The real-time strategy genre is no longer half as popular as it once was. There are still decent RTS games from time to time, but the majority of them focus on fighting. Northgard takes a somewhat different path, and while there are lots of clashes between forces, it is more vital to look after your community and govern the residents appropriately.
We begin each match and most tasks in the campaign in the same manner. We have the Town Hall and a few early settlers to whom we must delegate the most critical responsibilities. We create a scout camp and a lumberjack’s hut and allocate people to specialized occupations, but many are left with the fundamental task of collecting food. We must constantly monitor the settlement’s existence because we must prepare for the advent of winter. Because the use of food and wood grows during this time, it is vital to prepare for the spring and summer by creating appropriate structures and recruiting units that will boost the production of appropriate resources.
To even begin to construct a colony, you must first populate the surrounding lands. As a result, we acquire additional development fields – initially, only three structures may be created in one area, and you must subsequently purchase necessary enhancements. Occupying new territories occasionally necessitates combat, such as with wolves or creatures. We always have the group commander at our disposal at the start – he is a fighter stronger than regular Vikings with swords. He can handle a few wolves, but you must act swiftly to give assistance. Because there are just four basic unit kinds, fans of complex methods in this area – fighting and diverse troops – may not enjoy Northgard. The battles, on the other hand, are only an addition. Of course, the mission’s primary purpose may be to destroy the opponent’s base or to battle a certain monster. What is more essential, however, is that we take decent care of the growth of our community – and this includes not only extending the settlement carefully, but also selecting the greatest bonuses from the talent tree. The goal of the game is to strike the right balance between exploring, conquering regions, and making the most of what you have.
There are several extra components. For example, we have a trading feature that allows us to purchase raw materials that we do not have. We’re even establishing trade channels with the monster villages we come across; we could even wind up with a community of giants fighting with us because of how much our commodities have benefited them. There are also various other clans that we can head, each with its own set of perks and enhancements. Some families specialize in fighting, and the more fighters we have, the happier the settlers are. Others are experts at producing beer and rearing sheep, but only the raven tribe can expand new territories with gold rather than food. It’s varied. After finishing the story campaign, which gives a fair introduction to the game’s universe and regulations, we may move to multiplayer mode – if we don’t want to just battle a computer opponent. Online battles allow for a maximum of five different ways to win, which is a very welcome improvement. If we don’t want to battle, we may focus on expanding the economy, defending ourselves, and attempting to win by accumulating as many Folklore points as possible. However, success may often be assured by just occupying a certain location on the map, generally one that is highly fortified.
After a few hours, we know all the game has to offer, but everything is done so effectively that repeating the same actions does not get tedious – especially when we run across randomly generated maps in the online mode or frequent clashes outside the campaign.
If a new version of Settlers was constructed with a setting based on Nordic mythology, it may look just like Northgard. This is an excellent approach for fans of somewhat less difficult gaming that does not need superhuman abilities in unit management on the battlefield, but instead rewards thought and efficient balance of expansion with resource collection.