Northgard is an enjoyable pseudo-4x, RTS game which marries elements some elements of a Civ or even Stellaris style game with convention Age of Empires/Starcraft RTS gameplay. It's a neat little game and worthy of the time but is best experienced after finding it on a good sale than paying full retail.
The general flavor is Norse mythology/history inspired clans for factions all settling a new-world style continent filled with resources and mysticism for grabs. The clans are appropriately flavorful and most of the art style is quite pleasing on the eyes. Each clan has a set of bonuses that mold them into the conventional archetypes most of us are familiar with. And they are quite good though I think a little too heavy on the DLC delivery.
The gameplay itself is mostly just fine. There are city state interactions and any myriad of little quest goals throughout that give it a more 4x kinda feel. This is quite welcome and engaging as it breaks up some of the monotony of cutting wood. There are regions that can be settled which is similar to the Humankind (Amplitude) style of city settlement. There can tend to be a real hurry up and wait feel to Northgard that is similar to the more turnbased games and quite unlike most RTS gameplay.
My overall impression on Northgard after twenty some odd hours with it is that it's a fine game. There's just not enough meat on the bone to make it truly great or to ask you to pick it over over options. Similar to a Galactic Civilizations versus a Stellaris, there just doesn't seem to be too many reasons other than the Norse flavor and pleasingly cartoony artstyle to choose Northgard over Age of Empires for your weekend. Sometimes Northgard can be gotten on sale for well under $10 and at that price it's worth the curious stroll, but for big RTS fans there's better options for your time out there.
Still, Northgard's competence and polish do offer hope for the upcoming Dune: Spice Wars which is being shepherded by the Northgard developer.
The general flavor is Norse mythology/history inspired clans for factions all settling a new-world style continent filled with resources and mysticism for grabs. The clans are appropriately flavorful and most of the art style is quite pleasing on the eyes. Each clan has a set of bonuses that mold them into the conventional archetypes most of us are familiar with. And they are quite good though I think a little too heavy on the DLC delivery.
The gameplay itself is mostly just fine. There are city state interactions and any myriad of little quest goals throughout that give it a more 4x kinda feel. This is quite welcome and engaging as it breaks up some of the monotony of cutting wood. There are regions that can be settled which is similar to the Humankind (Amplitude) style of city settlement. There can tend to be a real hurry up and wait feel to Northgard that is similar to the more turnbased games and quite unlike most RTS gameplay.
My overall impression on Northgard after twenty some odd hours with it is that it's a fine game. There's just not enough meat on the bone to make it truly great or to ask you to pick it over over options. Similar to a Galactic Civilizations versus a Stellaris, there just doesn't seem to be too many reasons other than the Norse flavor and pleasingly cartoony artstyle to choose Northgard over Age of Empires for your weekend. Sometimes Northgard can be gotten on sale for well under $10 and at that price it's worth the curious stroll, but for big RTS fans there's better options for your time out there.
Still, Northgard's competence and polish do offer hope for the upcoming Dune: Spice Wars which is being shepherded by the Northgard developer.
A very addicting RTS style game that works very well on console.