In the ever-evolving landscape of real-time strategy, developers often look to the past for inspiration. But for the team at Northplay, looking to the past meant going back 66 million years. Dinolords is an upcoming “Hack ‘n’ Strat” hybrid that mashes together the castle-building depth of Stronghold, the unit management of Age of Empires, and the visceral, direct character control of an Action RPG. Published by Ghost Ship Publishing, it stands as one of the most mechanically ambitious indie strategy titles slated for Early Access in Q2 2026.
The game is set in an alternate-history 1002 AD. The lore centers on a world-shattering discovery: decades earlier, the explorer Eric the Red found prehistoric eggs preserved in the glaciers of Greenland. By the time the Danes launch their invasion of England, they aren’t just bringing longships—they are bringing domesticated, armor-clad dinosaurs. You play as Edmund Ironside, the son of the English King, tasked with defending the realm against the “Danisaur” threat. It’s a B-movie premise treated with the mechanical seriousness of a high-end strategy title.
Much like the classics of the genre, you must build a thriving medieval city by attracting villagers, automating resource gathering, and managing a modular fortification system. However, Dinolords diverges from the traditional “eye in the sky” perspective by placing you in direct control of your Lord with WASD movement. You can jump into the fray with sword and bow, perform special abilities like ground slams, and execute major enemies to heal nearby troops. This “Hack ‘n’ Strat” flow allows you to command your army with high-level strategic orders or use a “gather” hotkey to make nearby units follow your character, turning the game into a squad-based brawler on the fly. In this world, dinosaurs aren’t just visual skins; Pteranodon roosts act as sentry towers that snatch invaders from the sky, while enemy ankylosaurs serve as living battering rams capable of tunneling beneath your walls.
For years, the RTS genre has struggled to bridge the gap between hardcore micromanagement and casual immersion. Dinolords attempts to solve this by narrowing the focus: because you can only be in one place at a time, the game emphasizes scenario-driven defense and tactical positioning over frenetic multi-tasking. The inclusion of Open Development—where the developers share weekly devlogs and involve the community through Alpha tests—suggests a game built to be refined by its players.
Discord Link for Dinolords.
