Bad North: Jotunn Edition Reviews

by Eric56767868767

I love the game play and theme. It has a simplicity in mechanics that makes it fun and not overwhelming, but behind that lies a depth of strategy and challenge. It is highly addicting and I don’t want to put it down.

Then all of a sudden it will crash and solve that problem for you. It will crash while trying to load a level. Sometimes once and restart solves it. Sometimes an island will refuse to load no matter how many restarts I do. I am either forced to not go to that island altogether or sometimes restart my campaign completely. This didn’t happen the first day and then it got worse and worse.

Developers, fix this with an update and I would instantly make this a 5 star review. Until then, this game just leads me to frustration and heart break.

by Dawgy Boy

I absolutely love this game but after a certain point the game starts crashing constantly. I currently have 2 save files that crashed on me and now they load indefinitely when I try to launch them. I also have a 3rd that crashes whenever I select a map. If/when this issue is fixed then the game is easily 5 stars, but I think it’s important if you’re going to ask people to pay for a game that it actually works properly. An important tip that I’ve figured out is that the game will crash less often if you try to do the maps in order. If you have a bunch of possible maps to play then it seems to crash much more often.

by Der Oberstleutnant

First of all I want to say that I haven’t had any bugs or crashes. I guess it’s a role of the dice if it crashes for you or not, but the game is perfectly fine for me. The problem is that it gets boring. It’s like watching a movie. The first time you play it is really fun, but the more you play, the worse it gets. The same thing happens every time. You progress through the islands and eventually get to the end just to repeat the process. The game will only last a few hours before you’re done. After that, you just repeat the game. You can unlock different starter abilities, but that’s about the only difference between play through. There’s not enough content to have the price tag that it has. I would recommend it if it was free, but I can’t recommend the game with the price it has.

by Realdaveed

You basically just deploy units to fight off invaders. That’s it. I appreciate the design of the game and that you have to think strategically about where to move which units, utilize terrain, etc. but after a while it gets a little boring. It would be great if the combat was just one part of the game, and players would also have to manage resources and defenses of the islands themselves. Taxation, revenue, fortifications, economies, trade — these could all be used to impact success. It would make the game much more complex, interesting and re-playable. I’d even pay more for that.

Also, I’m experiencing reload issues; the game kept hanging while islands were being generated at startup. I deleted my game and tried a new one, but that didn’t work. So I uninstalled and reinstalled. We’ll see...

by ProGarager99

I tried to beat the game 15 times but every time after the second checkpoint it crashes, just like everyone else says. It’s unbeatable! You can’t get past 75% completion! They need to fix this, I come back to the game every two or three months hoping they’ve updated it because it’s such a game but this is getting ridiculous now... do they even read any of the reviews?

UPDATE:
Ironically like a day after I posted this, it for some reason stopped glitching so much on my latest campaign (my fifteenth). This is crazy, as I have been trying to finish a campaign without it glitching and ruining the save since last year. So I’m not sure what to give this game as a review anymore because I’m elated it finally works and want to give it five stars, but at the same time it’s odd because the game working without glitches is not the norm at all and is probably a glitch in and of itself! So I am changing my review from ONE STAR to THREE STARS

by Senor Gonzo III

Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the game, but it crashed 3 times before I even started playing after it first downloaded. Once I started to play I had at least 12 crashes within an hours time. The game is really fun to play, it’s challenging on what location to defend next, what defenses you should upgrade, and the graphics do move smoothly. The crashing only seems to happen in between battles so you don’t actually lose any progress but it’s still annoying to have to restart the game multiple times. The game is really fun to play and I’d like to give it a better review. Creators: please look into the constant crashing. I’m playing on a 7th gen iPad if that helps.

by KuatosFreedomBrigade

Haven’t had too many issues thus far, the game s fun. Only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is there seems to be a bug, if I leave my game for more than a few hours and have to load, it just says “failed to load data”. So I’ve got two saved games now, with a few hours gameplay that I won’t be able to touch, I made the second one after accepting maybe the first didn’t load due to corrupted data or something, but seems to be an issue with the loading in general. Please fix, or tell me how to, I’d love to invest more time into this game.

