Game file / ROGUE BY ROGUEBad North
Bad North is a charming but brutal real-time tactics roguelite. Defend your idyllic island kingdom against a horde of Viking invaders, as you lead the desperate exodus of your people. Command your loyal subjects to take full tactical advantage of the unique shape of each island.
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Community discussion
A minimalist real-time tactics roguelite by Plausible Concept (published by Raw Fury) where you command up to four squads to defend procedurally generated diorama islands from Viking raiders, with permadeath for your commanders.
Bad North is widely liked by players (Steam 'Very Positive', about 93% of roughly 14.4k reviews) mainly for its striking minimalist art, readable terrain-based tactics and quick, low-stress sessions. Professional critics were more lukewarm: Metacritic sits at 72 (Switch page; PC 74, Xbox 65) and OpenCritic at 71 with only 46% of critics recommending, spanning Nintendo Life 9/10 down to Destructoid 5.5/10 and TheSixthAxis 5/10. The recurring verdict from both camps is 'brilliant core, thin content': it is short (roughly 4 to 12 hours), has few unit classes and enemy types, and little reason to replay. The free Jotunn Edition update (July 2019) added commanders, traits, items and skills and improved replayability, but the game is essentially finished and has had no major content since; newer Steam reviews still ask for more classes, a harder difficulty and a level creator.
What players praise
- Minimalist low-poly diorama art and sound: islands stained with blood as battles go on, small details like shields turning toward incoming arrows
- Broad-stroke control scheme: you position squads, not individual soldiers, so it is easy to learn in minutes yet still tactical
- Terrain matters: cliffs, ramps, chokepoints and beaches on each procedural island shape where you defend
- Rock-paper-scissors between infantry (shield), pikes (anti-brute) and archers, with special skills, produce tense and satisfying last-second saves
- Slow-motion / pause-friendly flow feels more relaxed than typical RTS games
- Short, jump-in-jump-out sessions; a campaign does not overstay its welcome and suits Steam Deck / Game Pass play
- Emotional attachment to named commanders whose permadeath carries weight
- Jotunn Edition's extra commanders, traits and items added welcome variety for free
What players criticize
- Very little content: only three troop classes with a single skill each and a limited enemy roster; many players say they saw everything in a few hours
- Low replay value for a roguelite; one campaign clears most of the content and there is no other game mode
- Late-game giant archers / ballista-like units are a common complaint because they out-range and crush most units with no clear counter
- Difficulty curve is lopsided: the early campaign is trivially easy and the late game spikes sharply
- Perceived randomness (enemy landing spots, item and commander luck) can make late losses feel unfair
- Minimal unit control leaves you unable to fix AI behaviour, such as odd target choices and chasing fleeing enemies; hard to notice squads dying
- Full price ($14.99) is often judged too high for the length; widely recommended on sale or via Game Pass
- Shallow upgrade and preparation options: several reviewers say there are too few meaningful ways to spend coins, so it feels like a 'mini game' for the price
Distinctive features
- A real-time tactics game stripped to its bones: four squads, no base building, no resource micromanagement
- Procedurally generated tile-like islands where geography is the main tactical resource
- Permadeath campaign of commanders across an archipelago with a pursuing fleet, a roguelite structure applied to RTS
- Houses you can lose or save: coins come from protecting villages, tying score and economy to defense
- Serene, meditative tone contrasted with brutal, blood-stained outcomes
Divided opinions
- Simplicity: praised as accessible and elegant by some, called shallow and 'mini game'-like by others; one critic said it streamlines strategy into something that does not wholly satisfy either casual or veteran fans
- Randomness versus skill: some feel mastery is rewarded, others feel RNG decides late runs
- Length and value: a tight 5-10 hour campaign is a virtue to some, a dealbreaker at $14.99 to others
- Jotunn Edition balance: some felt buffed archers made pikemen less needed and skewed balance
Repetition and friction
