The early version of Northgard obviously has a cost, so the price is € 19.99 on Steam, so it’s a legitimate claim to know what the contents will be available when launching at Early Access and what will be the dots which will be introduced little at a time. T
o date, the only mode of play available from Northgard is the sandbox game, while the campaign, which is likely to be the main source of the title, is still in the process of being routed and developed, as well as the multiplayer mode will only come to the final stages of the production of the game. In short, an investment made on Northgardat this time it’s more than an act of trust, an action driven by the curiosity of seeing
what the gaming mechanics are implementing by Shiro Game, while knowing that the opera is able to give a maximum of three or four hours of company and fun, in which to learn the basics of gameplay, which will then be explored and expanded from the single campaign. In addition, the match sandbox does not provide all the tribes that will be present after
this test phase, but the trial is limited to only three factions, each of which with its peculiarities: there are the Fenir, the clan most voted to the war and military action, the Eikthyrnir, the most industrious tribe and production bonuses, and finally the Heidrun, whose weather resistance generates considerable food benef
its. In addition to choosing the clan to start the game, the match is also determined by the number of players led by the AI - up to a maximum of three – and by the difficulty level, while there is no track of the settings related to the size or morphology of the map. Finally, victory can be achieved by crossing more roads, simply by eliminating all the other clans, reaching the highest score at the end of the game, putting in a certain amount o
f cash in the boxes, or still winning Helheim’s doors, defended by the insidious valkyries. As mentioned many times, the content at launch is rather small, the re-playability is very limited, but one thing is certainly acknowledged simply by eliminating all the other clans, reaching the highest score at the end of the game, putting in a certain amount of money in the coffers, or still winning the doors of Helheim, defended by the insidious valkyries. As mentioned many times, the content at launch is rather small, the re-playability is very limited, but one thing is c
ertainly acknowledged simply by eliminating all the other clans, reaching the highest score at the end of the game, putting in a certain amount of money in the coffers, or still winning the doors of Helheim, defended by the insidious valkyries. As mentioned many times, the content at launch is rather small, the re-playability is very limited, but one thing is certainly acknowledgedNorthgard , something that differentiates it from many other titles in the
Early Access program of Steam: despite the definitive code being still far from the horizon, the title does not present any bugs or glitches of any kind , no crashes or citizens clashing between the rocks or disappear under the waters. Although the material is still scarce, it is more than enough to appreciate the good ideas and direction given by Shiro Game to its work.
Solid bases of play
To describe what Northgard is , the most important help comes from the many sources from which Shiro Game guys have drawn, a series of productions that the wink wink is not so veiled. Northgard has no doubt about the kind of strategy in real time, but with the various StarCrafts or Age of Empires it does not have much to share, but its closest relatives are the serie
s of The Settlers , the peculiar Valhalla Hills – with which title also shares the Scandinavian setting – and The Banished , all seasoned with a splash of Civilization, except for the exploration and growth component of one’s own faction. At the beginning of the game, the player possesses only one area from which to start gathering the ba
sic resources, such as timber and food, and on which the first basic buildings, such as the sawmill, barracks or another home, needed to grow the clan’s population. Already after a few minutes you realize that that single area is not enough anymore, the construction slots are over, there is a risk of overcrowding and a consequent famine. The Vikings were great explorers, North
gardhe remembers it almost immediately and so, to find new spaces for his clan, a scout must be dispatched across all the borders, until the next flap of land to colonize. This operation does not happen randomly, because each area is characterized by a variety of peculiarities, some guarantee extra revenue of timber, others are infested with wolves or still conceal within them precious shipwrecks to plund
er and therefore the choice of direction towards Expanding it needs to be well weighted before acting. This is the time when Northgard definitely gets thereand if in the initial stages it is quite easy to satisfy the food requirements for their virtual
vikings and always have the considerable reserves of wood or iron, when the settlement assumes considerable proportions, then the various gaming mechanics begin to interweave the ” one with the other and emerges on the most managerial side of Northgardand also the morale of the population becomes a variable to be carefully observed. Unlike other RTSs, not the various buildings to create specific units, the sawmills do not produc
e cuttings and empories are not recruiting merchants, but it is the only city center to continuously burn new inhabitants – at least as long as you are available housing – and it is the player’s job to find adequate employment for new citizens, for example clicking on the mine to make new splinters or pointing to the barracks to have some troops to defend their camp. Once the tasks are named, actions take place automatically, shamans care wounded units without even approaching them, and merchants exchange assets with other factions without any additional clicks.
