Manor Lords

Manor Lords is a gorgeous medieval city-builder that kept me occupied for hours building my perfect, cozy hamlets, but it definitely feels very early in its Early Access development.

There's a confidence to Manor Lords that belies its one-person development, and what's there can be spellbinding, but it's a pastoral idyll that still needs significant development.

While obtuse in places, Manor Lords is an idiosyncratic, lively and sturdy sim that will keep you curious and delighted with its many intricacies.

Sure, it’s not perfect yet. But with its gorgeous landscapes, detailed systems, and a roadmap full of potential, Manor Lords has all the makings of a future classic.

Manor Lords is a fantastic building strategy game set in the late 14th century in what is now Bavaria. The game is more of a simulation of everyday life in a medieval fiefdom. The combination of building strategy with war elements reminiscent of Total War works brilliantly and raises the bar yet again. On top of that, everything feels incredibly organic and lively. The Burgage Plots system is brilliantly implemented, and the atmosphere is further enhanced by excellent graphics and sound design. This game has tremendous potential, and if everything goes well, it will undoubtedly become a huge time sink. For me, it’s the biggest surprise of the year.

Although it is currently in early access, Manor Lords is still likely to be a solid city-builder real-time strategy game. But it isn't the game for you if you're looking for nonstop action. The game's difficulty spikes and its micromanagement might be a common complaint, but that's the nature of real-time strategy games. But these aren't an issue when this genre has the most demanding player base. To satisfy the RTS veterans, Manor Lords still requires a substantial amount of content during its final launch. Otherwise, after 30–50 hours of play, you would forget about the game.

Manor Lords is a title that is already satisfying and has enormous potential behind it, but which at present is still too immature in many aspects and excessively complicated.

Manor Lords stands as a shining example of the potential within indie game development that puts many triple A projects to shame. Keep in mind that it’s still in Early Access too, meaning the game will only get better from here on out. It’s an experience that respects its roots in history while providing a platform for strategic creativity. I’ve never been so immersed into a game about building cities and commanding troops, but being the lord of my manor allows me to weave my own stories of medieval life.

You can sense the real potential and exceptional quality of Manor Lords, but what's more common is the disappointment of the lack of content. It has a unique medieval atmosphere, a first-person perspective that can immerse players, and a distinctive 'backyard economy' system that combines the fun of building supply chains and managing labour in the production process. While warfare isn't at the heart of Manor Lords, it's done quite well and evokes a sense of familiarity with the Total War series.

Manor Lords still requires time to develop, especially when building out several of its more intriguing features. Nevertheless, its emphasis on medieval city-building with dashes of combat can prove enjoyable.