ASKA

• Up to 4 players can play together and command villagers, building their tribe from the ground up, hunting for resources, and surviving the ancient threat winter will bring
• Assign each villager various jobs as they contribute to the tribe and leave their own mark on the settlement.
• Construct workshops, mines, farms, castles, and defences as you expand your village
• Discover hidden caves, and other incredible areas in the world, all filled with loot and valuable resources
• Sail your own customisable Viking ship, discover new lands, and build outposts across the world. Set up supply lines between settlements and create a self-sufficient Viking empire
• Explore a fantastical, completely procedurally generated world filled with secrets, landmarks and threats, keeping every session dynamic and fresh.
• Experience a realistic and dynamic weather system across the world, with survival priorities shifting in turn with the seasons
• Fight a variety of mythical enemies in exciting skill-based combat.
• Customize buildings with functional furniture and various decorative items.

Judging from the Steam store page content - plus additional information from the Discord- this is a pretty great example of a Lifestyle Survival title from our subgenre list, similar to Medieval Dynasty. Juggle cold/thirst/hunger while surviving weather, animal & undead AI.

This is an exciting title in mechanics & structure. Kind of like throwing Medieval Dynasty into a bag with Valheim and New World, then giving it a few good shakes. I prefer more of an aerial overlord approach to having minions - think Frostpunk- versus having them bumbling around in my space. But that could also be because these types of helper AI typically tend to suck. Getting caught on shit, attacking the wrong thing, etc. With the villagers being such a cornerstone of the gameplay, it will likely be a game aspect that the developers spend time perfecting. 

I've briefly glanced through some developer streams (you can check out their Twitch for the videos), but overall, things seem clean. If you ignore the obvious Viking overtones to everything, it does remind me of New World in terms of the look of the world/UI/gathering. (Maybe that's because I've wished- literally since playing in Beta- that New World had gone more into survival over PvP.) Procedurally generated world too, which is all the rage these days!

Going to keep trying to sign up for the beta signups as they post them, and I'll update this when I can! 

Game Notes

• There will be no character creation, just pre-made heroes. (Steam discussion post)
• According to the developer, it will be "100% the same game experience," whether playing solo or with friends. So singletons rejoice! (Steam discussion post)
• The building resembles RTS/City builders more than bushcraft-style survival games. Buildings will be prefabricated, though they can be furnished with player or AI crafted decorations. (Steam discussion post)
• No first-person view is planned. (Steam discussion post)
• The game will be launching directly into early access, no Kickstarter. (Discord FAQ)
• The console release seems aimed at Xbox, though it's a question pending more detail in their Discord FAQ. This will include controller support. (Discord FAQ)

Website Changelog

• 3/9/23- Changelog added.