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Game
Game2024
SKALD: Against the Black Priory
Developer High North Studios AS
Skald: Against the Black Priory is a 2024 role-playing video game developed by High North Studios and published by Raw Fury Games. It has a retro style influenced by the 1980s Ultima games. Players attempt to find a lost friend in a cursed land overrun with Lovecraftian monsters. The game generally received mixed-to-positive reviews, with general praise for the aesthetics and retro feel, though with some criticism… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
389 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
90
LovedLoved
228 positive · 26 negative
95% range 85–93%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 228 | 26 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 48 | 2 | 62 |
| Lemmy * | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Mastodon * | 4 | 1 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
3,015 of 3,218 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
90% recommend · 217 yes, 23 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 240 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (3,434 of 3,667 positive).
Players praise the game's atmosphere, music, and Lovecraftian horror. [1][2][3] Many note it captures the feel of classic RPGs like Ultima. [4][5][6] Some reviewers say the second half is weaker than the first. [7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
A game that was clearly rushed. The first half is excellent. Cosmic horror themes are dead on the money. Pacing is great. Characters are well-written. The game world feels full and rich. I 100% recommend the game up through the end of the segment where you visit Horryn (so up through and including Chapter 2, I believe). If you were to stop here, you'd have a nice, Lovecraftian story, tied up in a bow. And yes, for …
- [1]
This is the unusual example of a game that I absolutely loved, but I don't know anyone who I can recommend it to. So this recommendation goes out into the ether for folks who share my tastes more than my friends do. This game isn't well served by its comparison to its algorithmic relative. There's strategy and exploration and resource management and tactics, yes. But if you're expecting an open-world, or a Baldurs …
- [2]
A little rough around the edges, but a great game. Worth its base price and definitely on sale. I'll start with the praise, because overall I recommend grabbing this one. Music: I love the soundtrack and my only gripe is there aren't *more* tracks. Story: Pretty traditional Lovecraftian horror story, but well executed. World building is light and vague, but it absolutely is ripe for expansion. Gameplay: QoL …
- [5]
This game is so much fun. A Nostalgic feel that's cozy (That's for how it FEELS to play the game, not what the contents of the game are by the way lol). Like you're 12 years old again, getting to use the family computer, it's the Christmas Holiday and you can sit back and play the new Ultima all day long. Except, it has modern designs in mind, which means as an adult with children, a fulltime job, and other …
- [3]
Nice game. I admit I find myself coming back, despite some frustrating issues. *** PROS: -Very reminiscent of the old gold-box SSI rpgs, and definitely scratches that itch, -Incorporates some elements from other adventure/rpg games. (fog of war, stealth, lite cooking&crafting, resource collecting, party camping and management). Definitely borrows elements nicely from BG3. -Interesting positioning phase prior to …
Summarised from 34 of the 348 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
SKALD: Against the Black Priory sits at 90% positive across 254 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Skald: Against the Black Priory received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, earning an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 13 critic reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Rock Paper Shotgun enjoyed how it modernized 1980s-era game design. Though they experienced several bugs, they gave Skald an enthusiastic recommendation, saying that its charm overwhelmed the minor annoyances they encountered. PC Gamer praised how the horror atmosphere intruded on a typical fantasy world, turning it occasionally surprising and disturbing. Eurogamer said that it "exudes grisly character" but felt it did not offer anything beyond what other retro role-playing games…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 389 · most liked firstSo happy to be here on Bsky! A real breath of fresh air so great to only see #gamedev posts in me feed🤩 I'll be reposting content from my game going forward for my new (and old) friends: Here is an alchemist's hidden underground lab. For "Skald: Against the Black Priory" (Link in thread)⚔️
neutral · AI labelView post →Making a nostalgic game is not about recreating perfect technical accuracy, but capturing the feeling of how we remember the influences through our rose-tinted nostalgia glasses - Realization from dev of Skald: Against the Black Priory @highnorthstudios.bsky.social #gamedev #indiedev #skald #rpg
neutral · AI labelView post →A game that was clearly rushed. The first half is excellent. Cosmic horror themes are dead on the money. Pacing is great. Characters are well-written. The game world feels full and rich. I 100% recommend the game up through the end of the segment where you visit Horryn (so up through and including Chapter 2, I believe). If you were to stop here, you'd have a nice, Lovecraftian story, tied up in a bow. And yes, for every question you had answered, you'd have two in its place. But that's the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey Bluesky-guys I need y'all to know that Skald - the video game - is now out and that I did a dozens of gnarly and detailed illustrations and animations for it! ⚔️
neutral · AI labelView post →Yet another banger of a giveaway game today. Again, 24 hours only - Skald: Against The Black Priory, a pointed DOS-styled, EGA-graphics old school RPG.