- The first quarter of a run is easy and slow, with little challenge and upgrades only after several coins are earned; restarting after a loss means replaying that stretch
- Repetition sets in after a few hours because of limited enemies and units
- Abilities must be placed the instant enemies land, which some find restrictive rather than strategic
- Feels 'like a mobile game' to several reviewers (it has iOS/Android ports), with lots of unused screen space and vague mechanics
- Losing to late-game archers after a long run, where skill cannot fully compensate
Hoped-for improvements
- More unit classes, skills per class and enemy types, especially on higher difficulties
- A difficulty beyond Very Hard and/or a hold-out / endless style mode
- Larger unit caps (players suggest 6-8 squads instead of 4) and bigger maps
- More meaningful upgrade and preparation options so coins buy real choices
- A counter or rebalance for the late-game heavy archer, plus more island variety
- A level creator / mod-style tooling and DLC-style content expansions
Launched August 2018 on Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC (Xbox Game Pass at launch; Steam store lists release as Nov 16, 2018), with iOS and Android ports about a year later. Launch critic reception was mixed (Metacritic 65-74 by platform; scores ranged widely), and the launch build was called 'bare' in retrospect. The free Jotunn Edition (July 2019) added hero traits, extra commanders, items, skills and harder content, and Steam players rate the game much higher than critics. Nominated for Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the 22nd D.I.C.E. Awards. Steam revenue estimate (third party, Boxleiter method) is about $8.1M gross and $2.4M net, owners roughly 500k-1M; treat as order of magnitude. Still getting positive Steam reviews in 2026 (recent ones cite 4-190 hour playtimes) though players say it deserved more content. Mac supported, no Linux build.
Community sources
- Top helpful positive and negative English Steam reviews (Bad North: Jotunn Edition) ↗
- Steam store page, Very Positive, ~93% of 14.4k reviews ↗
- Metascore 72 (Switch), user 7.0, PC 74 / Xbox 65 ↗
- OpenCritic 71, 46% critics recommend, 29 reviews, score list ↗
- Release, platforms, Jotunn Edition, Metacritic by platform, D.I.C.E. nomination ↗
- Jotunn Edition review, 7/10: few classes, low replay value, short ↗
- Destructoid 5.5/10 review (via search snippets; page returned 403): dull early game, repetition ↗
- PC Gamer 78/100 (via search result; page content not retrievable) ↗
- Nintendo World Report 7/10, accessible minimalist RTS (via search snippet) ↗
- God is a Geek 6/10 (via search/OpenCritic; page returned 403) ↗
- Steam community thread on archers being overpowered after Jotunn update ↗
- Estimated Steam gross/net revenue ↗
Archived creator commentary 1
Third-party summaries based on automatic captions may contain transcription or interpretation errors.
Tier list Part 4 (2025)
Bad North is a real-time tactical roguelike where you command small armies to defend islands from Viking raids. He is drawn in by its cute visuals and vibe, and finds it visually and mechanically unique. However, he feels the core strategy is shallow and repetitive, and that it would have worked better as a non-roguelike. The roguelike layer is minimal, runs are long, and it is slow to get interesting. He still recommends it to fans of simple tactical games, but places it in C tier.
What the creator praises
- Cute, slightly disturbing visuals and strong overall vibe
- Sound design is incredible, including the little splash of enemies dropping into the water
- Real-time tactical roguelikes are rare, so it feels unique
- Permadeath of units makes close fights very tense
- Appealing for players who like simpler tactical games
Issues raised by the creator
- Core gameplay and strategy are shallow and repetitive (archers beat shields, lancers beat archers)
- Roguelike elements are too small: random islands and items barely change strategy
- Very little pre-run customization and the first islands are always the same
- Takes too long for things to get interesting, and runs are very long
- Unit level-ups are identical every run, so a fixed mission structure would have suited it better
- Losing a favorite army permanently 40 minutes in feels bad
Design observations
- Rare real-time tactical/RTS-style take on the roguelike genre
- Permadeath of army units adds tension, a double-edged pro and con given the long runs
- Each island is a self-contained small level with house-protection objectives that feed currency and upgrades
