Manor Lords – Manor Lords Overview – Your life as a Lord begins here

Well, ok I'm exaggerating a little with the RTSit is one of the facets of Manor Lords and not the most important.

But why is Manor Lords so anticipated? Beyond the buzz around the game, several reasons explain this situation. First of all, the game is a mix of genres: city construction and management, real-time strategy combat, with a historically realistic approach. It's rather rare. Additionally, RTS is a genre that, much to my dismay, has been somewhat abandoned in recent years. I'm not the only one nostalgic for this genre, which explains the huge expectations for Manor Lords from this audience. However, this part of the game is not main but, I talk about it below, it is very well integrated into the gameplay overall.

In addition, the different presentations have increased the anticipation in recent months by showing a mature game, developed with patience and passion… and all this by a single person! Because yes, the game is entirely developed by “Slavic Magic”, or “Greg”, which adds to the impressive nature of the project.

Feudal Lord Simulator

Manor Lords allows us to play as a medieval lord who controls his territory, his population, his vassals, collects taxes, grants building permits in exchange for his “protection” and his knowledge, all to make his territory prosper. Obviously, we are not alone and everyone knows that medieval history is full of ego conflicts between feudal lords, ready to clash for the slightest reason. Being a good leader will not save you from the jealousy and greed of your neighbors. This is when the game switches from a management game to a strategy game and it is probably the first time that I have seen such a significant and successful gameplay evolution.

In general, when a game mixes genres, it either invents a new one, or it is less developed than if it had focused on a single aspect. This is not the case with Manor Lords.

Let's first talk about the “construction and management” aspect, because this is the basis of the game and its main axis. We start with a hamlet and a few families of serfs who wander around until they are given something to do. Quickly, we notice that the game engine is very well thought out. The first buildings placed in the hamlet fit in well. Sometimes they stick to an existing path, other times construction zones for several structures are drawn with a simple mouse click. This ease of use makes your village seem natural. You will not have unsightly buildings that will demolish the harmony of your town and it is a real pleasure to see the animation that reigns in the streets. The evolution of the village happens naturally: the villagers work, create markets in the dedicated area and bring happiness to their peers who benefit from their services, go for drinks at the tavern, have children… live their lives, whatever. . And a happy population attracts other families who, in turn, contribute to the prosperity of your growing city.

The family is the working unit of the game. You assign an activity to a family that will thrive in its task. You can have families of millers, bakers, traders… but also farmers, miners, etc., because they are the ones who will draw the resources that your land needs.

Let's talk about land. Different filters show you areas suitable for cultivation, extraction, points of interest in your part of the territory, whether there are fruit trees, wild animals, deposits, etc. Management decisions await you. In my initial part, for example, I started by making fields linked to a farm, but my land was not suitable for cultivation, while that of the neighbor was totally… all that separated us from the good one ground, it was a river… and a border. You see what I mean ? At least that's a good reason to pick a fight with your neighbor.

Resources are not infinite. If you mine to exhaustion, you must either abandon the mine or develop the ability to extract minerals at depth. Otherwise, you will have to look for other sources of supply, such as trade, for example. Indeed, a shortage of materials can halt the entire process and be the grain of sand that ruins a well-oiled mechanism in the development of your land.

The game cycle is very slow and progressive, its leisurely pace corresponds to the daily life of your village. The orders you give take time (with the ability to prioritize, you are the Lord, after all). Do you want to build a home? You will see your carter fetch a log, place it on the site, then the family responsible for the construction arrive to get started on the task. It can take time, months sometimes, but this rhythm is well integrated into the gameplay in general.

But sometimes… things come alive.

Now let's talk combat. This part of the game is closely linked to the construction part. You don't produce soldiers like in other strategy games. Your soldiers are your people. You must raise a militia composed of your workers, farmers and other subjects. They will equip themselves with what they have on hand, and the armor depends on the level wealth of their family, for armor is precious and rare among the people. In addition, it is better to have a population that appreciates you so that they will agree to take up arms for you.

The first few fights can seem confusing, especially with a limited tutorial, but everything remains fairly intuitive. After a few possible setbacks, you will quickly understand the essence of the tactics and new possibilities will open up to you. However, be careful, because the fights can spill over into your infrastructure. The fire can be started, putting your facilities at risk, even if you win the battle.

Despite this, Manor Lords isn't really combat-focused. It is above all a simulation of medieval life and the role of a feudal lord. There are so many possibilities in your choices that each part is very different from the other. The cycle of the seasons is well realized, it is necessary to stock up on food and wood for the winter. We see the snow melting with the arrival of spring and life returning little by little. By zooming in on our city, we can observe our subjects at work. The details are strikingly realistic and the graphics are of excellent quality. Many things are customizable, which increases the player's immersion.

And despite all the praise, Manor Lords is only available in Early Access, so it's not all there yet. It's very difficult for me not to get excited about this title which promises so much for its final release, because what we already have is extremely pleasant. I'm not a fan of early access, because too often we discover a biased version of a game, play around with it, and rarely come back to see the final improvements. Despite this, I couldn't curb my enthusiasm for Manor Lords and I don't regret it.

For example, the research tree is not complete, diplomacy is still very basic, the policies that can be imposed are not yet present… these are just a few examples from a long list of things that still need to happen. Despite these shortcomings, this game is already very interesting to discover.

I know there is still much to do. We only have one card and we can find ourselves blocked in our progress because of the missing elements… but everything seems already thought out, all that remains is to add the missing features. The game took a long time to arrive, but I remind you once again that it is the work of one person and I don't know if that will change with the release of early access. I also don't know if the game will actually be released this year, but one thing is certain: I'm not disappointed, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Overview written by Seiei thanks to a game offered by the publisher.