neutral · AI labelView post →This is the unusual example of a game that I absolutely loved, but I don't know anyone who I can recommend it to. So this recommendation goes out into the ether for folks who share my tastes more than my friends do. This game isn't well served by its comparison to its algorithmic relative. There's strategy and exploration and resource management and tactics, yes. But if you're expecting an open-world, or a Baldurs Gate 3 level tactical nuance then you're going to be disappointed. What this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Conversations with the 8yo DM: 8yo DM: So you want to play a bard in my viking campaign? Me: Yes. If that works for you. 8yo DM: Well, now I will have to use steam elementals in the game. Me: Why is that? 8yo DM: So I can Skald him.
neutral · AI labelView post →"Players didn't abandon the X genre - Publishers did!" - Creator of SKALD RPG, @highnorthstudios.bsky.social, on the topic of finding #indiedev success in a niche market. It doesn't matter that a game doesn't have mainstream appeal that everyone LIKE, as long as enough people LOVE it!
neutral · AI labelView post →Skald got 4 nominations and won “Best Debut” at the Norwegian Game Awards! Skald is also nominated for “Best Game” and “Best Debut” at the Nordic Game Awards! Thank you so much to everyone who made this possible. And the best yet: The most exciting part is still ahead! Watch this space in 2026!
neutral · AI labelView post →Favourite game or crack cocaine specifically designed for me? I couldn't really say. There are so many other rpgs hiding under the pillars entries as well like Skald, the Shadowrun games DA:O etc.
neutral · AI labelView post →TL;DR, A great game in the first half that sadly fails to stick the landing. SPOILERS AHEAD. I love the idea of Horror RPGs, it's such an untapped market compared to the oceans of fantasy and scifi titles out there. When I saw the game was going for a kind of H.P. Lovecraft/Robert E Howard feeling horror-fantasy, I had hope that the game would deliver. And for the first half, it absolutely did. However, once you get your sailboat, it all goes downhill. Suddenly, the game isn't about your…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Did I mention that #Skald is nominated for "GotY" and "Best Debut" at Nordic Game Awards this year? Pretty sweet and, better yet: That means I get to go to the Nordic Game conference in Malmo next week! Be sure to say "hi" if you see me there😎
neutral · AI labelView post →I’m not buying anything in the steam sale but if I were here are some things I would purchase! NORCO- a beautiful sci fi point and click game set in Louisiana. Act 1 is free and the whole thing is $5 SKALD: Against the Black Priory- an rpg with dice rolling and a lot of beautiful, dark pixel art.
neutral · AI labelView post →Every vacation I think "I'll purchase a AAA game and work on that over the holiday." Every time I also go "here's this weird indie game I'll spend a few extra quid on." And every time it's the weird indie game I end up putting my time into. Anyhow, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is good.
positive · AI labelView post →Skald: Against the Black Priory - 8/10 the depressed lo-fi cousin of games like Baldur's Gate. a game that truly lives up to the atmosphere of it's dungeon synth soundtrack.
positive · AI labelView post →Skald: Against the Black Priory review - a robust but inessential throwback to the RPG's primordial era.
