“Bad North: Jotunn Edition” is a small indie game that is truly a joy to play. It doesn’t take up much time and can be played in chunks. It’s a nice relaxing time-waster that’s perfect for the situation we are all currently in. 

“Bad North” is a real-time strategy game that has some unique quirks. You play as a band of soldiers racing against the tide of Viking invaders to escape. There are skirmishes with Vikings to defend island settlements you come across. As you fight, you will get gold to upgrade your soldiers. You also can get other soldiers or items from islands. If your soldiers die on the field, they are lost for that campaign. 

There are many different types of Vikings that you will encounter, and you have soldiers to counter them. You have access to shielded swordsmen, archers, and pikemen. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. As you advance, different Viking enemy types will appear. This is where the strength of the game lies. You are always vastly outnumbered by waves of Vikings, so you must devise strategies. There might be high ground on an island so you might decide to station your troops high to weather the assault. You could also ride out to meet the soldiers as they come in, limiting the number of soldiers you would need to fight at a time. It’s akin to a chess game, without turns. The soldiers counter these Vikings. The decision-making benefits you when you make the right decisions and punishes you when you don’t. 

It really is a fun, unique game. The game normally costs $14.99, but it is currently on sale for $8.99 on PC and Xbox. It remains at $14.99 on PS4. I would definitely recommend the game to my friends. I would personally give it a 9/10 because the mechanics could be expanded more, but the simplicity of the game is some of the charm.