NORSE: Oath of Blood

About

NORSE: Oath of Blood is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Arctic Hazard and was released on February 17, 2026. It received neutral reviews from players.

Special Edition About the Game Join Discord by clicking the button in the link section on the right-side column. Take on the role of Gunnar, a young warrior forced into exile after his father, Jarl Gripr, is killed by the ruthless Steinarr Far-Spear. With his home destroyed and his people scattered, you’ll guide Gunnar as he rebuilds his settlement, forms strategic alliances, and leads…

Genres & Tags

Role Playing

Play Modes

Single-Player

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59%

Audience ScoreBased on 894 reviews

story280 positive mentions

stability225 negative mentions

Engaging story with well-written, likeable, and humorous characters enhanced by excellent voice acting and cinematics.
Fun and rewarding turn-based tactical combat system with strategic depth and satisfying combos.
Settlement building and village management add an additional layer of gameplay, creating progression and immersion in Viking culture.

Game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches including mission softlocks, AI issues, missing or invisible enemies, and animation/graphical glitches that interrupt gameplay.
Poor optimization leading to frequent frame rate drops, crashes, and stuttering even on high-end PCs.
Linear and short campaign with limited side missions or replayability; several gameplay systems feel underdeveloped or superficial, such as crafting, trading, and base building.

