I found this little gem as I was wandering thru the steam store. It's a time management type game like "My Kingdom for the Princess" and very well done. It runs very well on my older PC and has cute music and nice looking graphics.

And my favorite part...It has a relax mode so I can play without having a timer stress me out. There are two types of timed game play (normal and hard) if that's your thing, but I personally don't like timed games.

There is one bad point...If you have your window's display setting set to 125% or higher, the game is not smart enough to display properly. This is easily fixed by temporarily changing your window's display setting back to 100%. But if you don't, the game will not fit your screen. In windowed mode, the game will extend past the bottom of your screen and full screen will chop off both the right and bottom parts of the game.

Overall, this is a fun little game and well worth 3 dollars.

Nothern Tale is a time manager with a tremendous amount of potential, ruined by pacing issues, a lack of a proper story, and level design that is mediocre at best.

Northern Tale 1 is just another entry in the sea of resource managers where we have to use our small workforce to gather resources, clear roads, and construct production buildings. This time, we do it to cleanse the Viking land from a curse, while also saving the three daughters of our hero, Ragnar, from an evil sorceress. I just hope you like this premise, because the entire story is four small cut-scenes, nothing more.

The game has an incredible variety in mechanics, especially when it comes to resource gathering: we have the usual piles on the road, upgradeable production buildings, free but slow tree trunks, and depleting mines.
Despite this abundance, all levels feel incredibly limited, since all upgrades cost wood and we constantly have to wait for it to replenish. This also means that unless we play non-timed modes, it is often impossible to get more than two workers, as the level goals are brutally tight and most stages act like puzzles, where one wrong move can result in large time losses or a reset.

In the end, Northern Tale 1 is more like a foundation that can be skipped in favour of the later games, unless you really want to experience the small story for yourself.

I suppose this is for young children, as it is the definition of a bare-bones time-management game. Except i've played through 1/3rd of the game and have yet to encounter the squirrel Viking. Anyway, if you have played any of the Viking Brothers games, the setting here is similar. The levels have no story or dialogue to them, and nothing new happens in level 14 that didn't already happen in level 1: that is, you don't learn any new skills or upgrades or encounter any new obstacles. The level design is likewise rudimentary-- I often only used one viking as a level might be designed like a single spiral and thus an extra body would not have saved any time. And there are no Steam achievements, so you might as well play the entire game on relaxed mode. There are 3 Acts of 15 levels each. I have finished the first in about 2 hours, so expect the entire game will take about 6 or 7. Verdict: a single thumbs up if you're the target audience of ages 4 to 14.

(And obviously, consider this a thumbs down if you dislike Moai, Hercules, or the Viking Brothers games.)

Note: it is very possible to get "stuck" on some levels, as unlike Moai and some other such games, you have no control of where farms and mines are built. What worked for me was always to head my viking towards the nearest mine or farm and make sure that I was getting resources from it first before heading anywhere else.

I thoroughly enjoyed Northern Tale and would play it again! What I like most about it is it caters to my playing style. Rather than rushing through trying to complete the level in a certain amount of time, I like to play relaxed and complete everything: all resources picked up, all holes filled, all buildings to the max, etc. Northern Tale allows me to do that and doesn't penalize me for playing that way (3 stars awarded on all completed levels).

Even though some levels can lead to "strategy meltdown" (choosing the wrong strategy requiring a restart of the level), it is usually apparent relatively quickly so doesn't waste a lot of time replaying the level with a different strategy. One level I actually started three times because the strategy in the first two attempts were blocked with no way to proceed.

If you like the genre or you're new to time management / strategy, you might want to give it a whirl.

This Time Management game has charming artworks and the unusual possibility to play without timer. If you would like to try one of those game without being stressed by the time limit, this one may be the right to buy to test out.

Northern Tale is an amazing game of time management. You play as a viking who has to beat some levels to defeat a witch and save your daughters. Some levels are very difficult and despite the fact the the game doesn't have Steam Achievements, it has 50 achievements inside the game. The music is great and I can spend hours and hours playing this. Recommended!

Game Information

"Northern Tales" is a Strategy game. The game was developed by Realore Studios and published by Qumaron.

"Northern Tales" is the first episode of "Northern Tales."

The Game Review

Game Visuals

I want to mention that the visuals in the game are well done. The visuals can be adjusted in the game's option menu.

Game Audio

I want to mention that audio for the game is well done. Even though the audio is somewhat simplistic and repetitive. The audio can be adjusted in the game's option menu as well.

Gameplay

This is a strategy game, where careful planning is required, due to the limited amount of resources that are available.

There are three different difficulty game modes to choose from: Normal; Multi-task; Relaxed. The difference between these difficulty game modes are: Timer Speed and Scoring. The normal mode, the timer speed and scoring is low. The multi-task mode, the timer speed and scoring are moderately high. The relaxed mode, the timer speed is frozen and scoring is moderately high.

There are three different chapters. All the chapters have fifteen regular levels and bonus levels. All levels can be replayed for better scoring and star rating.

All levels have a three star rating system. The stars are earned from playing the game. The star rating system represents how fast the level has been completed. Three Stars (Gold;) Two Stars (Silver;) One Star (Bronze.) There is an opportunity to replay levels for better star rating.

There are several different special power ups to help complete the level faster. These special bonus power ups come with a time limit. But they can be used again after they have been recharged overtime.

There are fifty-eight different achievements that can be unlocked from playing the game. Each of these achievements does come with some requirements that need to be completed before they can be unlocked. These achievements are in-game only.

Miscellaneous

Final thoughts: I have found the game enjoyable to certain extent. The replay value for the game is low. I would recommend this game, but not at the game's full price value.

If you ever played the endless stream of Hercules games, this is like that. Maybe a little more simple, but the gist is the same.

Always better in a bundle, but at 2.99 USD it is ok.

5/10 full price
8/10 in a bundle where it is inexpensive, and you realize it is pretty simple and takes your mind off of things.

Came for the hamster viking, stayed for a very relaxing and satisfying game!

A funny casual game!