Bad North is a strategy roguelike with vikings and 'charming brutality'

Bad North is a "minimalistic, real-time tactics roguelite game" to hear developer Plausible Concept tell it. An eclectic description, but I'm inclined to agree with it after seeing the game in action.

You play as a young prince and princess who've abandoned their fallen kingdom following a viking invasion and are now on the run in some (presumably northern) islands. Each island is procedurally generated, as are its enemies and resources.

"Protect the nobles and commoners you meet along the way and recruit them to your cause," the game's site advises, before adding that "the landscape is soaked in the blood of your friends and foes," which apparently falls under Bad North's "charming brutality."

Bad North is expected to release on PC this year but is also coming to consoles and mobile devices, so its controls are unabashedly simple. "You control the broad strokes of the battle" but each soldier is individually simulated which, the studio says, allows for greater depth. Frankly, I like the simplicity on display, but the opportunity to really sink your teeth into combat is intriguing. For now, chew on these screenshots:

Thanks, RockPaperShotgun.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.