by Gtownfunky48

This game is one of my favorite games to play because of its simple art style and intense, survivalist, gameplay. I love the level design and the progression of the enemy types. I downloaded this game knowing wholeheartedly that it had its bugs, because I wanted to give it the chance it deserved. Its an amazing game! It needs fixes, NOW. To pinpoint some of the bugs I’ve found, one being the inability to load into one of my saved campaigns, and another being a simple color shade of the island as it loads in, are some of the easy ones. Another bug that scares me is the sudden crashing that occurs when I open the upgrade screen as well as the map screen. I need fixes and I need them now. Once again, I love the game! Please fulfill my requests with an update. <3

by ThisIsJoeD

Only 3 playable classes while you face around 7 different enemy types. The commander variety is ok but some seem completely useless. I wish this game had more depth as I was really into it at first and then I realized I had experienced most of the game pretty early on. I do hope they release another version of this game because I can definitely see it being a lot more fun with some additions.

Some things get cut off by the iPhone notch so you have to flip your phone to see them.

There should be a way to select your units rather than tapping on them such as listing then on the side. Many times I mis tapped on the wrong unit. It’s difficult to see which ones are selected.

by Can I Undo?

First of all I love this game! I preordered it when it first came out and was featured and I have really enjoyed it. A repeating issue is that once you get far into your campaign you are not allowed to get on it for more than a few seconds. This was very disappointing and the few times I have been able to complete the game or even come close was when it was played all in one sitting... please fix this, so the game can continue to be fun once more! Also, it would be sick if you made an opposite version where you invade the island from certain points or can play multiplayer battles... Great Game... just had some issues...

by Staring In Disbelief

This game is easily one of my favorite strategy games. Before long, I was Addicted and constantly thinking up a plan to take down my enemies. But one thing I constantly encounter is game crashes. This is quite annoying when you are nearly victorious in your efforts to take out the Vikings but get instantly kicked out of the game. This game is a masterpiece, but the crashes make it hard to enjoy. If these crashes are fixed, then this game would be flawless.

Side note: new troop types, commander types (such as swordsmen commander, archer commander, etc.) and passive abilities would be cool if awesome if they are added to the game. These would add so much more depth to this already great strategy game.

by Mytoast777

I’ve heard a ton about crashes in this game. I have a beat up iPhone 7 and it still runs very well. I’ve played for maybe 10 hours and had about 3-4 crashes which haven’t impeded the fun and strategic appeals of this game. I was on the edge about buying it because so many people said it would barely run, but I ended up getting it and have loved it since. It’s totally worth the money. If you have an iPhone 7 or above and you’re interested, you should totally get this game. Also I’ve had it on 60 FPS instead of 30 and it makes it look way better and still runs great.

Edit: I would love to see some new type of unit, it would really spice things up for the people playing it through more than once. Maybe a catapult that you can only get later in the campaign or even a ship of your own with archers or guys with crossbows on it. Crossbows itself could be a good idea. As long as it’s not too similar to any other troops.

by Gaurav D

It's criminal for a premium single player game to require an internet connection to launch the game. Bought it before a long flight, but was stuck on the loading screen as there was no WiFi on the flight. Worked fine when I tried it with an internet connection after reaching my destination.

Update: The game worked fine the next time I used it in flight mode. Completed one play through and absolutely loved it! The visual style and background score is amazing! As someone who loves RTS games, this is the best one I've played on iOS.

by Beta Osiris

Normally I do not write reviews, but this game just shattered me. First of all, the game has impactful and beautiful visuals. From the cartoony portraits of various generals to the soldiers you command on the field. Furthermore, the sound design is also amazing. The bone chilling, spine tingling blow of the horn sets you into the 790s, as an Anglo-Saxon awaiting his impeding Nordic doom.

