Nordhold: Origins

About

"Nordhold: Origins" is a tower defense game set in a medieval Nordic village, where players build, strategize, and defend against 20 waves of enemies. With 14 buildings, 5 towers, and over 80 upgrades, players can enjoy deep tactical gameplay and high replayability through unique combinations. The game also offers heroes, relics, and special events for added depth.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 610 reviews

gameplay26 positive mentions

optimization2 negative mentions

Nordhold: Origins combines tower defense with city-building and roguelite elements, creating a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
The game features a variety of towers and upgrades, allowing for diverse strategies and high replayability.
Players appreciate the balance between resource management and defense, making each run feel rewarding and challenging.

The game can feel repetitive, especially with the need to restart frequently to unlock upgrades and progress.
Some players find the UI inconvenient, particularly when upgrading towers, as it can obscure important information.
The difficulty spikes, especially with certain bosses, can be frustrating and may deter some players from continuing.

gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
50%
9%
The gameplay has been praised for its addictive mechanics and innovative blend of tower defense and rogue-like elements, offering a variety of strategies and a compelling economic component. While the demo showcases solid and enjoyable gameplay, some players noted a lack of depth and repetitiveness, along with suggestions for additional features to enhance castle defense options. Overall, the game shows great potential, but some mechanics may need refinement to improve the balance between skill and progression.
- “I loved this tower defense game's mechanics; it brought many familiar elements with some interesting wrinkles.”
- “The gameplay is simple, yet really addictive, and you always want 'just one more run'.”
- “I like how the game blends in economy and tower defending, adding a bit of spice to the gameplay, and so far I'm having trouble trying to fight the waves, but I think that's just a lack of skill on my part, so I'm more pumped to play and try out different strategies for the game.”
- “But the info on the game is lacking and the gameplay in this demo is a bit too monotonous for me to give a better rating.”
- “This game has great potential, but suffers from the same bad game mechanic that is ruining many games: it is not about skill or strategy but how long you play.”
- “So it will be the gameplay loop by design: lose, get better, lose, get better, lose, get better,.................. win.”
replayability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
25%
15%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players enjoying the variety of tower combinations, procedural maps, and the ability to change strategies with each run. However, some users express concerns about repetitiveness in gameplay and map design, suggesting that while the foundation for replayability is strong, there is room for improvement to enhance long-term engagement.
- “Fun and cozy roguelite tower defense with cool tower combinations, great meta progression, high replayability, and has quite some depth.”
- “Being able to change your economy and tower builds for each run gives a huge amount of replayability.”
- “I look forward to seeing what you plan for the late game since replayability is the main issue at the moment, in my humble opinion.”
- “A fun and detailed tower defense game with a lot of replayability.”
- “Fun tile builder tower defense game with lots of replayability.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their beauty and stability, featuring a clean and detailed aesthetic that enhances the user interface. However, some users noted that while the graphics are pleasant, they can appear bland or muddy at times, and there is potential for further optimization. Overall, the art style and customization options contribute positively to the gameplay experience.
- “Some of the best graphics in a tower defense game I've played.”
- “Clean graphics with smooth running and replayability.”
- “Given that the graphics aren’t very demanding, it seems like there’s still significant room for optimization.”
- “The aesthetic here is bland and muddy.”
- “The graphics are pretty and the game runs stable.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The music in Nordhold is noted for its unnerving and unsettling qualities during gameplay, enhancing the tension of the tower defense experience. Additionally, players appreciate the meaningful upgrades that are complemented by the engaging soundtrack, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “Music, and meaningful run-changing upgrades make Nordhold a tower defense game to watch for.”
- “I really like the music!”
- “The music and sound effects during waves are very unnerving and unsettling.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game currently faces notable optimization issues, particularly with memory leaks that can lead to crashes after extended playtime, despite its relatively undemanding graphics. There is a consensus that there is considerable potential for improvement in this area.
- “It does suffer some problems with optimization at the moment, mainly memory leaks (got up to about 4k usage after 6 hours after which it crashed).”
- “Given that the graphics aren’t very demanding, it seems like there’s still significant room for optimization.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game somewhat tedious, particularly due to the repetitive back-and-forth movement between the tower defense area and the home base, especially when using a mouse. However, many appreciate the learning experience and enjoyment that comes from grinding to unlock bonuses.
- “The back and forth with the mouse to your TD area and the home base is a bit tedious after a while. You could press a key that is defined for that, but I only play it via mouse.”
- “Grinding can be fun to learn, but it does feel a bit repetitive at times while trying to unlock all the bonuses.”