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SKALD: Against the Black Priory on Steam
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SKALD:Against the Black Priory 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
SKALD: Against the Black Priory is a strategy, singleplayer and minimalist game
developed by High North Studios AS
and published by Raw Fury.
Released on May 30th 2024 is available on Windows, MacOS, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
It has received 2,958 reviews of which 2,785 were positive and 173 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.0 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 14.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for 3.30€ on Eneba.
The Steam community has classified SKALD: Against the Black Priory into these genres:
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System requirements
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Windows
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel i5 or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel Iris / AMD Vega or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 500 MB available space
MacOS
- OS: macOS 14
- Processor: M1
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Storage: 500 MB available space
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User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
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 accepting it because you have to select a character to see of they can do it instead of being resigned to accept the Main Character's roll. Another thing I want to point out is difficulty. While in it's current revision it is typically fair, you sometimes get into battles again foes who are slightly higher level than your party. The story of the game is where it gets it's high marks. Overall, I definitely recommend SKALD to just about anyone who loves RPBs. Just don't expect it to be a Final Fantasy VII or a Persona 3 or a Witcher and you'll do fine with it.
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. I'm a huge fan of 'actual' eldritch horror, you know, physical entities and knowledge being actually unknowable and dangerous to the human mind and soul, unfathomable things from beyond time and space... rather than the usual modern "Lovecraft is when you add tentacles" or when games let you somehow kill eldritch gods that should warp or unmake you just from you being near the tip of their imagination. This game nails the concept perfectly rather than trying to force a setting premise that doesn't fit into a power fantasy story. You can tell the dev rushed parts of development though, or perhaps ran out of steam. There are a number of strangely unfinished or half implemented mechanics, like how the prologue had a bunch of rp flavor choices that don't seem to do anything and pretty much only exist in the early game and first island(to an extent). Everything after this is 'very' linier with role play choices in dialogue flat out vanishing for the rest of the game. There is also a 'faction' system that only seem to place factions at hostile or neutral, but does not 'actually' seem to do anything. After the first island, there are still a few nice optional quest. I liked the one about the festival, without getting into spoilers... but the rest of the game is very lacking in terms of locations and content to a pretty noticeable degree. That all being said, I still liked the game, and would love to see another in the setting from this dev in the future. I have no clue if they have any plans to make more games though.
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 designed to mirror the Ultima series games, and the combat is likewise designed. All the rough edges of the CRPG combat and encounter designs are on display in this game, which is simultaneously charming and infuriating. Sometimes the pixel density and variety on the maps can lead to misclicks mid combat, and that is a death sentence in higher difficulties, this can be easily fixed by having a confirmation at the moment of an action, though with how cluttered some of the combat encounters are with enemies, this could just drag things out. Outside of the rather barebones interface the combat is simplistic. There are few complex maneuvers and synergies between party members to pull off, with most of the passive buffs and debuffs only needed in boss encounters (and bosses are very few). Magic is not exaggerated, there are some spells which create a spectacle, but overall it is a rather grounded system, and levelling up a mage is also very straightforward. With levelling up boosting multiple derived stats with each rank in the skill tree, you can focus more on the narrative than micromanaging a broken build. Melee fighters are bland like in all RPG games, but they also form the core of all attack formations. Rangers, and thieves deal a lot of damage and are extremely versatile owing to the different arrows they can equip, but in turn they are very squishy, closer to mages than a fighter in terms of constitution. There are ways to make a durable ranger, but you would then be missing out on some of the more interesting nature magics they have access to. Clerics retain their traditional position as party healers and passive enhancers. All in all the gameplay feels classic, like its source the combat is more of a method to the madness than it is the core identity of the game. You do things to get to places, and in this game the places are the most important part. Story & Characters I usually play evil characters, mostly because I like to increase the time I spend immersing in the brutality of the world, and giving myself the room to resolve situations without deliberating on a moral gradient. As I understand a truly chaotic evil character has the choice to do a good deed, but a lawful good character doesn't exactly have the choice to do a bad deed without serious mental gymnastics. So it says a lot about the world that these developers built when I find it extremely uncomfortable to make evil decisions. Most of the scenarios leave you with choices that are at best morally grey in its resolution. You can be a hero, but a hero in a rotten world, or a maddening world. Your ideals don't really shine through because there's no scenario where they can be tested, the characters you meet, and the world they inhabit are already on the brink of collapse, or just barely holding on to whatever is left of their life. They're not even desperate enough to take from you, they're more desperate in staying alive through the horrors that are unfolding around them. You can't really be more cruel to them other than outright killing them or sending them to their inevitable doom. In such a scenario, there is no evolution of the story or interesting resolution without picking the slightly less evil outcome. Dark fantasy settings have a tendency to become corny in its writing, especially because authors default to edge in order to carry the theme as it is an easy crutch to lean on. Yet this game avoids this by leaning more on the survival aspect, in comparison to the edge. It lets the world show you the cruelty instead of voice it out through NPCs. There is no dark lord stepping out of his tower and proclaiming his dominion over the world, there's just madness stripping people of their reasoning, throwing a society into a blender and letting people tear each other apart. You