SKALD: Against the Black Priory is a retro-styled computer role-playing game by High North Studios, the Norwegian studio of designer Anders Lauridsen, previously trading as Scape-IT. It is published by Raw Fury and launched on May 30th, 2024 for Windows and macOS at $14.99. It is drawn in a limited Commodore 64 palette, over a Lovecraftian story.

Style and design#

• 8-bit inspired presentation, built in Unity
• Parties of up to six characters
• Grid combat with directional facing: attacks land along cardinal directions, which lets rogues manoeuvre for backstabs
• Skill checks in dialogue, crafting for food and potions, and customisable classes with shared skills

Story#

Your ship is destroyed by a kraken-like creature off the Outer Isles. You wash up searching for Embla, a childhood friend and noble mage who sailed for the isles first, and find a land corrupted by Lovecraftian forces.

Reception#

76/100 on Metacritic from 13 critic reviews, and around 93% positive on Steam. RPGFan scored it 89/100. Larian's Swen Vincke publicly recommended it.

Concessions#

SKALD has no vertical one-handed UI as it's exclusively for PC.

Inspirations#

• Gold Box
• Ultima (the early games)
• Baldur's Gate
• Planescape: Torment
• Icewind Dale
• Fallout
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Pillars of Eternity
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

External articles#

• Skald: Against the Black Priory review — PC Gamer
• SKALD: Against the Black Priory Review — RPGFan (89/100)
• SKALD: Against the Black Priory review — God is a Geek
• REVIEW: SKALD: Against the Black Priory — Grimdark Magazine
• SKALD: Against the Black Priory is an old school CRPG with modern sensibilities — Game Developer
• "SKALD: Against the Black Priory" Released on Steam and GOG — The Ultima Codex
• SKALD: Against the Black Priory is Out Now! — Raw Fury
• Reviews aggregate — Metacritic
• Skald: Against the Black Priory — Wikipedia
• SKALD: Against the Black Priory — forum thread — RPG Codex

Screenshots#