Northgard – Preview

In the history of mankind there was quite some turbulence now and then, which also occurred in the era of the Vikings. Raids on magnificent ships, trying to survive by gathering resources and maybe ‘loan’ some stuff from other tribes. We all know that part of civilization but with Northgard, you can actually live it. Are you ready to dive into this wonderful world of invasions?

Northgard can be seen as a deviation of Settlers, but in a different setting. As this is a preview, the only available option to test was the singleplayer. There will also be a campaign mode that will hopefully have a storyline while there will also be online possibilities in the future. In the single mode, you will have a few possibilities to choose from before diving into this realm. As it’s just you, you can pick the amount of A.I. opponents, the color of your flag, the goals for winning and the difficulty level. Afterwards, there are three different clans you can choose from. If you pick the Wolf, you’re more focused on the combat while the Stag is more compassionate and gives you bonuses in the resources area. The Goat on the other hand is kind off into cattle and will provide you with some sheep. When everything is set, you’re ready for your adventure.

Depending on the clan you choose, you will have different starting resources. At any rate, you will always have your Town Hall, a few villagers and some resources. From now on it is your choice how you want to develop your town. At the beginning, you’re mostly bound by gathering food and wood but you’re free on what you want to do next. Will you expand your territory quite fast or will you train villagers to have a good offensive start? Of course, you will need to keep your goals in mind. Do you need to dominate the other player(s)? Is gathering wisdom your ultimate achievement? Depending on what you selected while configuring your game, you will have to work to your goal. Of course, you could also have selected all of the possibilities, making it easier to grab that victory although the same can be said about your opponent(s).

Surely the game has more to offer than woodcutters and hunters. Next to these gathering professions, you can also train some healers or even ‘loremasters’ that can investigate certain ruins to gain new knowledge. You will need ‘regular’ villagers and give them their new careers after the designated building is constructed. In the end, it is balancing between your incoming supplies and expanding your town. The field is separated in the different zones and you can’t endlessly keep on building structures the same field. This means you will need to invest food to grow your territory, thus getting new possibilities.

Next to the amount of options, you’ll also be checking the graphics more than once as you’re greeted by quite some beauty. Don’t expect the most awesome visuals but you’ll be stunned by the amount of small details and the overall style of the game. It’s a mixture of a more comical style rather than realistic, which is quite pretty in this setting. Also, try to find the sheep that are roaming around on the map, they’re just so adorably cute.

Of course, the graphics are one part of the story while the music and effects are equally important.  To be honest, you won’t be noticing a lot of the sound as you’re mostly strategizing your next move. At certain moments, some of the tones will filter through and you’ll notice that you’ll are guided by some medieval tunes. On another note, the sound effects seem more present as you need to keep an eye on certain dangers or other notifications. In the end, every element of the game works together nicely and gives it a special effect.

Conclusion

Northgard will suck you into the world of Vikings as you need to manage your town and try to grab that victory. Don’t let yourself be distracted by the sound effects and graphics as you will need all your concentration to fend of the enemy. It would have been nice if there was more available than the single player but it gives us reason to impatiently wait for the release.

AnneMieke

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