Bad North Reviews
Not to be confused with a phrase Kanye West might use when addressing his eldest daughter, Bad North is a real-time tactical roguelike game designed and developed by Plausible Concept. Now, while Kanye references may be less and less appropriate as I divulge my experiences with this title, some excellent links can be made in the opening.
Small flaws like the lack of customisation and differing styles in enemies can be overlooked if you treat the game as it comes. Bad North is a game that manages to balance the fine line between puzzle game and simulation delivering a tactical roguelike which constantly feels refreshing.
Bad North is a good strategy game which combines tower defence and roguelike elements. The game has decent soldier upgrades, a big map and enemy varianty, but lacks repeatability.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Bad North is a fun game with light RTS and tower defense mechanics. The levels are short enough to be played in small bursts, which do lend themselves well to the handheld mode. However, the lack of meaningful tactics and strategies left me wanting more.
A neat little package of RTS goodness.
A "gateway game" to the strategy genre, Bad North's formula of simplicity yields a deceptively satisfying challenge.
It’s a shame because the game is fantastic, mechanically speaking, and is very enjoyable to play. It leaves you hungry for more and it nearly feels unfinished with its lack of archetypes or skill variety. This makes it a little difficult to recommend for the full price despite how excellent Bad North plays.
Bad North is a fantastic pick up and play strategy game (a genre I’m usually terrible with). With difficulties to suit most gamers. Simple controls and tons of replay value. This is a game I’ve returned to again and again. I can’t guarantee playing this game will prepare you for an actual Viking invasion. But I can assure you there is plenty to love whether you want a quick gaming session or a long night in defending from invaders. Once your done with that you may also want to play a bit of Bad North.
Bad North is an RTS that will surprise us by how simple and addictive it is, ideal for fast games, but that involves a difficulty with its roguelike elements and its permanent death. If you like RTS, it is mandatory to try it, and if you want to approach the genre in a simple and simple but effective way, Bad North will also give you the opportunity.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Throughout my 10 or so hours of gameplay, I can definitely say that Bad North has a lot to offer, especially for its price point, though I feel like $10 would be the sweet spot as opposed to the $15 it asks for. With endless amounts of different islands to play with, a simplistically pleasant art style and easy to learn controls, even a RTS stranger like me can find things about Bad North to enjoy. Plus they have an extra edition of the game out right now (The Jotunn edition) that has more stuff added, so if you’re looking for an easy to pick up, hard to master RTS with a medieval flair to it, this would be a good option to consider. Turns out, Bad North isn’t that bad.
Bad North, however, continually keeps you coming back for more as its beautifully simple designs and gameplay features make it so easy and accessible. It’s perfect for a quick game here and there.
Bad North is, broadly speaking, a hard game to recommend even if I came out the other side enjoying it. The style and thoughtful minimalist reworking of the real-time strategy game is exemplary, but the unrelenting back half of the roguelike adventure can sour a good time. I can wholeheartedly recommend Bad North if you fall into either of these camps: someone who's into a novel RTS twist on the good old-fashioned hard-as-hell roguelike or someone who can chill out to a brutal yet serene RTS that has some rough edges.
It's a rare example of where the randomisation of the roguelike structure doesn't feel like a lazy excuse to ignore level design. Rather, it provides a canvas to allow some of the cleanest and engaging tactical action that we've seen in quite some time play out.
Endearingly minimalistic and simple enough without compromising potential depth, Bad North works surprisingly well with its premise, but is ultimately held back by from reaching the greatness it easily could have attained. A roguelike RTT is an interesting concept, but the title does suffer from a lack of traditional level design once the difficulty curve begins to spike. On top of that, freezing can occur when returning to the world map after a mission. Autosave ensures progress is never lost, but it's nonetheless frustrating. Bad North is not a bad RTS by any means, offering a fairly strong first half, but a lack of cohesion between difficulty and level design makes its back half less palatable.
All in all, Bad North's gameplay is very engaging and keeps you on your feet. Despite some weakness in the narrative department, most design choices pay off. It is a polished experience that has kept me entertained for a good amount of time.
On the surface, Bad North is a simple puzzle game, that gets increasingly challenging and emotional with each island you defend, resuting in an addictive strategy roguelite.
A lack of variety doesn't mar an otherwise captivating game - it's a compelling strategy and tower defence game.
A slice of Viking strategic combat right out of the heart of Scandinavia's indie development scene, Bad North joins the likes of Element at the vanguard of a new wave of smart yet intrinsically accessible real-time strategy titles. With enough enemy variance to convince you you're playing an interactive episode of the Vikings TV show, this endlessly entertaining sea of bitesize battles will teach you to fear - and love - the sound of the oncoming horde.
Bad North feels a lot like a mobile title in terms of its limited scope, tight focus, and simple controls, and that makes it a fantastic fit for the Switch in portable mode.
Minimalistic and consistent real-time strategy game, which lacks some variation in the long run.
Review in German | Read full review