Wednesday 15 / January / 2025
Humans have always been fascinated by the unknown. The bravest of the brave have voluntarily gone to explore what lies beyond what they know, while the rest of us play it safe and stay home, not knowing what we’ll encounter out there.
From Ferdinand Magellan to Christopher Columbus, Vasco Da Gama to James Cook, Roald Amundsen to Yuri Gagarin, the world has seen many brave souls step forward to go where no man has previously gone before.
While most explorers did so in the name of king and country, the Vikings roved beyond their lands for one reason and one reason alone: Survival.
In Ancestors: Legacy, players are given the change to set sail alongside the Vikings in a new game that uncovers their terrifying and bloody past.
Developed by Polish gaming company Destructive Creations (an apt oxymoron), Ancestors: Legacy puts you in charge of six different Viking leaders, all of whom command their own factions. These include raiders from the Slavic nations, Scandinavia, England, Poland, and Germania, to mention a few. While most strategy games place you in command of large armies that can always resort to overwhelming might to crush their opponents, Ancestors: Legacy is a game that forces you to think. You are not the commander here, but one of many, commanding a section of a much larger army.
Players are limited to a maximum of 10 squads of men, which means you need to think about what needs to be done first. Protecting your villages is a must, as they provide the food with which you feed your troops and the iron and wood that is shaped into weapons and armour. But the more troops you allocate to protecting your villages, the less you can throw at the enemy.
Most factions have a few basic troops that have the same function, in addition to a couple of unique units. Spearmen, archers and some sort of sword or axe and shield fighters are common among all the various civilisations that you play, as is a regulation mounted unit.
Unique units these groups have are rather fun to play with, and significantly alter the way you approach a game. Norsemen can call on their bloodthirsty Berserkers to terrorise the enemy, but will they be able to reach the Slavic mounted archers in time? You better hope they do, because Berserkers do not know the meaning of the word ‘retreat’.
Far from being a tactic of the weak, it is sometimes wise to retreat in this game, which prioritises hit-and-run tactics over pitched battles. This is doubly important when you’re using a combination of ranged and melee units: Viking archers, given the close quarters of battle, will sometimes accidentally hit their own units in combat.
Another really useful system in this game has to be the replenishment and healing capabilities of your troops. When not in combat, your troops can halt and set up camp, which helps them heal their wounded. If you’re near one of your own settlements, it helps you replenish your casualties.
The experienced gamer in you may not think he might avail of what’s available to you, but before long, you’ll need it. In one of the campaigns, during the Viking invasion of England, you’re ordered to storm Lindisfarne cathedral across a narrow stone bridge, with archers raining down fire on you. Had it not been for the nearby settlement, it would’ve been an invasion that would’ve ended in failure. It’s a good thing it didn’t though – that was the first major Viking invasion, and it’s led to a long and storied history that’s given us such a wonderful game.
The Short and Skinny
Name: Ancestors: Legacy
Genre: Historical RTS
What it’s about: The winter is over, it’s time to catch the tide and join your Viking comrades to new lands. There’s plenty to see, plenty to do, and of course, plenty to plunder
Produced by: Destructive Creations
Platforms: Windows
Where to buy: Steam, Amazon, Destructive Creations website, Instant Gaming
IGN Rating: 7/10
