I have a weakness for strategy games, I admit it. If you give me a good city-building game, I can lose sight of the world. In fact, this article is almost a letter to my family and friends, a temporary goodbye. I’m moving, I’ve decided to leave Barcelona and try my luck somewhere else: a 12th century town. Wish me luck.
I’m talking about Manor Lordsthe first video game from independent developer Slavic Magic, which is now available in early access on PC. Seeing gameplays and promotional videos, it’s hard to believe that all of this was developed by a single person. We are talking about a real-time strategy game mixed with a city builder and set in medieval Europe, between the 11th and 15th centuries.
Build and lead
The adventure in Manor Lords It starts with a small settlement: a couple of tents around a bonfire, a bull to carry logs and four families ready to start from scratch. The player’s mission is to transform this settlement into a prosperous town. You start by building some houses, fields and mines. Then you decide the location of the future castle and church and, little by little, the foundations of the city take shape.
When you dominate the primary sector, it is time to open trade routes through the Royal Highways that link the different provinces of the kingdom. And from there to diplomacy. As Lord of your lands, you must lead the city with the goal of keeping your subjects happy to attract new settlers and grow. I doubt this has the historical veracity that they want to cover the entire game with, but it’s a concession I’m willing to make.
Image from the video game ‘Manor Lords’
I love city management games. I’m embarrassed to say how many hours I’ve dedicated to Cities: Skylines. AND Manor Lords I find it especially interesting. Its planning system is very innovative and allows building by adapting the geometries to the space in a very organic way. The goal of its creator is for cities to develop in a natural and realistic way, with a certain attachment to history. And it has a lot of potential in this sense.
great battles
The other side of the coin Manor Lords It’s war. While you build your city, you must prepare an army. As a Lord you have the duty to protect your territories and you can also conquer those of your rivals to improve your status. Real-time strategy (RTS) is as important an element as city construction.
Image from the video game ‘Manor Lords’
Slavic Magic aims to simulate those great medieval battles that we have seen so many times in movies and on television. Two opposing sides on opposite sides of a valley or open field, armed with swords, chain mail, a few horses and many banners. I also don’t know if this is very faithful to what the Middle Ages were like in Europe, but it is certainly how we believe it was. It is a representation of that medieval Europe that culture and cultural industries have sold us. But that is a debate for another article.
Good ideas and a lot of potential
Manor Lords It is now available in early access on PC and is being a success. Prior to release, over three million people added the game to their Steam wishlist, and on the day it was released, Manor Lords It became the best-selling game on the platform. This happened on Friday, April 26 and, during these first five days, it has already reached peaks of more than 170,000 simultaneous players.
Number of ‘Manor Lords’ players on Steam
The above paragraphs are, in part, a letter to the future and a promise. The game is not finished yet, it is still in development. But the base and the heart are already there and it is worth trying. Additionally, the game is available on Xbox Game Pass for PC.
I, for one, am going to give it a chance. Due to its setting and, above all, its mechanics, it has the potential to become one of my games of the year. So I say goodbye, I have to finish building my church and I still have to decide where the foundations of the castle will go.
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