neutral · AI labelView post →I've enjoyed the gameplay to this point but I'm struggling to continue for one simple reason: it's extremely hard to see what's what during combat and I frequently end up mis-clicking, making combat harder and more tedious than it should be. Getting wiped out by enemies due to poor tactics is one thing but dying or having to burn through all your potions or arrows because you've clicked where you shouldn't is not fun. The final straw was combat with what appeared to be 5 or 6 mobs which would…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A little rough around the edges, but a great game. Worth its base price and definitely on sale. I'll start with the praise, because overall I recommend grabbing this one. Music: I love the soundtrack and my only gripe is there aren't *more* tracks. Story: Pretty traditional Lovecraftian horror story, but well executed. World building is light and vague, but it absolutely is ripe for expansion. Gameplay: QoL improvements over classic games in this genre eliminate a ton of the time-wasting…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some pixel art pieces in SKALD are truly striking. Congrats to @highnorthstudios.bsky.social and their team for creating such an amazing game.
positive · AI labelView post →Game Developers: I love you but if I have to go through another PhD level character creator before stepping foot in the game I’m going to scream. Looking at you, Skald (special mention to Baldur’s Gate)
negative · AI labelView post →Ok, Skald isn't just fucking fantastic, it's one of the most Ultima games I've ever seen from an indie, AND IT'S A BETTER GAME THAN MOST ACTUAL ULTIMAS Skald is the best Ultima 1-5 Ultima I've ever played 6 and 7 do trump it, but, that is 100℅ not a fair comparison
positive · AI labelView post →The game is complex, the interface is clunky, yes i get that is a feature, not a bug, but it is very difficult to know what to do or where to go.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ooh~ looks like I've got a PC indie game week for you this Monday! Come on over to my Ko-fi and read all about the art of Skald's decision making: ko-fi.com/post/Skald-A...
neutral · AI labelView post →[Epic Games] SKALD Against the Black Priory | 100% off/Giveaway (24h only).
neutral · AI labelView post →[Epic] SKALD: Against the Black Priory - retro RPG. Free for only one day. SKALD is a retro-style party-based RPG set in a grim-dark fantasy world of tragic heroes, violent deaths and Lovecraftian horror. Take a chance and roll the dice as you embark on a compelling story filled with deadly creatures, branching story and tactical, turn-based combat.
neutral · AI labelView post →Writing is good, but the theme gets old fast. Visuals are good. Hard on eye maybe, but artistic talent is there, atmosphere is there. Combat is bad. Just not interesting. Exploration is bad. Overall there definitely is a talent and passion, and it felt like great potential when I started, but it's very very far from "instant classic CRPG" at least for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: Only buy it on a steep sale (75%). SKALD: Against the Black Priory - in a nutshell is a quite decent game and it’s clear the developer had a clear vision in mind and the passion + drive to make MOST of the ideas come to fruition. That being said I think generally speaking that Skald falls flat on it’s face despite the positives, which is why I feel it should be recommended (or better a “maybe”) only if you buy it at a very steep discount. Positives Good atmosphere…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Is it okay if I turn into "that guy" for a sec and gush about a game I've been playing? It's SKALD! (thread) store.steampowered.com/app/1069160/... 👈 If you're a fan of old-school style CRPGs, you seriously owe it to yourself to check this one out. 1/3 #crpg #gaming #steam
positive · AI labelView post →So I finished Skald: Against the Black Priory by @highnorthstudios.bsky.social recently, and while I won't be making a video review on it I still want to recommend the game to everyone who likes classic RPGs and, surprisingly, cosmic horror (1/?)
positive · AI labelView post →Nice game. I admit I find myself coming back, despite some frustrating issues. *** PROS: -Very reminiscent of the old gold-box SSI rpgs, and definitely scratches that itch, -Incorporates some elements from other adventure/rpg games. (fog of war, stealth, lite cooking&crafting, resource collecting, party camping and management). Definitely borrows elements nicely from BG3. -Interesting positioning phase prior to combat to deploy your dudes tactically. - Cool hidden quests and areas that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A friend recommended I play Skald: Against The Black Priory before recording the 'Game Of The Year 2024' episode of my podcast, The Platformers I'm glad I did because I found the best Lovecraftian game I've ever played (& perhaps one of my favorite games ever) @highnorthstudios.bsky.social
positive · AI labelView post →Have any of you seen this Moonring game by @fluttermind.bsky.social ? I've been playing it on a whim. It reminds me a lot of Skald: Against the Black Priory, but its free?! And the reviews OMG Ultima fans will probably love it. store.steampowered.com/app/2373630/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Tone, mechanics, RPG elements, story, and UI are all very well done. Leaves you wanting more but loving the game for what it is. Feels like an old school D&D campaign minus the scheduling conflicts and rules lawyering.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun little CRPG muddled by a rushed, poor ending that invalidates everything you do as a player during the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Skald: Against the Black Priory is a wonderful game, absolutely worth your time and attention.
