Comparison

Bad North vs War Mongrels

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bad North

Defend your island kingdom from Viking invaders in this real-time tactics roguelite. Command your loyal subjects, strategically position your troops, and plan your evacuations to survive the brutal onslaught. Each island presents unique challenges in this charming yet unforgiving battle for survival.

Highlights
  • Real-time tactics roguelite gameplay
  • Intelligent unit controls
  • Procedurally-generated islands
  • Unlockable upgrades
  • Desperate survival strategy
Features
Read full description

Bad North DOES NOT support: iPhone 5S, 6, 6 Plus, iPad Air/Mini 2, 3/iPod Touch 6th gen and lower Your home is under attack. The king is dead at the hands of Viking invaders. Hope is a distant glimmer in the fog, fading fast with every passing moment. As you rise to take your father’s place as ruler, it will fall to you to stage your defenses. But make no mistake – this is no fight for victory, but a desperate grasp for survival. Bad North is a charming but brutal real-time tactics roguelite. Defend your idyllic island kingdom against a horde of Viking invaders, as you lead the desperate exodus of your people. Command your loyal subjects to take full tactical advantage of the unique shape of each island. Everything is at stake: fail, and watch the blood of your subjects stain the ground red. It’s charmingly brutal, with beautiful procedurally-generated islands and adorable soldiers juxtaposed against the blood-stained realities of war. You control the broad strokes of the battle, giving high level commands to your soldiers who try their best to carry them out in the heat of the moment. It’s accessibly deep, with simple player inputs masking a dynamic combat simulation that make it inviting to new players while challenging veterans. Keep fighting, warriors. Not for power or riches or glory, but for hope of peace to come once again in the harsh lands of the Bad North. Key Features REAL-TIME TACTICS ROGUELITE: Position and relocate your troops to fend off the Vikings, who each have their own counters to the threats you pose. Pick your battles and plan your evacuations carefully! Lose a commander and they’re gone forever; lose everything, and it’s game over! INTELLIGENT UNIT CONTROLS: You command the broad strokes of your defenses and monitor positioning — your soldiers do the rest, navigating and engaging intuitively in response to the situation at hand. PROCEDURALLY-GENERATED ISLANDS: Each island is both stylistically charming and unique in its layout. Plan your strategies around every nook and cranny, for you only get one chance to save them from the enemy invasion. UNLOCKABLE UPGRADES: A stronger, smarter defense leads to greater rewards. Use these to develop your subjects from a ragtag militia into seasoned warriors.

About

War Mongrels

Experience an isometric real-time tactics game set on the Eastern Front of WWII. Guide a team of evolving guerilla fighters against expanding Nazi forces, utilizing unique character skills and an interactive environment. The game offers a grim, historically inspired narrative with a focus on tactical gameplay and replayability.

Highlights
  • Isometric real-time tactics gameplay
  • Historically inspired WWII Eastern Front setting
  • Unique characters with distinct skills
  • Interactive environment for tactical options
  • Stealth, distraction, and combat mechanics
  • High audio-visual quality
Read full description

———————————————————— EASTERN · FRONT · OF · WORLD · WAR · II ———————————————————— War Mongrels, or WM, is an isometric real-time tactics game that takes place on the eastern front of World War II. This part of the war has been receiving less attention in gaming, even though it ended or changed a considerable number of lives and brought forward many stories of courage, comradery, but also further proof of twisted societies and the darkest parts of the human character. War Mongrels builds its foundations on these two opposing mental forces. First driven by propaganda, our heroes soon find their purpose in fighting back the expanding Nazi forces that entangled them in the international conflict in the first place. From boys to men in days, they open their eyes to the atrocities of war and find their purpose in the fight to prevent further meaningless killing. ——————————— AMBIGUOUS · HEROES ——————————— The heavily history-inspired storyline guides players through the journey of two Wehrmacht soldiers as they go from deserters to hefty guerilla fighters. Their team expands as they meet new characters who support the same cause. As the goal of every hero is to save others and hopefully survive, our heroes strive to prevent the deaths of innocent people instead of getting away from the war as originally intended. And as each character has their own set of skills and advantages, players must learn to combine them effectively to outsmart the enemy during a variety of missions in a changing environment. Sneaking, distraction, silent kills, and using the environment are some of the main skills players will have to take to heart, but a stock of firearms will also be available and useful in completing mission objectives. ————————— MAIN · FEATURES ————————— Historical lesson – Events, dates, locations, weapons, uniforms, in-game historical articles, and much more. Use force! – Have you been spotted? Draw your weapon and try to shoot your way out! Unique team - Each character has their own personality, background, and skills to use during the journey. Take or break – Interactive environment that opens up many tactical options. Replay value – Try different tactics in each mission, play alone, or with different friends. Dark world – War is hell, and War Mongrels doesn’t sugar coat anything. Infernal storyline – As grim as the bloody trenches where dead soldiers remain after battle. Just wow! – Audio-visual quality like you’ve never seen in an RTT game before.

Screenshots

Bad North4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bad North at $3.99 against War Mongrels's $19.99. Bad North also leads on rating (3.8 vs 3.2) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 12). War Mongrels's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Bad North costs $3.99 and War Mongrels $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bad North holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bad North has 1.7K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of Bad North's written reviews are positive against 54% of War Mongrels's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bad North ships an update fortnightly, War Mongrels weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Bad North versus War Mongrels: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBad NorthWar Mongrels
Price$3.99 — better$19.99
Rating3.8 (1.7K ratings) — better3.2 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews50.9% of reviews54.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.7K — better12
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#73 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size306 MB3.7 GB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperRaw FuryVirtual Programming Ltd

Customer experience

Bad North

All ratings1,738 ratings
Positive66.0%
Neutral8.5%
Negative25.5%
Written reviews958 reviews
Positive50.9%
Neutral14.1%
Negative35.0%

War Mongrels

All ratings11 ratings
Positive45.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative54.5%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral12.5%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Bad North

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game crashes when loading saved campaigns
  • Start button not working on some devices
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS devices
  • Saved data getting corrupted or lost

Requested features

5 requests
  • More unit types and enemy variety
  • Endless/survival mode
  • Ability to play as the Vikings
  • Skill trees and progression system
  • Multiplayer and co-op modes

War Mongrels

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Bad North

No in-app purchases

None

War Mongrels

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bad North free?
Bad North costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is War Mongrels free?
War Mongrels costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bad North or War Mongrels?
Bad North is rated higher. Bad North averages 3.8 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while War Mongrels averages 3.2 from 12 ratings.
Do Bad North or War Mongrels have ads?
Neither Bad North nor War Mongrels shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bad North or War Mongrels?
Bad North ships an update fortnightly, and War Mongrels weekly. Most recently, Bad North was updated on October 25, 2026 and War Mongrels on October 23, 2026.

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