If you are a fan of mini strategy games, or have some spare time on your hands, I would recommend picking this up. Furthermore, if you are a fan of casual games, I would recommend this too. The game does a good job of keeping its “games” short, rather focusing on the bigger aspect, the long game.

by Isaac Stroh

I think it’s really cool how you guys made this game! The design is really beautiful especially the sounds when you are in a quite room. You definitely have to be a patient gamer if you play this game. You also have to hold your tolerance a lot, because there are some times where you will lose and have to start over again (depending on the difficulty you chose). I wasn’t even mad about the ending! It was really beautiful how you guys made the sun come up! I just want to say for all the people that have not bought this game, that it’s worth the $5!!! I challenge you to try a harder difficulty each time you start over!

by 275rambo

I first found Bad North on the PS4 a while ago and I have to say that the mobile port beats out the console version, especially since it has controller support. I see a lot of reviews on permanence being bad. I have an IPhone 7+ and have never experienced a game related crash even with close to 50 hours of playtime just on my phone alone. I’m excited to see what the developer does next. I hope for a sequel to this game, maybe in the napoleonic era or so, the rock, paper, scissors balance placed on muskets and the like. There is so much potential and the game is already amazing. My number 1 game for the AppStore by far.

by Holden Barker

This is one of the view payed mobile games that are worth far more than what you pay for. The actual strategy isn’t over complicated, yet is still complex, and I love how the game makes you adapt your troops to each and every unique island. The fact you have to make quick decisions to both keep your commanders alive and your houses protected also adds a stressful aspect which is counterbalanced by the wonderful and innocent looking art style.

My one critique would be the somewhat short campaign, but with multiple difficulties, randomly unique islands, and achievements to unlock, it has pretty decent replay value as well.

by Davar5

I own the original version on my ps4, i was exited to see there was a sequel on the store. The original game was really good, the graphics although minimalistic make the game feel real and alive. The strategy aspect of troop positioning and countering maneuvers is unmatched by other games of its kind. however the base game lacked more depth. By adding traits and more items it makes each run more unique and gives each commander its own implied background story with more added portraits . This makes the game better at storytelling. As soon as I saw the game I knew I had to purchase it. I look forward to any updates to the game or even new version building on what’s already in game. Kudos to the devs for an awesome game and keep updating the game w/ new traits/items.

by Kaleo R.

This is a great game. Even with the patches there are still times when BadNorth crashes or won’t load my saved file. Other than that I love the game. It’s like a real-time tactical command your troops type of game set on 3D islands that are each unique. I think the game is pretty flawless as is but there are a few things that could be improved. First I think that the special ability of the infantry units is terrible and should be replaced with something like temporary invulnerability. Second I think that there should be a reward for finishing the campaign or even the possibility of keeping your troops for other campaigns. Finally I think that the troops should be more customizable and unique. For example we should be able to name them. If you like strategy games and are thinking about buying this one do it! It’s so good!

by Fedor87

This game is very fun and a unique take on rouge-like tower defense where your towers are mobile units and you defend procedurally generated islands. My only real complaint is that it crashes sometimes when loading islands or if too many things happen at once, but I suspect it’s because they don’t support iPhone SE, but the game is auto saved between islands so it doesn’t feel like the end of the world when it happens. The other thing is on some islands there’s some sort of dark patches that cover the ground and they never look right, like the texture is messed up or something. Everythingelse is super polished though, I really can’t stop playing this game.

by Bobby To Hotttie

I have been looking for a game with this type of strategy for a very long time. This game offers a beatable game that won’t take ten minutes but hours while being able to hold you attention.

Things I want to see in the future-
I would like to see if possible that resources could be collected to build a castle at “your home”, and have that castle get tested by the Vikings.
I would also like to see bigger island and more squads to control. Four is a good number but there were times I craved an all out war between the Vikings and 5-6 squads of my guys. Another thing I think would be awesome is there was another goal to meet in the game that continues the in game growth. Once I get to the last level I don’t want to start over I want to continue on and maybe in the future build castles, collect resources and have a castle defense to it that is permanent.
And last I wish that we could play from the opposite perspective. Let us play as Vikings and coordinate our own attacks on islands and explore the world, pillaging and building bigger and better boats and weapons

Overall this Game is beautiful, but I see so much more in it! Can’t wait for an update!