Bad North is a real-time strategy rogue-like where you control rag-tag squads of warriors as they defend islands against the onslaught of viking invaders. I initially picked the game up for its minimalist art style that depicts cute little folks warring on teensy land masses suspended in a fog-covered sea. I came for the precipitation, the greenery, and the pastel-colored flags. Little did I know I'd be staying in dogged pursuit of victory.

Because victory in Bad North looks like getting all your little soldiers and their embattled yet charming commanders (who I became very attached to across my runs) to a new home safe from invaders, where they can establish new peaceful lives, raise families, and pursue careers in literature.

The back half of that sentence is not actually in the game, but I can dream. Bad North boils down to using your mouse to click different spaces on a series of islands to move your troops around in an attempt to wipe out boats of arriving vikings before they burn down the island's structures or (worse) slay your commanders. If an island is successfully defended, you get coins based on the number of structures that remain un-pillaged. You can then use these coins to buy power ups for your commanders, better equipping them for future battles.

There are three classes of weaponry in which your commanders can specialize. Archers are useful for picking off enemies from range but will quickly perish in hand-to-hand combat with an opposing melee class. Sword and shield warriors are the most balanced fighters in the game. Meanwhile, pike-wielding squadrons can be run-saving when used to defend strategic positions while standing still. However, they're sitting ducks when on the move.

One of Bad North's crowning achievements is its sense of danger. One of the key ways the game accomplishes this feeling is by introducing a wide variety of viking classes that far overpower player-controlled squadrons if not accounted for properly. While the vikings have the same infantry options that the player has, they also can pull from reserves of giant and deadly viking brutes who throw javelins with devastating precision and speed and pack a major punch in close quarters with melee weaponry.

As you progress from island to island on your way to safety, you're able to see what classes of enemy you'll be faced with on each. However, the number, orientation, and order of your foes is left a mystery, leading to extremely tough decisions that sometimes can feel as foggy as the mist from which the vikings eerily emerge. Sometimes, an island will tease an intimidating viking brute class only to throw one at you. However, other times a seemingly innocuous militia class will overrun your defenses through sheer numbers.

One of the most endearing elements of the game is when you arrive on a new island and are joined by local commanders that you're able to recruit on your journey to safety. I found myself experiencing a surprising amount of emotion for an indie with no explicit narrative arc when an underpowered commander who had just joined my party in this way single-handedly fought his way through a hulking viking brute to save his people from apparent extinction at the end of a blood-drenched battle in the pouring rain. Nothing like an underdog to get my little heart a-pumping. And this game represents them like no other.

That said, Bad North punishes any momentary lapse in focus. If a commander is wiped out, they're permanently dead, erasing what could potentially be hours of leveling up in a certain specialization and leaving your remaining group of escapees vulnerable. Every movement and decision matters - even on normal mode - lest you want to watch your party's biggest strength mercilessly transform before your eyes into its most glaring weakness upon the unforgiving blade of an invading brute.

And yet somehow Bad North also accomplishes a brand of coziness that sometimes even borders on cute. The greenery, precipitation, quaint and folky structures, and overall vibe make it a tempting rainy day at home game.

My partner and I have recently considered adopting a cat, and I think this game would be perfect to play with a cat snuggled on your lap while listening to a storm outside. It, too - much like a cat - can be both snuggly and brutal on its own strange, empowered terms.

While a sometimes uneven progression mechanic and slightly obtuse turn-based movement process mire Bad North's charm at points, it still makes for a very compelling, if punishing journey. It makes me feel like I'm playing chess without all of the inscrutable strategy elements but oftentimes just as much frustration when I lose out of the blue. There's a depth that's couched in a deceptive approachability that makes the game easy to pick up but hard to win. And that's a major accomplishment for an indie.

Some sliders are available at the main menu to make the game a little less frustrating when you die deep into a run. There have been a couple times where I wish I'd turned on the ability to restart an island, for instance, when a couple wrong moves cost me hours of careful progress. So please do turn that ability on if you don't want to have to go back to the beginning for a moment of blissful negligence. Because those vikings can creep up on you, and seeing one of your longtime commanders fall is sadder than you think.

Overall, Bad North has its limits, but it's a good little game that will have you caring far more about your pint-sized warriors and their quest for a new home than you might first imagine. Turn off the blood if you don't want to... well, see a lot of blood. 6/10.

Where it shines:

• Embodies spectrum of cozy to tense
• Simple yet strategic
• Charming art style
• Rainy day vibes

Where it fades:

• Uneven enemy level
• Punishing sometimes to a fault if island restart setting is left off
• Incongruously cartoonish war sounds