Have You Played... Bad North?
Skål!
I have written several times about the tiny Norse boys of Bad North. This mini strategy game sees you marshalling different squads of troops to defend a procedurally generated island from viking invaders.
The free Jotunn Edition update made loads of good changes, for free! But it did not change the charm of the game. The diddy little soldiers and the tippy-tap of their little feetsies. And then they stain the ground red with tiny viking blood.
The vikings in this are an oncoming horde, swallowing up the map behind you as you hop to the next little island to make another defensive stand. You want to have at least one group of archers to try and take out some vikings before they get to your defensive lines of pikemen and shieldbois... but where best to place those, when you might end up leaving a path to the archers free? Because the archers will go down like a sack of shit if they get attacked directly. Hmm.
It is 3D chess by way of cute miniatures, backed by some lovely sound design and visual cues. Do grab it if it's ever in a sale.