Bad North Jotunn Edition (2018) Strategy for dummies

If you someday I wanted to try yourself as a medieval commander of the troops that is ready to sacrifice yourself for the sake of saving and protecting civilians, then this game is for you. Do not be deceived by minimalistic graphics and a bright visual – in fact, everything will not be as simple as it might seem at first glance.

If you think that strategies are too complicated for you, I hasten to please you. I, as a lover of games with a linear plot and solutions that the developers have already come up with a player to play quite unusual in various kinds of strategies and genres “Tower Protection”. I am bad in projects where I need to think over a certain plan and each step before the next stroke. In general, a combat strategist I am so so. However, this game proved that everyone can try on the role of a defender of the territory and a valiant warrior, defending land from bloodthirsty Vikings.

This game has a low entry threshold for beginners in strategies, completely simple logistics and interesting development of troops. Of course, after half of the path traveled, your euphoria will end from light victories and you will have a hard -to -the -way defense of land from stronger and unpredictable opponents. But the game gives you the most well as possible to prepare and get used to it.

Even if you have never played strategy, when passing this game, you will quickly learn how to arrange troops depending on the situation and use their skills against certain types of enemies. You will pump the units in priority and prepare your most powerful and best army on the entire northern coast that will cope with any attack. And so, step by step, you will free all the islands from tyranny of the invaders.

With this example, you will personally see that strategic games are not only complicated and in places completely incomprehensible, but also very exciting and gambling.

We will go into dangerous liberation.

“Bad North” – This is a game in the genre of real -time strategy, developed by the Swedish company Plausible Concept And published Raw Fury. The release of the first faith took place August 20, 2018 on Nintendo Switch, and later on other sites.

Also, October 15, 2019 free expansion was released “Bad North: Jotunn Edition”, including many new objects, characteristics of troops, enemy units and much more, as well as adding control points on the map, otherwise the game would be excessively heavy even at a low level of complexity.

The project received mixed reviews of critics and was nominated for the award D.AND.WITH.E. Awards. American magazine PC Gamer I responded about Bad North as about “An excellent small strategic game, ideal for short breaks.” It is noted that “There is something in how these little sprites beat each other, it forces to return to the game.”

More in Nintendo Life noted that real -time strategies often have a high entry threshold, “Having drowned you in the waves of the menu and subsystems, but the minimalistic approach to Bad NortH guarantees the lack of an excess of logistics.” This enables players to discover a new genre and fully immerse themselves in it, and not quit everything at the very beginning due to the fact that they could not figure it out. On the other hand, the presence of different levels of complexity will attract to the game of well -established lovers of heavy battles and complex tactical solutions to experience their skills.

However, the game is criticized, for richy-fox-casino.co.uk example, Kevin Marseille From the website of the gaming topics Destructoid was dissatisfied with the game, citing “Random bursts of complexity in the second half of the game.” It didn’t seem like that, as I said earlier, the game competently prepares the player for more complex battles, opening new enemies on the islands, the attacks of which are unpredictable and difficult on the first. But even against them, the player will be able to develop a winning battle plan as if you pass and develop. After all, without difficulties, the excitement is unlikely to move on, as it seems to me.

Structure and plot of the game

The plot as such does not have a game, there is only a simple and literally linear task – to free at home on a large map from the siege of enemy ships to the last island, where there will be the most difficult and tense battle. The card is divided into several parts. If you do not have free commander in chief – you will have to skip the move, and then the tiles will begin to close from any corner, cutting you off from individual islands, on which it will no longer be possible to land. And it is necessary to skip the move so that the commanders gain strength and are again in service. For this reason, the player needs to think through every step, which islands to go to them, like a plague wave, will absorb the Horde of the Vikings.

Before you go to battle, you can pre -inspect the island from all angles, and this is important, since they have a different area of ​​the area, which in turn may complicate or facilitate your battle. You also need to pay attention to a variety of enemy troops (their icons are visible above the island) – this will allow you to evaluate your strength and choose the troops more suitable for this situation.

On the way on the map you will come across islands with special marks. This can be a question mark, which means the ability to find some useful item or weapon that can be equipped with your detachment and increase the chances of successful passage. Either the flag of the new detachment. If you successfully repel the island and at the same time do not lose the detachment in battle, it will subsequently go into your army.

