Bad North

Bad North is built on a simple but tense premise – viking ships land on small islands, and the player must position a handful of defenders so they can protect the settlement before the raiders burn everything down. Plausible Concept chose austere, low-poly visuals that seem charming at first glance, but it quickly becomes clear this is a merciless roguelike tactics game where a fallen unit stays dead for good.

The controls are built directly for touchscreens – units are moved by dragging a finger across the island, formations and special abilities are changed by tapping icons, and the whole game feels more natural than PC strategy game ports, where the same commands used to be issued with a mouse. Short missions lasting just a few minutes make it an ideal title for shorter play sessions, even though the difficulty gradually increases and forces the player to rethink defender positioning on every new island from scratch, since surviving units carry their injuries and experience between maps.

This is a one-time paid game with no ads or microtransactions, which fits its focused, compact scope without unnecessary content bloat. Bad North is a celebrated example of how minimalist visuals and well-thought-out turn-based combat can create a dense tactical experience without needless menu or system complexity, while still keeping players engaged for dozens of hours thanks to procedurally generated islands.

Why play it: Recommended for players looking for short but tense tactical battles with permanent losses, who appreciate an economical visual style built specifically for touch controls.