Picked this up over the weekend and not sure what to make of it. It's certainly not what I thought it was going to be, a reskinned Age of Empires for the Switch. Has more in common with Settlers if anything, as you can't directly control any of your units. Instead you build little Viking huts, halls, farms and mining structures and assign your people to them, as they plop out of your town centre. I'll stick with it, because it offers some interesting new spins on the strategy field. Not least the elimination of the Zerg Rush.
Adjacent areas have to be colonised first ('bought' with your ever dwindling food supplies) before you can build structures on them. And troops can't be pumped out of buildings, you're limited to small warbands (plus a hero unit) who can be sent across the land, but only if your scouts have first explored the surrounding areas. But you don't have direct control over them either.
What saves it is the addition of seasons, something I've rarely seen, but always wanted, in a strategy game. During the Summer months the land is lush and green and your food supplies rocket. Then Winter descends, blizzards cover the land, your little Vikings start consuming more firewood and mead and suddenly your settlements start complaining. And everyone knows an unhappy Viking is an unproductive Viking.
Just plodding through the story campaign at the moment, having decided to trade with a neighbouring band of Kobolds rather than wipe them out (for now). Have located an enemy hold, so going to build up my warband until its large enough to take 'em on.
Out on all consoles (first released on PC over a year ago)
It wasn't until I hit my thirties that I realised you could unlock rewards by exploring the map
It has been something i’ve kept my eye on. Seasons with an impact on resource and battle have been in every historic Total War game since the first Shogun Total War though.
Yeah, it has sorta sim city elements to it. Biggest threats to your settlements being rat infestations, earthquakes or a harsh winter. There is no AI battering on your door with an army of units suddenly threatening your territory.
The only other constant threats are the wolves, bears and assorted wildlife that control the areas you haven't colonised yet. Mind you, I am only early in the campaign, so no idea how aggressive the rival tribes are. This certainly doesn't appear to be a frantic RTS where you have to execute a strict build order to survive in order to spew out units faster than the other guy. It needs to be stressed, because none of the reviews did, this is not a RTS at all, it is more of a god sim / settlement builder.
Oh, and Raiziel, it's got Draughr in it. Little Draughr men wandering the map for you to pick a fight with Like a miniature Skyrim! You'll love it.
It wasn't until I hit my thirties that I realised you could unlock rewards by exploring the map