Northgard

As a novice to RTS games and a poor min/maxer, Northgard is the first RTS I have not rage quit. Not only that, I love it.
Pros:
- Games generally last between 1.5-2 hours, so you can actually finish it before the heat death of the universe.
- Looks beautiful! Both stylized and well-executed environments and characters make Northgard shine.
- Distilled essence of RTS means a low entry barrier.
- Never too much clutter on screen.
- While the campaign plot tutorial isn't memorable, it is a good intro to each clan.
- I did not have to read a 200-page Steam guide to win.
- No problems with unranked/invited friends for multiplayer.
Cons:
- The game is simple for an RTS. What makes matches shorter and the game less intimidating also make for less mastery satisfaction. If you are an RTS veteran, or enjoy more complex TBS like Civ, Northgard may not be for you.
- Not all clans are created equal. Particularly some of the DLC clans (Lynx and Dragon, I'm looking at you) are handicapped.
- Explicitly the Dragon's thralls could use more indication as to what they're assigned to.
- It'd be nice to preview each clan's information while in the mutiplayer lobby.

I like the "simple to learn, hard to master" style this game gives you. You're tasked to manage three basic resources, securing sections of the map to further develop those resources and other mid- and late-game ones. I have never played PvP so I cannot speak to that, but I do like the conquest (both solo and with a partner) and playing with/against the AI.
The one thing that I really dislike is the fact that each additional clan is $5. Sure, you don't have to get them, but the base game without it almost feels incomplete. The clans are built to expand upon the game and offer new features that are meant to appeal to the players. I mean, I guess that's why they slapped a $5 price tag on em, and why I've bought all of them. But, I feel like it's the same as having to pay to play Trevor or Franklin in GTA V, or paying to access tools beyond copper level in Stardew Valley. You may not need to to play the game, but it'll either be tedious, repetitive, or simply incomplete. I'm not saying give out the DLC clans for free, I understand that folks at Shiro Games need to eat and pay bills, but I hope they would consider an alternative way to acquire the DLC clans. Maybe through in game currency, or with a season pass or bundle deal. Or possibly with a trial version for the clan (i.e. one single player game, or 20 minutes of gameplay, etc) so folks can test it out and see if it fits their play style. There are a couple of clans that I probably would have passed on if I got a chance to try them first, simply because they don't fit my play style, not 'cause they're poorly made or something.

A fine, relaxing RTS/board game hybrid with some interesting tile acquisition mechanics. In some ways the game solves the micromanagement problems found in other RTS games, in other ways it creates some micromanagement problems, but on the balance overall the micromanagement issues that you get with other 4X style RTS games are mostly avoided here. There is a little bit of a learning curve as a result of the uniqueness of the gameplay mechanics, but it's pretty easy to get over and the campaign does a good job of introducing you to the mechanics.
Combat is simple, even though each clan has their own flavor. Don't expect complex strategy here... once you've played a few games it can become a simple matter of balancing your growth with your military capabilities, but there's also some flavor strategy between the clans that comes into play when thinking about your strategy.
These are pretty minor things, though. It's not like RTS strategy has ever been complex for any other title, and if what you've been looking for is a relaxing game that you can play to destress but still be actively engaged, this is a very rewarding purchase. What it aims to do it does well and does with style and consistency.
+ Excellent music.
+ Very good and scalable performance, even in endgame.
+ Interesting and dynamic build decisions that reflect tile bonuses.
+ Unique clan playstyles, for the most part.
+ Unique mechanics and a seasonal planning consideration factor.
- A bit repetitive, mostly simple mechanics with some artificial gating.
Overall, it's a fun game with a solid design that has the same weaknesses as many other RTS/4X style games. I recommend it and look forward to what the developer will do in the future.

