Northgard vs Tropico Reloaded
Northgard
Northgard is a rather unique city-builder/strategy game that allows you to lead a group of Northmen to unknown new shores in hopes of making a life there. Like most city-building games, you'll need to help them set up a home, assign your Vikings to perform various roles, ensure there is enough food to feed the entire village, and amass a small army to help defend your territories from other hostile clans. The strategic aspects of the game may not be obvious at first but you'll quickly realize that new territories that you discover (you don't exactly need to conquer it for this to work) will present new strategic opportunities for your clan to expand or grow, be it new sources for food or a nice place to set up a new trading post. There are many victory conditions as well, so it's not always "kill or be killed" in this game.Northgard offers players a single player experience by playing with AIs with various personalities or with their friends online. However, many players have reported that the game does have a somewhat flawed AI-player relationship. Even if you're best buddies with an AI's clan through healthy trading relationships, their clan members will still attack your people, which frankly feels a lot like a betrayal. It'd be nice to have a tutorial as well.
That said though, Northgard is an impressive game especially if you enjoy a bit of city-builder/strategy game like Valhalla Hills.
Tropico Reloaded
Tropico Reloaded is a strategic nation-building game that may feel a little like one of those really in-depth city-building simulation games. However, playing the role of the leader of a banana republic rather than simply being the mayor, you have a wider reach and influence over your people - you can choose to rule with an iron grip or with benevolence - and also the ability to amass an army to defend your said republic from external invaders and internal dissidents. Of course, you can also choose to be corrupt and set aside some funds for your swiss bank account.The game's expansion, Tropico: Paradise Island allows you to not only bring natural disasters on your people but also build tourist attractions as you open up your country for others to visit and of course, to bring in tons of cash. This reloaded version even includes Tropico 2, which will see you ruling over a pirate island as the Pirate King.
Tropico lets players enjoy the fun of managing their own country in their own respective ways much like a simulation game would, and yet, there is also a strategic element to it as you'll need to lead your armies or pirate crew to defend your people from time to time. This game may appeal to fans of city-builders or people who have always imagine themselves leading a nation.