Viking Thorald Olavson is a man possessed.
A rival Jarl burnt his village and nicked his wife Raya.
In his quest to find her, hes prepared to do anything - even visit England.
Theres even a sprinkling of roguelite.
Youll have to sacrifice an upgrade rune, collected from certain foes, each time you die.
(I mean this entirely in terms of moreishness and focus.
By the final stages, youll be taking entire camps down solo.
Not at the beginning, though, and thats where filling out your warbands comes in.
As the game progresses, youll gain access to everything from shieldmaidens to siege weapons.
Foes beget hacksilver, hacksilver begets mead hall upgrades, and mead halls beget new building slots.
Your unit cap increases as you build and capture more.
Its always small enough to be a consideration, but generally big enough to put together a varied force.
The press kit tells me there are over 40 enemy types, and I believe it.
It is, as Ive said, unbelievably charming.
Its much more Asterisk and Obelisk than The Norseman.
Also, the music is positively swashbuckling.
Actually commanding your troops can sometimes be a hassle, mind.
You know when I said the game doesnt let up, up top?
Much like the game did to me, I actually pulled a fast one on you.
And, much like the game did to me, Im going to stick a big chunk of What?
right in the middle of your experience.
Torch their homes of poop and straw!
Pickle their prized cattle!
Deface their effigies with weak and puny mustaches so all will doubt the virility of their pathetic gods!
Tiptoe past them while they sleep and distract those awake with hurled pottery!
Wait, hang on.
Not stabbing pains, mind, because stabbing would be too much fun.
Yes, it lends the story a sense of scale.
It is not the presence of this section I bemoan, just its execution.
Just give the woman an axe!
Hell, give her a boltgun, Ill get over it.
You could have called it rat-tics!
I would have clapped if youd done that!
There are a bunch more intricacies youll discover as you play.
The real tug-of-war is actually in your mind!
Its wonderfully scored and animated.
And even with my complaints, Im eager to do just that.
Barkeep, more reindeer piss.
