Does it live up to the hype?

Hang in there, dear medieval fans, you've almost made it: On April 26th, Manor Lords will finally be released in early access for PC! The release is accompanied by a level of hype that has not been seen in a building game for a long time. With beautiful graphics, complex real-time battles and believable design, Manor Lords has already won a lot of praise, It now even tops the wish lists on Steam – you have to do that first. All the more impressive when you consider that the build-up game has been almost exclusively for seven years with a single developer arises.

But: does it actually live up to the hype? We've already played it for more than 40 hours and are clarifying here what you can expect from Manor Lords in Early Access, what it does really well – and where there are still a few decent areas of construction. Our complete special is of course available as an extra-long video.

The right expectations

Let's first clarify what Manor Lords are all about not is so that false expectations do not arise. (A topic that doesn't leave the developer alone, by the way.) Manor Lords is…

• … no Age of Empires
• … not a total war
• … not a complex grand strategy game like Crusader Kings 3
• … not a survival simulator
• … not a role-playing game

So what is Manor Lords then? A classic, good building game with a lot of bustling charm, which also offers real-time battles. At least if that's what you want, because you can simply set up the game so that battles are completely ignored and you can just build things in peace. But in normal game mode they are part of it! And they actually go much, much further than in other city builders.

The game modes

There is no multiplayer in Early Access yet and there is no campaign in sight. Instead, you only play on a single larger map where you can choose between three different modes. The main difference is whether and how often you get involved in fights. There are also a few detailed settings to adapt the difficulty to your own taste.

Manor Lords' sprawling map is divided into sectors. In the second of the three game modes, your goal is to conquer all areas, some of which also belong to an AI opponent. However, you never really get to see your opponent because at the moment the computer can't build or properly manage villages; the feature is still in the works. That's why you're currently spread out on the map alone and only have to deal with enemy troops in certain situations. But more on that later, because first of all it's all about getting your little village going.

The settlers send their regards

The first steps should be familiar to all development players: You start with a few residents and a handful of raw materials, which are best invested in a lumberjack camp straight away. After all, tree trunks are your most important building material. By the way, you can move the building later, which means: As your city grows, you don't have to tear down the hut and rebuild it every time.

After that you will need a few basic buildings for basic supplies. In every area there is a source of game meat, so of course we place the hunting lodge there. Berries are picked by the collector and you have the logs processed into boards in the sawmill. A well also ensures the water supply and raw materials are stored in warehouses.

Source: PC Games



In order for the store to run, you still have to assign families to the companies as workers. They then carry out all the necessary tasks such as production, transport and so on. To survive, your villagers only need food and firewood, which means that no one will die that quickly. That's why you don't have to constantly worry about redistributing your workers, like in Endzone or Farthest Frontier. We fully expect that this will change later in Early Access as more features are added – but at the moment there is little need to worry about it.