---{Graphics}---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{Gameplay}---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{Audio}---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{Audience}---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ All
---{PC Requirements}---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{Difficulity}---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Significant brain usage
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{Grind}---
☐ Nothing to grind
☑ Only if you care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second life for grinding
---{Story}---
☐ No Story
☑ Some lore
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It‘ll replace your life
---{Game Time}---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☑ To infinity and beyond
---{Price}---
☐ It’s free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If you have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{Bugs}---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ Cyberpunk 2077
---{?/10}---
☐1
☐2
☐3
☐4
☐5
☑6
☐7
☐8
☐9
☐10

The game works like a normal rts kind of like age of empires but the catch here is that you can't spam villagers as soon as you obtain some food to snowball, instead villagers spawn periodically from your town center as long as your happiness is above 0. You need to colonize regions like civilizations V to open up space in order to build new buildings which slows down the game overall to give you a better experience and lessen the need to micro manage everything.
This was the explanation I was given when I just bought the game but seriously some people can still micro manage the fucking oxygen coming into their villagers lungs and develop 3 times faster than me in ranked games. Doesn't change the fact that it is an amazing game worth the money for strategy fans.

---{Graphics}---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{Gameplay}---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{Audio}---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{Audience}---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☐ Adults
☑ All
---{PC Requirements}---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{Difficulity}---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
--{Grind}---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isnt necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second life for grinding
---{Story}---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It‘ll replace your life
---{Game Time}---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{Price}---
☐ It’s free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{Bugs}---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ Cyberpunk 2077
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{?/10}---
☐1
☐2
☐3
☐4
☐5
☐6
☑7
☐8
☐9
☐10

A Great Game for Gamer Couples! <3
This game shines when: You play with others. Conquest is a hidden gem.
Is this game difficult: It is easy to pick up, hard to master. Each clan has its pros and cons and it's up to the player to decide which one fits their needs the most. Certain clans require you to play more aggressive while others are better when planning things out slow.
So, lets talk about Norse Mythology: This game is filled with all things Odin, Ragnarak, and even the Kraken. Fans will find themselves filled to the brim with interesting Norse tales and trinkets scattered throughout the lands.
If you love strategy games such as Sid Meier's Civilization, Age of Wonders, and Endless Legend. You should give this one a chance. While those three are considered turn based tactics-Northgard takes a different approach to a well loved formula with Real time strategy.
I've played about 50 solid hours, I beat the story mode, played on conquest and even did a little bit of local multiplayer with the husband. To say I love the game, is an understatement. Conquest is by far my favorite one of the bunch. It's a challenge that my husband and I can play/work together and while it's tough and thins our relationship sometimes-it's very, very fun and rewarding when we do move forward to the next challenge. I wish all strategy games had something as fun as this.
Other than the game play, the game is beautiful. Each clan has its own bit of flair to them and you really do end up picking favorites. Or, if you're like me, go headstrong into the wolfclan because you can't get past the darn story on hard mode. Wolfclan makes me cry. But after twenty games I think the aggression has leaked into my other strategy games. Even when I play another clan I still find myself racing to kill wolves and bears for no reason. (who needs food when you can just kill things, right?)
But, seriously, this is a diamond in the rough and it's continuously being maintained and updated from my knowledge. The squirrel clan was just introduced, and it looks fun and a little broken. Like most things that first pop out in an update. It IS an indie game so don't expect crazy, beautiful interfaces and perfect flawless games. Sometimes the servers can be wacky and I feel that needs to be their main priority addressed/fixed right now-since the game shines the most in multiplayer. As great as story mode is, single player is not why I love this game.
There's still a few bugs that happen that make me laugh. In one of my story modes, the giants that were supposed to attack me decided they were too lazy and stayed home. Which made my life easier. But I expect patches to work on things like that overtime. Don't let that deter you-trust me, this game CANNOT be any worse than the CiV 6 release, that was...that was scary. Northgard is far smaller but mightier and I can't wait to see it grow.
There are little experience chests you can get as 'rewards' for daily play. You can make your little houses fancier or main characters look a little different. There's not much too it, and not a lot there to make me want to invest any additional time. Now, if they added silly or cool themes to characters OR provide different voice sounds-that might be more interesting to invest in. But for now, it's just kind of there. It's a nice idea, just kind of small right now.
Also, last note: play the story mode! Please. I did it for the achievements, but I absolutely fell in love with each of the clan's main characters. (also bonus points for learning each one) There was this kind of magic that breathed life into it. The artwork between games was stunning, and the voice acting was wonderful. You can tell they put at lot of heart into it and for someone who loves a good story, I really appreciate that.