NORSE: Oath of Blood

Too many crashes. Boring gameplay a lack of polish. Don't recommend.

Tough but fun combat and enjoyable town management

Gute Story, lediglich zu kurz.

hitting people in the face with axes while calling them pig f**kers, i like it lol

Играть можно

Decent game. Kinda short and with unrealized potential. But the game mechanics are strong and the story compelling enough. Hopefully they expand the world with some DLC and more work but at 15/20 euros i would say the price is right.

Most reviews answer the simple question: "Should I buy this?" The short answer is yes. I'd rather answer a different question: "How does NORSE: Oath of Blood compare to the closest games in its genre, and who is it actually for?" If you're trying to decide between similar games instead of simply whether this one is worth buying, this review is for YOU. NORSE: Oath of Blood reminds me a lot of Dead In Vinland, though it takes a different approach. It's much more story-driven and gives the player less agency. The RPG elements are also significantly lighter. Unlike Dead In Vinland, where character stats, gathering, crafting, and specialized skills all influenced how efficiently you progressed, NORSE streamlines those systems in favor of narrative. Exploration is also much less player-driven. Instead of freely deciding where to go, the game follows a fairly linear sequence of events. It's possible there are meaningful variations on multiple playthroughs, but so far I haven't seen much evidence of that. It does make me wonder how much replay value the game will have. That said, I'm having a great time with it. The story is presented through fully 3D animated scenes and interactions, which adds a lot of immersion. Exploration of the mission areas is fairly basic, but it's a nice step up from simple point-and-click gameplay. The movement and camera could definitely use some work, though—they often fight the player when it comes to positioning and viewing angles. Even so, the transition to fully 3D movement and combat works surprisingly well. Combat feels satisfying, and while it uses a skill system similar to Dead In Vinland, the battles themselves feel more dynamic thanks to the 3D presentation. I did experience several crashes, mostly early in the game. Because of that, I'd strongly recommend saving often, especially at the beginning and after important actions. Thankfully, the crashes seem to have stopped as I've progressed, but I still save frequently out of habit. From what I've read, the game was in a much rougher state at launch, so I'm glad I waited. It feels noticeably more polished now, though there's still room for improvement. If you enjoy games like Dead In Vinland and want a similar experience with a stronger focus on story and a fully 3D presentation, this is an easy recommendation. It's been a while since I played Dead In Vinland, so I can't confidently say which one I'd recommend over the other yet. Maybe my opinion will change after I finish NORSE. One thing I do remember is that Dead In Vinland felt much more bleak and depressing, whereas NORSE, despite its difficult beginning, has felt a bit less oppressive overall. That said, if you're looking beyond these two games and simply want the best this particular style of RPG has to offer, my recommendation is still Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Those games take many of the same ideas—meaningful choices, resource and kingdom management, party building, and branching narratives—and elevate them to another level. They offer an amount of player agency that's hard to match, letting you shape not only your character but an entire kingdom and its future through your decisions. The downside is that they also raise the bar considerably. After spending hundreds of hours with them, it's difficult not to compare every game in this niche against what they accomplished. That doesn't make games like NORSE or Dead In Vinland any less enjoyable—they simply have different ambitions and a much smaller scope. But if you're on the fence and can only pick one game from this broader genre, Pathfinder would still be my first recommendation. Just don't be surprised if, once you've finished both games, you find yourself chasing that same feeling without many titles quite managing to recreate it.