A new PC game makes you the prince of your own village in the Middle Ages. Manor Lords has already caused a lot of excitement in advance. No game is on Steam wishlists anymore. We could now try out whether the hype is justified.
Medieval fans can look forward to a very special PC release. Manor Lords will be released on Steam Early Access on April 26th. The special feature: The Mixture of city building simulation and strategy game is only developed by a single person and is still incredibly ambitious. It is now the most wanted game on Steam. We've already been able to play the newcomer and can say: Manor Lords is fantastic, but it's also far from finished.
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The most wanted Steam game is a medieval dream
It starts with a small tent camp and five families. The first goal: survive the winter. To do this, your subjects need food, firewood and a roof over their heads. Later there are more complex requirements to fulfill, such as clothing, a church or beer in the tavern. So be out simple farmer's huts and finally stately half-timbered houses.
In every phase, Manor Lords exudes a pure medieval atmosphere. Watching your own village grow is incredibly fun. The residents follow a daily routine and scurry across the map. The city planning simulation is already extensive and offers space to delve into the systems and optimize a lot. The controls are quick and easy and ensure that your city always looks good. The great graphics and atmospheric sound also help.
Check out the trailer for Manor Lords here:
What else is in Manor Lords?
Manor Lords is though not just a pure city building simulation. You have to claim new provinces to get more resources such as stone or iron. Depending on the game mode, however, there is an AI opponent who has something against it. In the current version, the enemy lord does not build his own city, but only sends soldiers from outside onto the battlefield. However, this doesn't happen too often. At heart, Manor Lords is a building game, the battles are a nice extra.
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You can imagine the battles like a light version of Total War. Fighters are divided into squads, which you can drag into the desired position with the mouse. The real unique selling point here is that it really is your farmers who are theirs Swap the pitchfork for a spear. This ensures that you are really attached to the soldiers and should think carefully about whether and how you want to fight.
What's still missing from Manor Lords?
Manor Lords already offers a lot of content that will make medieval fans happy. However, the build-up hit doesn't feel like a finished game yet. That's understandable, after all Manor Lords also starts in Steam Early Access. However, interested players should be aware that they will encounter bugs as well unfinished or simply missing content have to calculate.
The basic features of the diplomacy system in particular are barely there. Likewise, there is a lack of unit diversity and the troops have some major problems with route finding (To be fair, Total War hasn't managed that yet either). What's noticeable, however, is that you can't actually build your own castle out of stone at the moment, just a small wooden fortress. Really complex production chains are also missing. Manor Lords is already a good game, but it still has a lot of potential that needs to be exploited.
Manor Lords is just fun. I love watching my subjects bustle around. Developer Slavic Magic has paid attention to many loving details here. The city's growth also feels organic and satisfying. At the same time, Manor Lords isn't finished yet and that shows in many places.
Overall, it can be said: construction fans will be happy here. But if you prefer to fight and conquer, you should wait to see what future updates bring.