Northgard is a mythical viking-themed stratregy game that mixes elements from conventional RTS and turn-based games like Civilization.

Graphics and artwork: great graphics that will yet run reasonably well on low end computers. Expect cartoonish over realistic.

Gameplay: basic premise is is base and resource development, with multiple win criteria like conquering, commercial, fame and wisdom, among others. Different factions are there, each with their own traits, advantages and disadvantages; quite a few are DLC-only however. Because of the conquer-the-flag style of the game, destruction is limited to slaying other soldiers and creatures, and destroying military towers; do not expect to enjoy razing your enemy buildings, except through using very specific character skills.

Multiplayer is obviously present, though do not expect to win through anything other than a military rush. There is single-player campaign with decent storyline, and a Conquest mode where you can play alone or with a friend through a military campaign of randomly created maps and objectives with randomly created modifiers, this being the highlight of the game as it has a lot of replayability value; 2 Conquests never feel the same.

Soundtrack: music and sound effects that fit well with the game theme.

Room for improvement: lack of a speed modifier, as the default game can feel very slow at times. Updates should be better tested, as it is breaking saves and profile progress of a lot of players - not a good thing when many of the achievements are tied to number of victories. No tutorial can make the game a little hard to learn for beginners of the genre.

DLCs: all except the sountrack DLC add one clan per DLC. I suggest playing the game first and only then branching out to the DLCs. I do think they are overpriced given that other than enabling you to play with the selected clan, they do not add anything else, and while they are still good buys if you do like the base game, I do highly suggest waiting for a sale if you are interested on them.

Summary: while the DLCs themselves are expensive and leave a little bit to be desired when it comes to value for money, Northgard itself is a great buy that will surely keep strategy players entertained for a long time. 9/10.

Northgard is a mythical viking-themed stratregy game that mixes elements from conventional RTS and turn-based games like Civilization. Graphics and artwork: great graphics that will yet run reasonably well on low end computers. Expect cartoonish over realistic. Gameplay: basic premise is is base and resource development, with multiple win criteria like conquering, commercial, fame and wisdom, among others. Different factions are there, each with their own traits, advantages and disadvantages; quite a few are DLC-only however. Because of the conquer-the-flag style of the game, destruction is limited to slaying other soldiers and creatures, and destroying military towers; do not expect to enjoy razing your enemy buildings, except through using very specific character skills. Multiplayer is obviously present, though do not expect to win through anything other than a military rush. There is single-player campaign with decent storyline, and a Conquest mode where you can play alone or with a friend through a military campaign of randomly created maps and objectives with randomly created modifiers, this being the highlight of the game as it has a lot of replayability value; 2 Conquests never feel the same. Soundtrack: music and sound effects that fit well with the game theme. Room for improvement: lack of a speed modifier, as the default game can feel very slow at times. Updates should be better tested, as it is breaking saves and profile progress of a lot of players - not a good thing when many of the achievements are tied to number of victories. No tutorial can make the game a little hard to learn for beginners of the genre. DLCs: all except the sountrack DLC add one clan per DLC. I suggest playing the game first and only then branching out to the DLCs. I do think they are overpriced given that other than enabling you to play with the selected clan, they do not add anything else, and while they are still good buys if you do like the base game, I do highly suggest waiting for a sale if you are interested on them. Summary: while the DLCs themselves are expensive and leave a little bit to be desired when it comes to value for money, Northgard itself is a great buy that will surely keep strategy players entertained for a long time. 9/10.