positive · AI labelView post →SKALD: Against the Black Priory is the next free game #EpicGames is giving away for the 2025 holidays, and it's a fantastic experience on the #SteamDeck: steamdeckhq.com/skald-agains...
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a very good game, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and it reminded me of some of the older tabletop campaigns I took part in during my teens, set in gritty dark fantasy settings. Back then however I was roleplaying as an edgelord, now I mostly roleplay as a competent person. Still I would like to share my experiences going through the game, so that those stumbling across this page might make a more informed decision regarding their time and money. Gameplay The game is obviously…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very tightly constructed CRPG with a very distinctive style, both visually (with some very strong pixel art) and in its writing, which manages to convey a great deal of emotion. The characters have a great deal of depth, and the setting is well constructed, though they both take a secondary place compared to the game's story, especially towards the end. Despite this, the story is strong and intriguing enough to be worth the focus. The game has a very tightly constructed combat system, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The book layout splits between two kinds of spreads: one with red background and a louder typography for chapter intros and lore stuff, and one with white background and a border of broken runes for more text-heavy/game-focused content. The 'Skald Talents' spread is like a bridge between the two.
neutral · AI labelView post →I think if nothing else, Skald the Black Priory should be the nail in the cheat code discourse coffin. The game just lets you skip combats or heal your party, opting out of full mechanics, and is much better for it. Something that gets lost in that discussion is limited returns.
positive · AI labelView post →#MorningAwnings! Despite still only managing to play the Prologue of SKALD (as yet), it remains a superbly charming game and Al has done and continues to do a cracking job on it. #PixelArt #IndieDev goodness, check it out on steam. Or watch me badger through it below..! youtube.com/live/JQ1-7BS...
positive · AI labelView post →If you played Skald shortly after launch and felt the balance towards the back end was bad? Especially with regard to magic? Give it another try, dev clearly put a shitload of work into fixing the game up post launch Just a shockingly well put-together game, now
positive · AI labelView post →Fredo's Game-Os: I'm currently playing Skald: Against the Black Priory (it rules, will probably share more on it later) but here's one of those neat little touches I really appreciate. At one point this sewer guard guy gives you this map and he's not educated so it's full of spelling mistakes
neutral · AI labelView post →I liked this at first, the retro early 90's Sega RPG type vibe. It does that very well. Extremely well. With no background if you told someone this was a game from 1992 that just happened to run really well on a modern PC, you could make that stick. Some of the artwork, and you'll see examples in the store description, is exceptional. But that only goes so far and "so far" for me was I think about 2/3rds of the way through. The issues for me were: 1. Controller support is bad. When I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not a particularly long game, though at the $3.50 sale price I can't be angry at 21 hrs for a single playthrough. It's a good game for it's price. Feels like a love-letter both to lovecraftian cosmic horror and to an older genre of RPGs. That said, it's not riddled with infuriating moments unlike actual older games from the 80s-90s so that's good. The game is here to tell a story and let you stab monsters, not here to make you rip your hair out over a horribly-designed puzzle or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having a lot of fun so far. Their goal seemed to be to scratch the nostalgic itch while providing modern controls and that goal is well met. The mechanisms for weaving in the story are well thought out, engaging, and fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Skald if he becomes mayor he can easily parlay that into getting a us house seat in New York, then a us senator if he plays the game. But by that point he’s just gonna suck absolute shit and I’m gonna hate him
neutral · AI labelView post →There is a lot to love here. It's an old-school RPG with great music, interesting characters and lore, and some narrative beats and stylistic elements reminiscent of A Song of Ice and Fire. Considering I beat the game with all achievements it should be obvious I enjoyed much of my time with it. However there are two big issues with the game I wish I'd known upfront. The first main problem is that many of the mechanics, characters, and backstories are underdeveloped and underutilized. For…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Started playing SKALD: Against the Black Priory. A nice old school RPG. Can I use the word ultimalike? I'm going to use that word. Ultimalike. There aren't any walls of text, but I like the narration. It leaves just the right amount of room for imagination.
