Clan Raven artwork from the Northgard strategy game

Northgard is a viking themed real-time strategy from the makers of Evoland. In the most basic terms I can describe it as a hybrid between the Civilization and Settlers series, though with less complexity than either of those. What I mean by this comparison is that Northgard shares a similar focus on city-building, resource management, tight production circles, and open-ended playstyles that allow you to do secure victory in whichever way you wish.

After launching in Early Access a short while ago Northgard has now received its very first major update. The definite highlight is the addition of a brand new faction - Clan Raven. They start with the Trading Lore automatically researched and a couple of buffs that directly relate to amassing wast amounts of currency. This directly ties into Clan Raven's ability to pay for colonization with gold rather than food, essentially allowing them to expand at a surprisingly rapid pace. Add to this their unique building "The Harbor" that allows Clan Raven to launch vast amounts of angry vikings to raid all of their neighbors and you've got yourself a clan that can easily outpace the opposition.

While the new faction is certainly a great addition, it is all the random changes that excite me the most. When I first did my review back in February Northgard had some very annoying technical issues that made controlling units needlessly complicated, but this update has now fixed almost all of those problems! Units are now much easier to select, standard RTS control groups have been added, maps now generate more food so you don't just get unwinnable spawn points, and the list goes on.

If you're interested in all of the changes you will find the full patch notes by heading over here. On the other hand, if you're interested in Northgard itself you will find it for €20 on Steam, but just do bear in mind that its currently in Early Access and as such unfinished.

Northgard screenshot of clan Raven in-game