The player will not only beat off the attacks of enemies, but also not allow them to make their way to the houses scattered across the island. If at least one wiking slips through, he will immediately begin to throw the house with torches, and if he completely burns, coins will not fall for him, in turn. Money is necessary in order to improve your army, buy and pump skills until they become professional fighters with maximum stats.

The game has a separate interesting section – Code. It contains information about all classes, skills, objects and character traits of the Commander -in -Chief. With each new campaign, you have a chance to find a new item or open a character trait.

Difficulty levels by standard three. At the very beginning, you will be given to choose two commanders of the detachments. So far, only infantrymen are available, but as the new islands are released, your army will replenish with useful archers and strong spearmen. The player at his discretion sets a different composition of his army, if it seems to him that it will play in the hand in a particular battle. It is only important to keep in mind that if the whole detachment with the commander in chief will die in the battle, you will lose it forever. It is especially painful if this is your strongest and lead detachment. In order to avoid this, not shameful and leave the island if the situation is completely deplorable. Your fighters can take enemy boats and retreat. True, then this is considered a loss, and you will lose the island. But sometimes this is a more sound solution than to lose half of the army and not be able to go on the map further, because passing does not get easier.

by Wolfdog-Artcorner (Deviantart)

by Wolfdog-Artcorner (Deviantart)

by Wolfdog-Artcorner (Deviantart)

In addition, a little control points are scattered on the map – this at least makes the game passable, otherwise there would be a complete darkness. Yes, you can be discarded far enough, and you will lose objects and detachments that you managed to get in the way, but again, this is much better than starting the game completely at first.

In the process, the game becomes more and more tense. You will encounter new types of enemies, the victorious strategy against which will not immediately be able to think through. But it is worth watching them, and the best solution will definitely come. And of course, concentration and attentiveness are required, so that during a mess in battle, not to lose his entire detachment, but to have time to send him to restore, and then the fighters with new forces will enter the battle. Otherwise it’s sometimes difficult to immediately notice in this pile-machine that you have only 2-3 people left the detachment.

The game seems to be quite complicated even at a simple level of complexity, but the excitement is to try new strategies and focus on improving different detachments after defeat only increases. In different ways, albeit not the first time, but you can definitely reach the final grand battle.

Gameplay

The management is very convenient – only a couple of clicks with the mouse will put units on certain points, and they attack enemies already autonomously. Plus you can use the abilities of each detachment in battle, choosing a more suitable moment. A very simple skill tree will help to figure it out as soon as possible and plunge into the game.

To lose and lose their best detachments, the development of which was spent seriously earned money is an inevitable fate in the process of passage, but most importantly, it is to win the island with the nearest checkpoint, and then your detachment will return in its original form.

Protection of each island, especially the latter, brings a lot of pleasant adrenaline. During the battle, you need to carefully monitor the whole area, since enemies can land at different points at the same time, and you have only four detachments to protect you. Depending on the environment and types of enemies, it is necessary to put the most suitable in the class and abilities of warriors for defense.

I can say that even playing in low complexity, each landing in the second half of the game will be a test for you. I replayed three times. If you are inattentive and not to think through your plan, you can quickly lose everything that was hardly repelled.

As a result, you can either stop at the defense of the final island, and try to open everything on the map to go through the campaign 100%.

You will have the opportunity to experiment and pump different units in the army. For example, you can make a greater emphasis on archers, and then they will endure the Vikings even before their boats affect the ground. Or to make half the army armored infantrymen – you will receive faster and stronger close combat fighters who can restrain the attacks of tank invasion.

I was helped in the final battle by the pumping of archers. With such a large number of dexterous and accurate children, you can facilitate the battle of infantry and spearmen so that they are not distracted by a trifle, but understand the threat more serious.

Visual design and musical accompaniment

I really liked the style of play, so simple and minimalistic. With a project in this style, even somehow it is especially pleasant to interact. Nature and weather conditions on the islands differ from each other and well convey the atmosphere of the dangerous medieval sea. I especially remember the shores of rocky islands protracted by gray impenetrable fog. Small houses mercilessly doused heavy rain, or their roof is covered with a soft snowball. But our warriors in even rows stand under any bad weather, fix their eyes on the sea and wait for their earth to sprinkle the blood of enemies.

The colors of the game came in me too. Against the backdrop of nondescript gray-brown Vikings, the bright blue armor of our soldiers look like a victorious banner, and in front of them they proudly hold their colorful coat of arms. They are ready to add a little red to these shades.