Norse: Oath of Blood promises tactical Viking combat in the style of XCOM, but reveals a number of weaknesses.
Norse: Oath of Blood is a tactical Viking game that has been released in the style of XCOM, but aims to set itself apart from the competition. Around 30 people worked on the game at Arctic Hazard, with support from Tripwire Presents – the publishing label of Tripwire Interactive. Expressive characters are set to encounter detailed landscapes – and offer tactical gameplay to boot. We’ve already taken a look at the Viking saga and will tell you where there’s still work to be done.
Classic revenge story
The title focuses on the story of the young warrior Gunnar Gripsson. At the beginning of the game, he witnesses his home village being suddenly attacked and his father—an influential jarl—being killed by a former follower. Naturally, Gunnar swears revenge and disappears into exile with a small group. From then on, his goal is to establish a new settlement of his own and gather both loyal workers and capable warriors around him. The objective is clear: to avenge his father one day.
The story told is both a positive and negative aspect of the game. On the one hand, the narrative style is not particularly sophisticated and relies on typical clichés without the characters developing any depth. For example, we encounter the perpetually drunk blacksmith or are constantly subjected to male dominance behavior. In addition, certain twists in the story are clearly predictable. On the other hand, this is exactly what Arctic Hazard wants to achieve with the story.
Same procedure
In order for Gunnar to achieve his goal, we naturally have to fight a battle or two. The various missions sound promising and varied. Here we have to hunt a wild boar, there we have to fend off a nighttime raid, or simply rescue a hostage. But basically, the sequence of missions always remains the same, only the goal is different. First, we put together our squad that will be sent out.
In the next step, we explore the areas, which mostly consist of forests or coasts, and search for our actual target. Off the beaten track, there is a little loot to collect here and there, or bushes that we can use to heal our characters. But don’t expect too much exploration, because the areas we move through are mostly linear, with few opportunities to take a detour. Once we have found the mission objective, the battle awaits us.
Tactics, tactics, tactics!
The turn-based battles are inspired by XCOM, so each character has a certain number of action points that they can use for movement, attacks, special maneuvers, or defensive actions. The most important thing in encounters is therefore a tactical approach and the sensible positioning of your own fighters. It is essential to get to know your characters, as each of them has different stats and passive bonuses. For example, some can protect themselves from attacks or replenish their action points under certain circumstances.
You should also pay attention to the environment, as fighters can slip on muddy ground. Sometimes it is also possible to take up an elevated position, which is particularly useful for ranged fighters. Some melee fighters can also use their shields to push their opponents back a square, for example into burning objects or into their own comrades, which also causes additional damage.
The weaknesses
The most satisfying aspect of the fights are the finishers, which are dramatically staged and in which the respective weapons sometimes brutally hit their target. Unfortunately, they also reveal a weakness, as the animations are often not as on-point as they should be. This means that some blows miss their target or invisible weapons are crossed. The user interface also leaves something to be desired. The most basic information is visible, such as the order of moves or the status of the characters, but some useful information is missing.
For example, the ranges of our opponents cannot be seen, which often makes it a guessing game whether we can move or not. In addition, the enemies often move before us, causing considerable damage to our troops before we can even react. Some useful numerical values, such as the critical hit chance, are often not clearly visible. Added to this are a few annoying bugs that cause the number of action points used to be displayed incorrectly. This is, of course, disadvantageous for tactical planning.
The Settlement
After a mission, we return to our own settlement in Norse: Oath of Blood and have to manage it. This includes regular expansion, which provides us with additional resources for further expansion, but also new equipment for our fighters. Fishermen’s huts provide us with new food, while woodworkers provide more materials. Unfortunately, all of this is done by selecting from a list. So we don’t place buildings on a plot of land by hand and decide where something should go. Instead, we simply select what we want to build, and it is erected in a predefined location. Improvements to buildings are also done this way.
It’s also a shame that we don’t have to plan the expansion of the settlement in a meaningful way. It doesn’t really matter which building we build or expand next, as basically everything is an achievable bit by bit. This means we hardly have to manage our resources and can simply complete a few moves until we have enough. On the overview map, we can see other settlements with which we can trade, but they have no other relevance. So far, we haven’t been able to make any important decisions that would lead to betrayal, a surprise, or even an alliance. Too bad.
Bugs and errors
Unfortunately, the game is still riddled with bugs rather than stately warriors. Even if some of them are quite funny, such as a character’s upper body remaining in place while the rest of the body marches off to another field. Others are both useful and very annoying, such as a costly item that suddenly multiplies in your inventory, but later a purchased weapon simply disappears into thin air. Or bosses who hold a human shield in front of them during battle, but the front character is invisible.
Unfortunately, the frame rate also drops from time to time, or clicks are not recognized properly by the game. If you want to play with a controller, you’ll have to wait a little longer. Although it is implemented in the game, it still has its quirks and doesn’t work properly in some places. During our test, there were already a few patches, but that didn’t solve much of the existing problems.
Conclusion
“I was really looking forward to Norse: Oath of Blood because, ever since Baldur’s Gate 3, I’ve been a huge fan of good turn-based combat. In addition, I personally find the Viking theme very appealing, which made it seem like a perfect match for me. Testing the game was basically a lot of fun, but the bugs and errors that occur from time to time unfortunately ruin the experience. The typical revenge story will probably also seem rather annoying to most people, as it is clumsily told and predictable. The battles, on the other hand, are fun, except for the problems mentioned, and are the heart of the game. Disappointingly, the settlement management is poorly implemented and leaves a lot of potential untapped. Currently, despite everything, you can still have a lot of fun with Norse: Oath of Blood if you enjoy games like XCOM and don’t mind the existing bugs, which will surely be ironed out.“
- Story/Atmosphere: 60/100
- Game Design: 60/100
- Scope: 80/100
- Balance: 70/100
- Presentation: 70/100
The review key for the PC was kindly provided to us by Tripwire Presents.
