Somehow putting the likes of the bloated Assassin's Creed Valhalla to shame, this plucky RPG immerses the player in the Viking experience while not pulling its punches. You get to roleplay on either end of the moral spectrum, nihilistic pillager or modern humanist, though be aware that your choices ripple through the game, and your more bloodthirsty companions will lose morale (affecting their resistances in combat) if you keep showing compassion.
Despite a relatively linear story, the game still gives you a surprising amount of freedom in how you resolve quests, bolstered by the fact that you can toggle non-lethal attacks during combat, sparing the lives of anyone you fight.
As far as tactical turn-based gameplay goes, it's the usual stuff you see in the genre, there's nothing particularly excellent or bad about it. The special abilities are mediocre for my liking, though one aspect that stands out is that injuries sustained in battle will only be healed via the camp by a healer, and will never lead to death within combat itself. It's a refreshing twist of the genre, losing fights or even big quests doesn't necessarily mean game over, the narrative continues onwards, affording you opportunity to heal up at a camp and try another mainline quest to bring salvation to your clan.
The camping mechanic is a nice bit of strategy that garnishes the gameplay loop that I quite enjoyed. You have to assign tasks for your companions every time you camp, from hunting for meat, preserving it, making medicine and crafting your own gear. Twelve hours pass each time you camp, which you'll need to keep in mind for time-sensitive tasks, the biggest of which is the looming deadline following you the entire game.
I write 'looming' though it's not really an issue as long as you're aware of it when you first begin the game. I've read of players being shocked when they get a 'game over' because they weren't even aware there was a deadline for the campaign. It's hard to sympathise with them considering there's a huge damn timeline at the top of the screen, and the narrative is constantly reminding you of it.
Don't worry readers, to lose an entire campaign because of missing a deadline is really difficult to do, you'd either have to try hard or be completely oblivious to it. The purpose of the timeline is not only to raise the narrative stakes, but to stop the player grinding endlessly on the campaign map. This isn't Final Fantasy, the maps aren't vast and populated with sites, and given its focus on story and character, grinding for xp to prepare for boss battles is not what this game is about.
Expeditions Viking is an underrated gem of an RPG, with a gorgeous soundtrack and genuinely decent writing (I didn't spot a single typo!) and likeable characters. It doesn't sugarcoat the era (like the Vikings of old, you too can massacre poor monasteries), and doesn't pretend to be something its not. There's no grand plot about saving the world or anything ridiculous, the scope of the narrative is realistically lowkey, but once you invest in the characters and their small world, the stakes become substantial. As a fan of history, I appreciated all the attention to detail, while also enjoying the compromises for the sake of enjoyable gameplay.
Some tips that the game doesn't clarify:
To get one of the endings, you just need to get either Prosperity or Power level to 100. So this informs what upgrades you should make to your homestead. And this also means you need to decide what kind of playthrough you're going to do: be a traditional Viking by taking the Orkney islands and then pillaging your way down the British isles. Or: focus on making allies with either the Picts or Northumbrians so they can help you fight your enemies back home. There's also the third option of making allies with one faction beating another, and then betraying your ally.
It's totally fine if you fail one of the main story quests, like I did by trying to ally Northumbria. I failed a big battle, and the Northumbrians basically abandoned me, and my reputation plummeted. Yet the narrative continued, there's no game over screen. Remember, the only thing that matters is what your Prosperity/Power score is at the end of the day. I ended up heading north and allied the Picts instead and eventually got revenge on Northumbria by helping the Picts defeat them.
Something the game failed to make clear to me, was that you can sail back to your homeland at any time, and if you do you can open up new dialogue with your companions and more importantly have access to traders (if you've unlocked them). The voyage only takes a few days, and the big deadline of the game spans several months. (seriously, I ended the game with months to spare, I don't understand how some people got a surprise game over)
There's a quest involving deciphering stone menhirs, which is unlocked once you encounter a Merlin-esque figure. However the only way to complete the quest (find all 7 menhirs) is if you go down the Power route, as a high Power level is a requirement to unlocking a new map. As I was concerned with Prosperity in my playthrough, I couldn't finish the quest fully. A shame.
All of your companions for some reason have a 'dialogue' skill upgrade. Yet you never play as them (only one time, very briefly for a combat scenario), so ignore that upgrade! But make sure to outfit and upgrade all your companions, there will come a crucial point where you will need to control every single character during an important battle. You don't want to be caught with your pants down having completely ignored giving characters any armour or skills when that climactic moment arrives.
Speaking of battle, I found success having at least two archers in the team. I tried going with only one, but battles were harder than they needed to be. Final composition I went with for most of the campaign: due-wielding (sword/axe) protagonist, axe/shield fighter, 2 archers (one who can heal), a dedicated healer with a sling/knife, and a spear fighter. Classic combo move: shield lady has an ability to hook the enemy's shield away, giving my duelist opportunity to attack the vulnerable enemy. And the spear lady with her long reach can finish him off.
The 'disarm trap' ability is really inconsistent and barely works properly, so I'm not sure it's worth putting xp into it. You can spot traps fine, but actually disarming them is random, sometimes it just doesn't work no matter what I tried. Just grin and bear the pain, with a healer nearby.