story
927 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
67%
3%
The story is generally praised for its solid, engaging, and well-acted Viking-themed narrative with likable characters and effective pacing, drawing players into a classic revenge tale enriched by humor and atmosphere. However, it is often described as linear, somewhat short (around 15-20 hours), and lacking meaningful choices or side missions, leading to limited replayability and a feeling of incompleteness. Despite its strong storytelling, frequent bugs and mission-breaking glitches significantly hinder progression and enjoyment, with many players hoping for future patches, more content, and expansions to fully realize the game's potential.
- “The story is well written and engaging, with a good dose of humor that balances the more serious moments and keeps it entertaining.”
- “The story and characterization are where it really shines, being fully voiced and featuring a lot of cinematics. The writing and characters are loveable, they have real personality and you have a story that draws you in.”
- “The story is easily the strongest part of the experience and what kept me playing. An engaging story, great voice acting and characterization along with gameplay that scratches the X-com itch.”
- “Got stuck in a mission where the proper enemies wouldn't spawn, blocking game progression as it was a story mission that needed to be done.”
- “Most of the time the game looks visually beautiful but gets some stutter now and again; the biggest drawback I have come across is save breaking bugs on the mission 'iron will.' It bugged out and spawned 3 enemies not aggroed, and it won't let me interact with them at all to end the mission. All enemies must be killed yet now I have 3 I can't kill. The autosave filled up with that fight so I can't even load an old save to try and fix it and have to start entirely over with a new game due to a bug.”
- “So many breaking game bugs, items missing, crashes after fights and losing progression, getting locked in a fight because there were enemies outside the combat area that were bugged and not being able to progress, and had to go back to a save before the entire mission.”
gameplay
273 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The gameplay features solid, turn-based, XCOM-style tactical combat combined with village-building and resource management elements that many find engaging and satisfying. However, the experience is frequently marred by numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that disrupt save functionality, mission progression, and overall polish. While the core mechanics and story hold promise and offer fun moments, the gameplay loop feels somewhat shallow, linear, and underdeveloped, with many features seeming incomplete or underutilized.
- “The turn-based combat is both challenging tactically and fun; I love the execution mechanic which involves fishing for crits, and the permadeath/warrior randomisation creates some great emergent storytelling.”
- “Gameplay-wise, combat has depth; positioning and decision-making matter, the settlement building function is good, and trading for requirements to complete projects is a really nice touch—it provides balance between the combat and eliminates that one-dimensional feel.”
- “Proper Viking tale of vengeance and family, a sort of iron age X-Com, with good tactical gameplay and village building.”
- “Gameplay, while it can seem deep at first, it's quite easy to run through most missions without ever taking damage; on the highest difficulty, I didn't get hurt once on the final mission except at the start of the last fight where an enemy started before me.”
- “I really want to love this game but there are currently too many bugs for it to be worth it. There's a 50/50 chance that if a combat is in two parts it will glitch on you, and if there is a cutscene it's 100%. Forget about loading a save in the middle of the fight or autosave after the cutscene—you will have to start all over and hope it doesn't glitch again. Stuck on the 3rd story mission because of said glitch. While many complain about animation, the gameplay and mechanics are great, and the story isn't bad so far, it just needs all the bugs hammered out.”
- “Unless the game gets a major overhaul of the base gameplay loop, including gear progression, numerical values on the gear, and enemy AI, it'll just be too shallow of a gameplay experience to be worth your time.”
stability
231 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
1%
97%
The game is currently plagued by numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues, including crashes, graphical errors, save/load problems, and occasional game-breaking bugs. While many players find the core gameplay and story enjoyable, these technical problems significantly hinder the overall experience, making the release feel unpolished and rushed. Ongoing patches are expected to improve stability, but in its current state, the game is often frustrating and sometimes nearly unplayable.
- “I got an XTX and run everything on max and it runs great; I had only one crash, likely due to a corrupted save.”
- “I am playing with no glitches or game-breaking errors.”
- “In combat or closed environments (like town), it still runs great.”
- “From a technical standpoint the game is insanely buggy and poorly optimised.”
- “I have never in my life played such a buggy mess of a "full release"; if you told me this was early beta I'd believe you.”
- “The bugs and glitches are just so overwhelming and with having a bug that hard locks your playthrough not even a quarter into story, is truly just unacceptable.”
optimization
220 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
59%
29%
The game suffers from widespread poor optimization, resulting in frequent stutters, low frame rates, crashes, and buggy animations even on high-end PCs. While some players experience smoother performance, many report severe technical issues and game-breaking bugs that significantly hinder enjoyment. Developers are actively patching the game, so improvements are expected, but currently the optimization problems considerably impact the overall experience.
- “Simply put this game has some performance issues and other issues that when resolved will make the game overly solid.”
- “However, after the first patch I have not had any other game breaking bug issues; and the overall performance has improved significantly.”
- “Once they sort out performance issues it will be a good game I think.”
- “My biggest concern is the fact that when I try to load my saves it takes me to a black screen and does nothing, so the 9 hours I had played are in the trash; on top of all the performance issues I can barely run the game on medium settings with some on low, even if my computer sets itself to high and epic graphics. The AI seems way more powerful than my last save, with enemies taking 4-6 moves each turn while I can barely manage 2 moves. They should have released the game in a better state; with the console version this spring, this game is a hot mess and I've been waiting for a good turn-based game since XCOM 2.”
- “Broken animations, disappearing textures, performance issues (even on an RTX 5090), and tons of bugs, including a black screen after the scene where you flee the attack, make the game super clunky and unplayable as it is.”
- “The performance is extremely poor and the game is riddled with bugs.”
graphics
165 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The game features generally strong and atmospheric graphics, with particularly praised facial animations and cinematics. However, numerous users report frequent graphical glitches, bugs, clipping issues, and occasional crashes that disrupt immersion and gameplay, alongside performance and optimization problems even on high-end hardware. While the visuals have potential and add to the game's appeal, many feel an urgent need for patches to address these graphical inconsistencies and improve overall stability.
