Manor Lords

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For the feudal title, see Lord of the manor.
Manor Lords
Poster of a drawing of a man on a horse riding towards a castle
Developer(s)Slavic Magic
Publisher(s)Hooded Horse
Programmer(s)Greg Styczeń
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Release26 April 2024
Genre(s)City-builder, real-time tactics
Mode(s)Single-player

Manor Lords is an upcoming medieval city-builder and real-time tactics video game developed by Greg Styczeń from Slavic Magic and published by Hooded Horse. The most anticipated game on Steam, with over three million wishlists, it is planned to be released on 26 April 2024.

Gameplay

Set in 14th-century Europe, Manor Lords is a city-builder game which also includes real-time tactical warfare.[1] The game's three different modes, titled Rise to Prosperity, Restoring the Peace, and On the Edge, are differentiated by the aspects they focus on: Rise to Prosperity and On the Edge respectively emphasise growth through city-building and conquest through warfare, while Restoring the Peace gives a more balanced experience.[2] The game offers a degree of customizability, with players able to adjust in-game values such as starting position and off-map threats.[2]

The city-building aspects focus on expanding an initially-small settlements through gathering resources and expanding trading networks, while managing threats to the settlement's internal cohesion.[3] The game's emphasis on in-depth historical accuracy means players must manage six individual types of taxation, and balance quick growth with natural aspects such as weather and the possibility of environmental degredation. Manor Lords, normally viewed through a top-down isometric perspective, also includes a feature which enables players to explore their settlements using a third-person camera mode.[4]

Development

Greg Styczeń was the creator and solo developer of Manor Lords through his studio Slavic Magic,[5] and was funded through donations on Patreon.[6] Releasing an announcement trailer in July 2020, Styczeń initially aimed for the game to be wishlisted 14,000 times on Steam.[7] However, anticipation grew steadily, and Manor Lords, having been wishlisted over two million times by January 2024,[8] overtook Hades II shortly before release to become the most-wishlisted game on Steam, with over three million by release.[9]

The game was originally planned to be released in late 2023, but was delayed to the following year because Styczeń felt it needed "more bugfix and polish".[10] Manor Lords is now planned to be released for early access on 26 April 2024.[8] Styczeń released a statement a week before release which attempted to temper expectations: he highlighted that the launch was early access, that Manor Lords was the first game he had developed, and that it was not intended to be a rival to Total War or role-playing games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance.[11]

Reception

Reception to initial demos, such as one showcased at the Xbox Partner Preview in late October 2023, was very positive, with praise directed especially at the game's complex nature.[12] Matt Jarvis of Rock Paper Shotgun compared its various aspects to the established franchises of Total War, Crusader Kings and Age of Empires, calling it "hugely ambitious" and "filled with potential".[1]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Jarvis 2023.
  2. ^ a b Gould-Wilson 2024a.
  3. ^ Jarvis 2023; Gould-Wilson 2024a.
  4. ^ Grantham 2024; Livingston 2024.
  5. ^ Jones 2024; Gould-Wilson 2024a.
  6. ^ Smith 2021.
  7. ^ Jones 2024.
  8. ^ a b Livingston 2024.
  9. ^ Serin 2024; Lane 2024.
  10. ^ Stella 2024.
  11. ^ Cripe 2024.
  12. ^ Smith 2021; Jarvis 2023.

Sources

External links

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