Manor Lords

"Manor Lords is a medieval strategy game, combining economic village/city building with real-time tactical battles. It's the debut project of Slavic Magic, a one-man indie Polish studio.

Plot

The game isn't set in one particular age or place, but is loosely inspired by 11th-15th century feudal Europe.

Mechanics

Manor Lords usually makes use of the top-down perspective, though the player can control the camera, being able to zoom in and out to get a better look at the battlefield or the buildings. The gameplay consists of two layers - strategic and tactical.

The former tasks us with creating and developing a medieval village, gradually expanding it into a town, then a city. It's up to us what kinds of buildings we'll create and where - there's no grid in Manor Lords, each property can be placed and rotated however we please. The game emphasizes realism - buildings have different functions, require proper terrain and access to trade routes.

The game features changing seasons and weather. Players will need to deal with famine, wars and plagues.

The tactical layer consists of battles resembling the Total War series - there are many different units at our disposal, such as archers, light and heavy infantry. We can set up unit formations and command our troops in combat.

Game modes

Manor Lords only supports singleplayer.

Technical aspects

Manor Lords features high-quality 3D visuals. The game stands out with its high realism and level of detail - for a strategy game, at least. The locations, buildings and troops have all had a great deal of care put into them (though the animations of the latter are a bit clunky).

Last updated on 11 June 2024