There is no shortage of medieval world-building strategy games out there, and similarly no lack of enthusiasm for the genre from its legions of fans worldwide. The latest game to capture the imaginations of strategy devotees is Manor Lords from developer Slavic Magic and publisher Hooded Horse. The game is something of an outlier for a number of reasons, and it’s going to be exciting to see what it does following its imminent launch into Early Access. Intel Gaming Access rounded up a few things you should know before you dive in.
Slavic Magic
Manor Lords is developed by one-man-band Grzegorz Styczen under the banner of Slavic Magic. The company is registered in Gdansk, Poland, which hopefully means Styczen can breathe some invigorating sea air when he drags himself away from his keyboard long enough. The Polish dev scene has long been deeply impressive in its talent and vision, and Styczen’s work looks set to keep that reputation firmly intact.
So Many Wishlists
At the time of writing, Manor Lords is the most wishlisted game on Steam, at over three million, beating out Hades II, Frostpunk 2, and a ton of other big hitters. And all this is for a game coming launching in early access. It’s quite something for a brand new IP and the first ever game from solo developer Slavic Magic.
What It’s Not
Anticipating the torrent of player feedback that the wishlist numbers suggest is on the way, the developer recently published a few words to manage Manor Lords expectations. Players shouldn’t expect a Total War-like game, an RPG, empire management-style strategy, or a competitive Age of Empires-like RTS. So what can we expect? Relaxed, small-scale city-building and management from a bird’s eye view, with a bit of skirmishing for kicks. This clarity only seems to have endeared Manor Lords even more to its patient admirers.
Infinite Wool Denied
YouTuber P4wnyhof had the chance to play Manor Lords ahead of its Early Access launch, and swiftly broke it. The game’s hirsute sheep were capable of delivering unlimited wool, and, with the help of three shepherds, P4wnyhof exploited the ability to produce infinite money. Sadly for sheep fans, developer Grzegorz Styczen has already kicked the “feature” into touch. For now.
(Too) Serious Players Beware
Sometimes impassioned players can take the games they play perhaps a little too seriously. Luckily, the developer of Manor Lords seems ready to defuse the potential issue by poking gentle fun at his fans. Styczen recently responded on Twitter to criticisms of his historical approach by previewing the completely made up “Enhanced Realism DLC“, featuring muddy streets, filthy peasants, a Medieval Filter, and pre-order bonus Town Watch, presumably to crack the skulls of humorless gamers.
Hey, Good Looking
As is the way in a ton of games right now, players want tools to capture the visual beauty of their Manor Lords creations. To make it possible, the developer is steadily adding a bunch of handy photo and video features, not least of which is a camera-location-save feature to allow the easy creation of very cool timelapse videos. There is even talk of an upcoming screenshot competition with support from Intel. Watch this space.