positive · AI labelView post →The core idea here is kind of cute, ultima/goldbox throw back. The Good: Dripping with beautiful old school revival pixel art rife with dithering. If you're not sick of lovecraft (yet) then you'll really appreciate the oppressively dark atmosphere. Some characters aren't entirely cardboard (which is nice) and characterization happens quickly through dialogue (although some choices don't really affect anything other than vibes.) I appreciate the full character customization at the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Skald was something that I picked up on a whim, looking for something different from the slop that is modern gaming. I went from Crimson Desert, a technically sound AAA contender, especially in terms of graphics and game design... To this. An under the radar pixel blob game. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. Game had good recommendations. I've been leaning towards indie since Ex33. Went in relatively blind. I was hooked by like level 5. The astronomer's camp scene really…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Raw Fury are heroes of the solo developer. The games I'm aware of that they've helped get to the finish line: SKALD: Against the Black Priory (excellent retro RPG, solo dev) Blue Prince (best fucking puzzle game ever, solo dev) Esoteric Ebb (possible best Disco Elysium successor, solo dev)
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is so much fun. A Nostalgic feel that's cozy (That's for how it FEELS to play the game, not what the contents of the game are by the way lol). Like you're 12 years old again, getting to use the family computer, it's the Christmas Holiday and you can sit back and play the new Ultima all day long. Except, it has modern designs in mind, which means as an adult with children, a fulltime job, and other distractions, you can sit down, play it for an hour or two and make real progress and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love the look and feel of the game overall. A+ on that front. Did not like the writing, nor the token quota side characters that lack depth. Oddly, full of typos and at least one quest-line that has no conclusion. Only 15% of players have the halfway achievement. Note that. I tried to stick it out for the story overall, but it is just disappointing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a crazy good emulation box, can run any console game I've thrown at it. UFO 50 is amazing, 50 whole ass games. For lesser known, Against The Storm is great roguelike city builder, Skald is the best indie RPG in a long while, Arco is a crazy cool strategy action game and anything from New Blood.
positive · AI labelView post →Another GameSpot Best of 2024 contribution from me: I talked about Skald: Against the Black Priory in our 2024 Hidden Gems round-up. It’s going to rank very high on my personal list. Go check out the full list for a bunch of other cool games you probably missed! www.gamespot.com/gallery/2024...
neutral · AI labelView post →SKALD is an indie CRPG harkening back to the days of Ultima. The graphics use the Commodore 64 color pallet with intent and succeeds at it. The game also uses 8-bit style music for it's soundtrack, illiciting a sense of fear and foreboding. The game is not without it's flaws though. Some of the difficulty checks are flat out skill checks with no dice rolls that tell you whether the check succeeds or not, but it is designed in a way where some people might confuse it as already failing and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed this game over all, but it's a mixed experience. The atmosphere, world building, and music are all top notch. Combat is mixed. It honestly almost feels too simple and down the line makes combat feel pretty repetitive. It's also pretty easy, at least on normal mode. Spells are really stingy with mana management early on, and you need food for full rest recovery when camping... but by mid game, if even that, you're swimming in so many resources it practically doesn't matter anymore.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The story, setting, and music were stunning.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really enjoying it so far. Actually feels like an old-school ttrpg (I'm thinking Old School Essentials here). I like how that camping is actually important: you have to have a bed and food. You have a number of things you can do during camp that actually have an in-game impact. I also dig the graphics. Right now, the story has an Lovecraftesque feel to it. It can be hard and unforgiving if you're sloppy. Healing actually takes work and you can incur wounds that need specialized healing or rest.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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