strategy as the wrong building built at the wrong time can lead to a vicious cycle that eventually leads to your downfall. The reality is that if you are a player with little experience in RTS games, then unfortunately this maybe an experience worse than running at a brick wall, head on over and over expecting a different result. However, should you have experience with RTS this will be nothing short of a intriguing challenge that will test and test until you rejoice as you find the perfect recipe that leads to your first victory.
The game offers an array of clans that each offer their own style of play that allows the player to experiment and find a play style that suits them. It also aids to keep the game interesting and with enough knowledge the player can utilise their knowledge of the clans to exploit the weaknesses of their foes.
Personally, I believe the game commands more hardware resources than it rightfully should. While I have pretty good hardware, I couldn’t help but notice the odd instance in which it appeared to struggle, though it was fleeting. There isn’t a lot of options in which the player can tweak the settings to better suit their needs, which is a little disappointing but not a deal breaker.
Overall, the game offers a fantastic challenge which throws you in at the deep end. Not beginner friendly but if you are looking to play as a cut throat Viking then you will throw away hours playing this fantastic RTS.