Lastly: wolves are the hardest enemies in the entire game. screw those guys.
Despite a relatively linear story, the game still gives you a surprising amount of freedom in how you resolve quests, bolstered by the fact that you can toggle non-lethal attacks during combat, sparing the lives of anyone you fight.
As far as tactical turn-based gameplay goes, it's the usual stuff you see in the genre, there's nothing particularly excellent or bad about it. The special abilities are mediocre for my liking, though one aspect that stands out is that injuries sustained in battle will only be healed via the camp by a healer, and will never lead to death within combat itself. It's a refreshing twist of the genre, losing fights or even big quests doesn't necessarily mean game over, the narrative continues onwards, affording you opportunity to heal up at a camp and try another mainline quest to bring salvation to your clan.
The camping mechanic is a nice bit of strategy that garnishes the gameplay loop that I quite enjoyed. You have to assign tasks for your companions every time you camp, from hunting for meat, preserving it, making medicine and crafting your own gear. Twelve hours pass each time you camp, which you'll need to keep in mind for time-sensitive tasks, the biggest of which is the looming deadline following you the entire game.
I write 'looming' though it's not really an issue as long as you're aware of it when you first begin the game. I've read of players being shocked when they get a 'game over' because they weren't even aware there was a deadline for the campaign. It's hard to sympathise with them considering there's a huge damn timeline at the top of the screen, and the narrative is constantly reminding you of it.
Don't worry readers, to lose an entire campaign because of missing a deadline is really difficult to do, you'd either have to try hard or be completely oblivious to it. The purpose of the timeline is not only to raise the narrative stakes, but to stop the player grinding endlessly on the campaign map. This isn't Final Fantasy, the maps aren't vast and populated with sites, and given its focus on story and character, grinding for xp to prepare for boss battles is not what this game is about.
Expeditions Viking is an underrated gem of an RPG, with a gorgeous soundtrack and genuinely decent writing (I didn't spot a single typo!) and likeable characters. It doesn't sugarcoat the era (like the Vikings of old, you too can massacre poor monasteries), and doesn't pretend to be something its not. There's no grand plot about saving the world or anything ridiculous, the scope of the narrative is realistically lowkey, but once you invest in the characters and their small world, the stakes become substantial. As a fan of history, I appreciated all the attention to detail, while also enjoying the compromises for the sake of enjoyable gameplay.
Some tips that the game doesn't clarify:
To get one of the endings, you just need to get either Prosperity or Power level to 100. So this informs what upgrades you should make to your homestead. And this also means you need to decide what kind of playthrough you're going to do: be a traditional Viking by taking the Orkney islands and then pillaging your way down the British isles. Or: focus on making allies with either the Picts or Northumbrians so they can help you fight your enemies back home. There's also the third option of making allies with one faction beating another, and then betraying your ally.
It's totally fine if you fail one of the main story quests, like I did by trying to ally Northumbria. I failed a big battle, and the Northumbrians basically abandoned me, and my reputation plummeted. Yet the narrative continued, there's no game over screen. Remember, the only thing that matters is what your Prosperity/Power score is at the end of the day. I ended up heading north and allied the Picts instead and eventually got revenge on Northumbria by helping the Picts defeat them.
Something the game failed to make clear to me, was that you can sail back to your homeland at any time, and if you do you can open up new dialogue with your companions and more importantly have access to traders (if you've unlocked them). The voyage only takes a few days, and the big deadline of the game spans several months. (seriously, I ended the game with months to spare, I don't understand how some people got a surprise game over)
There's a quest involving deciphering stone menhirs, which is unlocked once you encounter a Merlin-esque figure. However the only way to complete the quest (find all 7 menhirs) is if you go down the Power route, as a high Power level is a requirement to unlocking a new map. As I was concerned with Prosperity in my playthrough, I couldn't finish the quest fully. A shame.
All of your companions for some reason have a 'dialogue' skill upgrade. Yet you never play as them (only one time, very briefly for a combat scenario), so ignore that upgrade! But make sure to outfit and upgrade all your companions, there will come a crucial point where you will need to control every single character during an important battle. You don't want to be caught with your pants down having completely ignored giving characters any armour or skills when that climactic moment arrives.
Speaking of battle, I found success having at least two archers in the team. I tried going with only one, but battles were harder than they needed to be. Final composition I went with for most of the campaign: due-wielding (sword/axe) protagonist, axe/shield fighter, 2 archers (one who can heal), a dedicated healer with a sling/knife, and a spear fighter. Classic combo move: shield lady has an ability to hook the enemy's shield away, giving my duelist opportunity to attack the vulnerable enemy. And the spear lady with her long reach can finish him off.
The 'disarm trap' ability is really inconsistent and barely works properly, so I'm not sure it's worth putting xp into it. You can spot traps fine, but actually disarming them is random, sometimes it just doesn't work no matter what I tried. Just grin and bear the pain, with a healer nearby.
Lastly: wolves are the hardest enemies in the entire game. screw those guys.