Strategy in its most simple form
Overview
Bad North is a top down strategy/tactics/tower defense game in which hordes of enemies come in from boats to attack your town. Its your job to use your commanders to defend your town from the incoming invasion.
Gameplay
You take control of up to 4 commanders to stop the onslaught of vikings coming in from Boats to your island. Bad North plays like a combination strategy, tactic and tower defense game. Each commander has the ability to upgrade both his items used ( spears, bows, etc) and add special abilities. Some commanders have bows and are great for range fighting but lack at close quarter battles; others have spears and can take out enemies before they are able to get close to you, but they can not attack while moving. Its these strategies that make Bad North a very enjoyable experience. After each battle, you are awarded gold coins for each building left standing. These coins are then used to purchase your commanders upgrades/items. There is very little tutorial in the game but being as basic as it is, doesn’t take long to have it all figured out. Bad North is also roguelite, once a commander dies, he’s dead for good, and once you have lost all your commanders the game is over and you must start again from the beginning. Being roguelite, every play through will be different because the islands are all randomly generated, making each playthrough feel new and exciting. One of my favorite features in Bad north is the ability to use touch controls in handheld. This made navigating the menus and map much more fluid. I did get a few minor frame rate stutters throughout my roughly 15 hour journey, but none that were at all game breaking.
Sound/Music
From the sound of waves to the sound of your shields smashing into your enemies spears, Bad north does an excellent job of using music and sound to suck you into the experience. I wouldn’t say its the selling part of the game, but I did find myself enjoying the sound of a fiddle playing in the background while a slayed hordes of Vikings.
Story
There is little to say of the story, the game doesn’t tell you much of a back story. If Story is very important to you, this game is not for you. Bad North is more about making your on adventure/story. You’re the last hope to save the island and must do whatever it takes to succeed!
