Vinland

The year is 1008. A party of seafarers sets out west to get rich off a land everyone talks about and almost nobody has seen. On board are Thorfinn Karlsefni and his wife from Iceland, along with the offspring of Erik the Red.

You started out as the helping hand for these people. By now you are a full member of the crew, and the crew expects a fair bit from you. Between errands ashore, arguments on deck and a great deal of backchat, the result is a story that never takes itself too seriously.

Two women shape your road in particular. The redhead takes the hard way and brings you along if you can keep up. The blonde would rather work with her head than an axe, and steers you somewhere distinctly different. You can commit to one or stay between the two, and each choice changes how the voyage plays out.

One note in fairness: Vinland sits at version 0.1.8a, an early build, so what you play is an opening rather than a finished saga. What it does offer is a setting that makes a welcome change from the usual shared flats and office corridors. It plays free with no download, right in your phone browser: tap, cast off, set sail. Vinland is made by Eighth.