Impressions of playing Manor Lords

Much has been written about Manor Lords strategy in recent weeks. How could it not, when it is one of the most anticipated titles that can be found on Steam. Enough with the speculation about the gameplay, now we have proper gameplay impressions for you, in which you can read more about the build, the technical status and also the fights.

In RTS Manor Lords, you get the chance to show your leadership skills

The Manor Lords strategy makes the player the master or mistress of a newly created village right from the start, which needs someone to show it the way. And why couldn’t it be a character created by you. Building here works on the same principle as in most genre works, so from the beginning you try to create chains of buildings connected to each other, thanks to which the space grows and prospers. Great emphasis is then placed on the realization of journeys and, above all, comforting the population’s needs related to food and safety.

Only enthusiastic people can work effectively and move up the social ladder, which is what you definitely want. It is the growth of families that gives you the long-term opportunity to create, at first glance, ordinary houses into decently functioning workshops capable of producing bows or other equipment needed for expansion. I really like the concept of more workable houses here, as the player can’t just build a few production buildings, but is forced to think about which family will take which lot, because you pay for it, while moving ordinary people between employment is free.

But definitely do not count on the fact that you will get everything right from the start. As is often the case in strategies, in Manor Lords it depends a lot on how much you are able to make your people happy. When you provide the village with a marketplace with all the necessary raw materials and, as a bonus for the villagers, build a church with a pub, you can watch how the houses grow during the changing seasons and with them the income of the whole place, which is transformed into a center of civilization where it will be necessary to reckon with the fact that it sometimes becomes the target of raids, diseases and the demands of other great men and women shaping the destinies of these medieval regions. It is possible to have discussions with other leaders or, on the contrary, make demands on them, which can lead to different situations. But this element currently only has very sharp contours, so there is often a struggle.

When the author of Manor Lords recently presented that this will definitely not be Total War, he was essentially right. Clashes are a very special thing here. So, elemental fights with bandits are not that few, but when we talk about big battles, don’t count on them too much, because nobody here has thousands on hand, but usually only hundreds, and you are not much better off, because this time of birth is not very favorable and if things happen to be successful, there is always war or disease capable of reducing the overpopulated population.

The fighting format itself stands on a decent foundation that corresponds to the norms of this genre. In practice, this means that if a bigger clash does occur, you can look forward to a nice battle full of arrows fired, shield walls, dying men and winners chasing across the field after those who were not so lucky. I can’t wait to see how the author develops this element in the coming months, because even with the limited range of units, the skirmishes already have potential.

The Manor Lords medieval strategy certainly has potential

Manor Lords is a highly detailed medieval manor control simulator that gives the player the opportunity to take charge of a medieval village and slowly build it into a respectable settlement with a high potential to survive the following decades. It is possible to watch the construction of houses, the change of seasons and also the growth itself. Everything depends primarily on your building decisions, which lead to the rise and fall of the entire group.

While playing, I felt that the creator gives you a lot of freedom in how you can play. Of course, there are time limits and various minor economic flaws, but overall I enjoyed the build and it looked nice, which I personally think is quite important, since I have no problem with strategies and spending hours watching how the unit I created works. I would also like to praise the optimization, which is at a brilliant level compared to other games currently entering early access. In all respects, Manor Lords enters this phase of development in a decent form, so hopefully its author will be able to stay strong and give us a maximally refined medieval title in the future.

Manor Lords will be available in early access from April 26, 2024 on PC.