feel like you are surviving the world rather than fighting against it, with the overall atmosphere reflecting the ending pretty well. Characters are pretty okay, a varied cast containing the usual RPG tropes. Though none of them written into the ground, but as a tradeoff none of them are fully explored in depth beyond their initial introduction. Interactions between characters are limited to unique encounters and particular side quests, a missed opportunity for characters to develop themselves during rest phases, and of course I wish there were personal quests as well for each character. Nonetheless they are not corny or harboring some unrealistic ideal. Most of them are gritty people who behave the way real people would in a bizarre situation. The overall theme is heavily based on Lovecraftian cosmic horror. They nailed the paranoia and scale of Lovecraftian horror theme. Pixel art also enhances the ambiguity or the lack of understanding a mere mortal would face when encountering creatures that are more concepts than they are entities. They also capture a core aspect of the Lovecraftian novels and that is the madness which grips the places that are affected by the cosmic horrors. In most other games of this genre, and in games that explicitly state they are deriving inspiration from Lovecraft, they tend to look over the aspect of madness in his novels. Cults, malicious locals, and fractured societies define Lovecraftian settings, and this game captures that aspect very well. Though I wish there were more pixel art segments, they do wonders for representing this sort of setting. Side quests range from interesting to the usual fetch quests. Though none of them overstay they welcome. They are designed to be on the road to your main objective, and not set as a complete deviation from your main questline. This helps to preserve the pace of the game, which is a net positive in my eyes. I do not like games that take you on a sidequest far away from your primary objectives, because by the time that quest is over, you'll need to recenter yourself to your primary goals. This game avoids that trapping pretty well. Summary It is a good game, I would definitely recommend it for people who used to enjoy the older Ultima games and for new players who wish to experience a game similar to Ultima series but built for a modern time. The overarching feeling I got from playing the game was that of finding a game cartridge from a yard sale that I have never seen before, and sitting down to play it on a foggy holiday. It also helped that I live in a port city, and during this time of the year the fog is pretty thick and permeating throughout the day. Definitely give this game a try!
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 really make you feel rewarded for exploring just a little farther. There are some creative side mini-quests that really add some nice flavor and variety, (diving into an underwater cave for example, riddles to solve that don't involve combat) -Great cinematic art panels and world building. Definitely has a vibe. - *EDIT* After 50ish hours, I really like the variety of gameplay. Combat is honestly the weak point, IMO. Everything else is pretty solid. -Music is cool and C64 ish. -Very nice price considering the effort and breadth of the game. *** CONS: - Combat is frustrating because of a couple small design decisions. You can only attack in the four cardinal NESW directions--no diagonal like the old SSI games. That means if you want to go around an adjacent enemy, it disengages you from combat, and wastes your turn. Also, you automatically move forward when killing an enemy, ruining your carefully constructed line. - *Edit* Combat can be difficult to follow. The text fades much to quickly to read, and there is no persistent combat log to see what just happened. Roll-over tool tips on enemy/character statuses would be helpful so you're not constantly clicking on everyone. - The enviro art needs a balancing pass . Many background textures are SO noisy and busy, you can't tell grass from tree. Way too much black dithering everywhere. It is VERY easy to lose your characters in combat, and the UI doesn't help much. - Because of the above, it is very frustrating to navigate. You can't tell what is traversable and what is not half the time. You are blocked by a rock one step, then pass over an identical rock right next to it. No consistency or visual language to tell me how to navigate. You're constantly slamming into collision that is not obvious. Very frustrating. -Again, because of the art^ you end up picking up tons of objects you don't intend simply because you didn't see them (especially at night). This becomes a problem when every item counts towards encumbrance, and you're picking up tons of flowers and mushrooms by accidentally running over them. - Combat could use a FLEE option during the set-up stage. Since none exists, you resort to being in constant stealth mode to avoid unwanted fights. That said, it's a neat game at the price point. I keep coming back to play, despite the frustrating issues, which speaks to how good the rest of the game is. Hopefully I can find a mod to fix the above issues.
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Frequently Asked Questions
SKALD: Against the Black Priory is currently priced at 14.99€ on Steam.
No, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 14.99€ on Steam.
Yes, SKALD: Against the Black Priory received 2,785 positive votes out of a total of 2,958 achieving an impressive rating of 9.02.
😍
SKALD: Against the Black Priory was developed by High North Studios AS and published by Raw Fury.
Yes, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Yes, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
No, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is not playable on Linux.
Yes, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is playable and fully supported on Steam Deck.
Yes, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is playable and fully supported on Steam Machine.
No, SKALD: Against the Black Priory does not support VR.
SKALD: Against the Black Priory is a single-player game.
Yes, there are 3 DLCs available for SKALD: Against the Black Priory. Explore additional content available for SKALD: Against the Black Priory on Steam.
No, SKALD: Against the Black Priory does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, SKALD: Against the Black Priory does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, SKALD: Against the Black Priory is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for SKALD: Against the Black Priory.
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 18 September 2026 04:16 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 17 October 2026 06:08 UTC |
| Steam price | 26 October 2026 19:35 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 19 October 2026 09:55 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about SKALD: Against the Black Priory, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about SKALD: Against the Black Priory
- SteamCharts - Analysis of SKALD: Against the Black Priory concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck SKALD: Against the Black Priory compatibility
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Game modes
Features
Online players
44
Developer
High North Studios AS
Publisher
Raw Fury
Release
30 May 2024
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