A Bright Spot In Modern Real Time Strategy
Real time strategy games have not exactly been living their best life over the last decade. Big new RTS releases have been rare, and many classic series have either gone quiet or shifted in new directions. In the middle of this quieter era, Northgard managed to stand out as a genuine success story for PC strategy fans.
Released in 2018, Northgard is a Viking themed RTS that mixes classic base building with fresh ideas. You still manage resources, expand your territory, and command units in real time, but the game layers on systems like harsh seasonal weather and a region based expansion model that makes every piece of land feel important.
The result was one of the most praised strategy games of the last decade. It earned strong reviews and sold over 5 million copies. Rather than rely on nostalgia alone, Northgard built on the ideas of older RTS games while creating its own identity.
Over time the game has been expanded with new campaigns, playable clans, and game modes. Now developer Shiro Games is wrapping much of that content into a single upgraded package called Northgard: Definitive Edition.
What You Get In Northgard: Definitive Edition
Northgard: Definitive Edition is essentially the base game plus a curated selection of key expansions and DLC, along with a few new features for both new and returning players.
The biggest addition is the Cross of Vidar expansion, now bundled directly into the Definitive Edition. This expansion introduces a new story driven campaign that sends your Viking clan into fresh lands set after Ragnarök. If you already enjoyed the original campaign or you like narrative focused RTS missions, this gives you another full set of scenarios to work through.
On top of that, the Definitive Edition adds three DLC clans into the mix:
- Clan of the Snake: A guerrilla focused faction that excels at hit and run tactics and underhanded playstyles. Great if you prefer sabotage and harassment over straight up brawls.
- Clan of the Dragon: Brutal warlords who lean into darker mechanics like slavery and human sacrifice. They control a population of rebellious thralls, offering a very different economic and military rhythm from more straightforward clans.
- Clan of the Horse: A clan centered around two powerful warchiefs, Brok and Eitria. Their design emphasizes hero units and gives you a strong central duo to build your strategy around.
These clans do more than just reskin your units. Each one pushes you to approach the game differently, which adds a lot of replay value. If you enjoy experimenting with builds and factions in RTS games, these clans give you clear reasons to keep returning.
Definitive Edition also brings in a brand new biome themed around Valhalla. Biomes in Northgard affect the look and feel of the map as well as the challenges your clan faces. A Valhalla inspired region lets you colonize a more mythical Viking afterlife setting, which makes late game matches feel fresh if you have already spent many hours in the standard environments.
Alongside the new biome, several existing biomes that were previously locked to Northgard’s Bifröst mode are now available across more game modes. Bifröst is a wave based conquest mode spread across multiple realms, and its special map types were once exclusive to that experience. Rolling those biomes out more widely means more visual and strategic variety in your normal play sessions.
Rounding things out, the Definitive Edition also reworks the in game shop and includes a digital artbook and art gallery. These extras are more about presentation than gameplay, but they are a nice bonus for players who like to dive into concept art and see how the world was built.
Free Update For Veterans And A Deal For New Players
If you already own Northgard on PC, you are not being left behind. All the expansions and extras that make up the Definitive Edition are being folded into the main game as a free update for existing players. That means current owners will get the new biome, the folded in DLC content, and the shop adjustments without buying a separate edition.
For newcomers, Shiro Games is using this release as a chance to make Northgard more appealing up front. Northgard: Definitive Edition has a new standard price of 35 dollars or 29.50 pounds. However, for a limited time it is discounted by 60 percent, bringing the price down to around 14 dollars or 11.80 pounds. The discount runs until December 18, making it an easy recommendation for anyone curious about RTS on PC who has not tried Northgard yet.
This move effectively draws a line under Northgard’s long support period. Instead of juggling multiple DLC pages and expansions, new players can simply grab the Definitive Edition and know they are getting the main campaign, the Cross of Vidar follow up, several distinctive clans, and a richer set of biomes out of the box.
Northgard is not the only RTS making moves right now either. Tempest Rising, a modern successor to Command and Conquer, recently pushed out a major update that adds superweapons to every faction in the game. That update also arrives alongside a public beta for a new playable faction called the Veti. For PC strategy fans, it is another sign that real time strategy is still evolving, even if it is not constantly in the spotlight.
For anyone building or upgrading a gaming PC and looking for games that really reward thoughtful play rather than raw reflexes, Northgard: Definitive Edition is a strong option. It runs well on modest hardware, offers a strategic experience with plenty of depth, and shows that there is still life left in the RTS genre on PC.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/viking-rts-northgard-is-now-northgard-definitive-edition-thanks-to-an-update-that-folds-in-its-major-dlc-and-adds-a-bunch-of-new-stuff-free-to-existing-players/