- “The graphics are very good, and the cinematics are fluid — it’s clear a lot of love and effort went into them.”
- “The graphics are UE5, so if you have the rig for it, it will look great; the faces and animations for cutscenes especially are top tier.”
- “Great visuals and cutscenes, enjoyable gameplay.”
- “Only graphical glitches are left.”
- “The graphics fail to render properly at times, which makes the world feel unfinished.”
- “There are countless minor bugs as well: resources found during missions were not awarded at the end of the game (or only partially), some character body parts turn invisible, Gunnar is bald in certain scenes, Sigrid occasionally has no arm, clothing clips through objects, and the lighting and environmental visuals are a complete disaster.”
humor
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s humor is widely praised for its clever, often Scandinavian-inspired wit, quirky characters, and funny dialogue that balances serious moments while enhancing immersion. Voice acting and motion capture add to the comedic delivery, making many players laugh out loud despite some bugs that occasionally result in unintentionally humorous visuals. Overall, the humor is seen as a strong and refreshing highlight that significantly enriches the storytelling experience.
- “These really pulled me into the story, there were quite a few funny moments which was surprising and refreshing; we don't see comedy in games very often these days.”
- “The story is well written and engaging, with a good dose of humor that balances the more serious moments and keeps it entertaining.”
- “Hilarious dialogues, good voice acting, and very realistic motion capture and facial expressions, which I did not expect from this non-AAA title.”
music
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
47%
9%
The music in the game is widely praised for its strong Nordic and Viking atmosphere, featuring authentic elements like Norwegian throat singing and an immersive, gritty soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Several users highlight the soundtrack as a standout aspect, often describing it as "incredible" and worthy of repeat listening outside the game. However, some players report technical issues where the music stops or plays over black screens, which detracts from the enjoyment for those affected.
- “Combat feels solid, the setting is immersive, and the soundtrack helps sell that gritty Norse experience.”
- “Graphics, gameplay and combat are all great but the soundtrack and voice acting in this game are on another level.”
- “Actually played over 21 hours now, loving the game, turn based combat, settlement planning/building, great story and setting and fantastic music by Galdercraft.”
- “Multiple crashes occur when trying to load save files; the music stops and the screen goes black, forcing the program to close.”
- “I click continue, get a black screen and some music, and then... nothing happens.”
- “Tried loading my save game on day 2 of launch and it won't load—just gets stuck on a black loading screen with Norse music.”
atmosphere
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
43%
14%
The game’s atmosphere is widely praised for its strong Viking-inspired setting, immersive storytelling, and excellent voice acting, effectively capturing a grounded and authentic Norse vibe. While some find occasional moments faltering or noted bugs impacting the experience, the overall ambiance, supported by a fitting soundtrack and charismatic characters, is considered a standout element that enhances the narrative and gameplay.
- “The viking atmosphere is awesome, the characters are charismatic, and the whole vibe feels heavily inspired by the Vikings TV show — which is a huge plus for me.”
- “The narrative feels like a proper saga, and the presentation really sells the atmosphere.”
- “Norse: Oath of Blood delivers a grounded, tactically demanding Viking experience with strong realism and atmosphere.”
- “The concept and atmosphere are promising, but the game needs a lot of work.”
- “An alternative logic, incomprehensible to the human mind, and the lack of even an attempt to create an ancient Norse atmosphere.”
- “Great game/atmosphere, but veeeeryyy buggy.”
replayability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
The game generally lacks replayability due to its short length, linear and scripted missions, and limited story choices, making subsequent playthroughs feel repetitive or chore-like. While some see potential for greater replay value with added content or modes, current reviews suggest it provides minimal incentive to replay. Many recommend waiting for updates or a sale before purchase.
- “It would be nice to add more choices to the story, different paths to explore, that could add replayability.”
- “Norse has the potential to be an infinitely replayable simulator, and it's baffling to me that they didn't even consider that.”
- “Some endgame content, replayable missions, new game+ or whatever.”
- “I dunno, for the full price at $45, it just lacks replayability and is way too short, in my opinion.”
- “10 hours and you played the whole game with absolutely no replay value.”
- “Even so, without a sandbox mode and with all missions fully scripted, it doesn’t seem to offer much replay value.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
90%
10%
Reviews on the game's emotional impact are mixed: some players found it deeply moving and engaging, especially through character interactions and story arcs, while others felt the narrative and dialogue lacked depth, emotional stakes, and suffered from distracting elements that diminished key moments. Incorporating romance and lineage systems was suggested to enhance emotional investment.
- “When a game can draw you in and elicit real emotions, yes the damn thing made me cry, you know you have a top tier game.”
- “Their dialogue and interactions carry much of the emotional weight of the experience.”
- “I blinked and suddenly I was deep in Viking politics, emotionally attached to characters, and questioning my real-world responsibilities.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
Grinding in the game is generally seen as tedious and poorly designed, with crafting, equipping, and material farming feeling clumsy and unintuitive. Technical issues and bugs further complicate progression, making the second half of the game feel like a slog despite the presence of all current content. Overall, the grinding experience detracts from the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.
- “I was to the point where I got no more quests at around 70 turns, so I just kept farming materials.”
- “Both obtaining recipes and crafting them at the crafters are tedious, counterintuitive, and overall not well thought out.”
- “It has a boatload of technical issues though, is rather hard to run, has some clumsy animations and battles that can get tedious in the second half of the game.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game receives mixed feedback, with some praising the cut scenes and voice acting, while others find the development lackluster. Additionally, character abilities and equipment are generally well-received, though the main character's design is often viewed as unappealing or goofy.
- “Where this game wins for me was the cut scenes, voice acting, and character development.”
- “Character development, abilities, and equipment are pretty good.”
- “Character development is lackluster.”
- “The character design for the main character is very unappealing and downright goofy looking sometimes.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's monetization is widely viewed as a cash grab, leading to strong recommendations to avoid it for now, with potential value only emerging in the distant future.
- “Avoid this cash grab for now but might be worth it in the far distant future.”
- “Feels like a cash grab.”