Bad North Jotunn Edition Review (Nintendo Switch)

No review code used, bought the game myself

Attack of the Ports

Mobile games invading the Switch are incredibly common and make a lot of sense. Some developers simply port games over with minimal effort, but then some developers will go the extra mile. They take into account the specifics of the system and harness it to make the best game possible. The developers of Bad North are the sort of Viking invaders I don’t mind invading my switch. And I’m not just saying that because I have a keen interest in the Norse era. Let’s explore why Bad North is well worth your attention.

The Vikings are Coming

Bad North tasks you with leading your troops and fight off the invading Vikings. Its wonderfully simple to pick up and play, but also cleverly incorporates a lot of depth to keep things interesting.

Before you begin you can choose your difficulty (easy, normal or hard). The game caters to those just looking for some casual fun as well those that just like things ridiculously hard. For me I started with easy since I’m terrible at strategy games but was compelled to up the difficulty with additional playthroughs.

There is a nice selection of commanders to choose from

The game lets you choose two starting troops which include male and female commanders. The game also provides a simple tutorial to help you jump into the action. After all there are Vikings that need stopping, no time to learn.

Protect The Island

You start on a randomly generated island which will have a few houses placed on it. Possibly containing many innocents sitting down for a nice diner. You start the game by selecting and placing your troops. Up to four can be played on an island at once but the game starts you off with just two, more are found as you progress through the game. Once your set a haunting gong sounds and the Vikings approach in their ships from the outside fog. Your job is simple, repel the invading force with as minimal casualties as possible. Once the Vikings land on your island they will wreck havoc attempting to kill your troops and also burning down all the houses on the island.

Touch Friendly

Controls are precise and fun to use. Tap the troop unit and then tap where you want them to go, they’ll then attack automatically if they are near an enemy unit. If things get too rocky you can replenish your troops in houses and also retreat the island entirely on viking boats. I was more a stand and fight kinda army myself. The developers went the extra mile with the Switch version and the game has full touch screen capabilities in handheld mode. This is one of the rare games where I opted mostly for this scheme. It was simple to twirl the camera around with a flick of the finger. I often spun the camera around like crazy just for the fun of it. It’s simple to just tap on a unit and send them anywhere on the island. And you can also use two fingers to zoom in and out. Being in handheld mode also gives you the best of all worlds. If you do want to just use the controller you can or a hybrid of the two, you can do that as well. If you do decide the controller is your preference, the controls have been brilliantly adapted to this scheme with the buttons and analogue sticks. I didn’t feel one control scheme gave any particular advantage over the other. A hard feat to do when it comes to games designed with touch controls and an incredible achievement by the developers.

Going for Gold

You’re rewarded gold at the end of each level determined by how many houses you’ve managed to save. You might also unlock items to equip to units such as gaining additional gold per fight or adding more soldiers to a selected unit. Gold is then used to upgrade your troops to different units. You are given the choice of three types of units, sword fighters, pike men and archers. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages against the invading threats. Swords and shields are good for defending against archers. Pike units are good at holding their ground but cant move very quickly. Then there’s the archers, my personal favourite, taking the high ground and launching death from above. They are particularly awesome as they can take out the nasty Vikings before they even dock on the island. Having a mix of these puts you in better stead for success. These units can also be upgraded further along with other perks and items for each troops. You can essentially create the ideal army that works for your play style. For me it was archers a plenty with a good shield defense.

Fear the Invaders

The game progresses as you move from island to island defending them from a variety of Viking enemies. Some boats contain the simple sword units, some archers but there’s also these nasty big ones that are tall and scary and a single one is quite the challenge to take down. Once you encounter a new enemy unit their logo appears above future islands enabling you to choose the right troops for the job next time.

You need to be careful though, if a unit is wiped out they can no longer be deployed into the game. Not unless you’ve found a special item to revive them. Should you find this too much there is the option to restart levels from the beginning. But if you’re brave you can live with your mistakes and continue on.

After a battle troops become fatigued and require rest. Resting costs a turn and this makes the ocean on the main map come closer to. Reminding me of the dreaded Frost from that card game of the same name. If it reaches you it’s all over. Once you have enough units it becomes a juggling act of who to deploy to try to keep ahead. You of course don’t have to take on absolutely every island but the more you do the more rewards you are likely to acquire.

Violence and Beauty

The graphics appear as a unique 3D water painting. Units are simple in design but the art style is quite unique and striking, almost like a living painting. I was amazed by the weather effects. Often it’s raining but sometimes levels go through a beautiful day and night cycle. Showing off some impressive use of colour on sun sets.

The animations are also quite impressive for the individual characters in each unit. They look the same but they appear to behave quite individually. The peaceful blue of your troops is a nice clash against the dark and fearful black of the Viking troops. When they collide and the weapons hit water coloured red splatters the islands in a violent but very artistic fashion. I also loved the rain effects. The sound design stands out more than the music which there isn’t a lot of. I really enjoyed the sound effects of the scary Vikings as well as the funny noises your commanders make when you select them in the menu. That gong though when a level begins was very memorable.

Endless Replay Value

Once you’re done with Bad North there is plenty of incentive to replay. The campaigns are after all randomly generated. I have kinda always had a campaign of the game on the go. My first playthrough took over 10 hours but the replay is pretty endless. I found the gameplay loop very addictive and a short pick up and play session easily turned into a ‘just one more island’ 2 hour session.

Customer Support

I have been able to play Bad North on PC and Xbox One. Load times for Switch are comparatively longer compared to these versions. But a sacrifice I was whiling to bear to play in handheld mode. I didn’t come across any glitches or issues with how the game ran on my playthroughs. What I did admire is there is a very helpful support page on the developers website should you encounter any issues here. Showing excellent support for their customers. You can also learn a little about the developers here also.

A Fine Viking Defense Game

Bad North is a fantastic pick up and play strategy game (a genre I’m usually terrible with). With difficulties to suit most gamers. Simple controls and tons of replay value. This is a game I’ve returned to again and again. I can’t guarantee playing this game will prepare you for an actual Viking invasion. But I can assure you there is plenty to love whether you want a quick gaming session or a long night in defending from invaders. Once your done with that you may also want to play a bit of Bad North.

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up!