itch.io

Hey chillbrains — thanks for the feedback, this was a good catch. Just pushed an update: there's now a layout toggle in the settings menu (the ⚙ gear) with Auto, Landscape, and Portrait options, so you can lock it to whichever you prefer. It also switches automatically based on your screen size, and there's a fullscreen button if you want it to fill the screen. Appreciate you taking the time to comment — hope you enjoy the deep!

NORTHBOUND is a browser-based Viking settlement sim about writing a saga, not building a city. Your kin are born, marry, endure hard winters, turn back raids, raise wonders, and eventually die — and the whole thing is kept as a chronicle you can export and keep. 

Just shipped a big visual update: 

1. - an opening cinematic on every new saga 
2. - ten painted milestone cards at the turning points (first winter, first raid, the great drakkar, the ending) 
3. - a new night-lighting pass 
4. - the settlement glows in pools of firelight against a dark fjord 
5. - player-named settlements, a visual lineage tree, and saga export as a tall illuminated manuscript image 

Plays free in your browser, no download: https://apd013.itch.io/northbound

If you play a saga worth telling, I'd love to see your exported chronicle.

Haha that's a great haul — a $520 Epic on one run is no joke.

Here's what you can do with any find:

• Sell  — instant cash for better tools (the metal detector + brush really boost what you turn up)

• Donate  — trades it for Reputation, which unlocks new dig sites — Driftwood Beach and the Sunken Ruin are waiting

• Keep  — adds it to your Museum; collecting all 138 is the real long game

With a high-value Epic like that I'd either Keep it for the collection or Donate it to fast-track the next site — honestly can't go wrong either way.

And heads up: Epic isn't the ceiling. There are Legendary finds and a couple of *Impossible* ones buried in the deeper layers. 

Where'd you dig that Epic up — the backyard? Thanks so much for playing! 🪏

Hey all 👋

I just released **Shovelbound**, a cozy first-person digging game about unearthing the small (and not-so-small) things people leave behind. It runs right in your browser — no download.

You pick a spot, pick a tool, and actually dig: clear the soil away layer by layer and see what surfaces. Every find has a little story, and the deeper layers reach further back in time.

**What you do**

- 🕳️ Hand-dig three sites — a weedy old backyard, a driftwood beach, and a half-sunken ruin

- 🏺 Collect 138 artifacts, from bottle caps to a solid gold idol (and a few things that probably shouldn't exist)

- 🔍 Unlock better gear — garden spade, metal detector, excavation brush, and a sterling shovel

- 🏛️ Sell, keep, or donate each find; fill your museum and chase a couple of buried mysteries

- 📅 A fresh Daily Dig every day, each with its own clue and objective

Free / pay-what-you-want, plays on desktop and mobile browsers, and takes about a minute to get into.

▶️ Play here: https://apd013.itch.io/shovelbound

I'd love to hear what you dig up — feedback is hugely appreciated. Thanks for taking a look!

— Adrian

Thanks for the detailed report — you caught two real bugs and surfaced a third.

The freeze was a missing role definition (fisher was in the game but not in

the daily production table — it would crash the day-tick the first time a 

fisher started working, which fits your "Year 1 Day 8" timing). The 

ReferenceError every 30 seconds was the auto-save trying to look up a 

variable that wasn't in scope.

Bigger fix: the game loop now catches errors so a single bad tick won't 

freeze the whole game ever again — it logs the error and keeps running.

All three fixed in 5.39, just pushed. Hard-refresh and your save should 

load right where you left off. Sorry you had to be the first one to hit 

this — let me know if you find anything else.

— Adrian

Gotcha. I just checked the download again and itch is still flagging the page, so I’m going to wait before installing anything.

I don’t want to give fake gameplay notes without playing it properly. Once the warning is gone, or if you make a browser version, send it over and I’ll give it a real try.

Quick page thought for now: the concept is easy to understand, but a short gameplay clip/GIF would help a lot so people can see the action before downloading.

Hey, I went to download and try the game, but itch.io is showing a quarantine/security warning on the download page.

I don’t want to give gameplay feedback without actually playing it, and I’m not comfortable downloading while that warning is active. If the page gets cleared by itch.io or you upload a browser-playable version, I’d be happy to take another look.

From the page itself, the idea is clear: simple arcade survival shooter with WASD movement, sprinting, and mouse shooting. I’d suggest adding a stronger opening hook and maybe one cleaner gameplay GIF/screenshot so players can understand the action faster.

Hey! Absolutely, I’m down for a feedback swap.

I’ll check out your game and leave some honest thoughts. For NORTHBOUND, I’d love feedback on the overall gameplay feel, the settlement-building loop, and whether the Viking/founder theme makes the game more interesting.

Appreciate you reaching out — I’ll take a look at yours now.

Thanks for checking out NORTHBOUND. I’m especially looking for feedback on the first 5 minutes: whether the controls are clear, whether the first winter feels fair, and whether the founder/chronicle system makes you care about the settlement.

Hi all — just put up the first release of NORTHBOUND, my Viking settlement saga. Plays in your browser, free or pay-what-you-want.

Eight souls land on a strange shore. None of them will be the same when spring comes — if it comes. Build a village, name your kin, found new halls across the strait, and write a chronicle that lasts across generations.

What makes it different:

- The chronicle is the artifact — your founders are remembered by name across decades, and when notable kin die, the game pauses for them

- Multi-village economy with outposts that have their own stockpiles and workforces

- Real seasons, real winters, real losses

- The Winter Solstice scene — every year on midwinter, the world holds its breath

- Drakkar warships that can intercept raiders before they land

Built as a single self-contained HTML file — no install, no download, plays in any browser.

Play it here: https://apd013.itch.io/northbound

Would love any feedback, especially on the first 5 minutes (the tutorial pacing) and the founder/saga mechanic. Reply here or comment on the itch.io page — I'll respond to everyone.

Thanks for taking a look.