| Manor Lords | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
| Release Date | |
|---|---|
| April 26, 2024 More Details |
|
| Genre | |
| City-builder, Simulation | |
| Platforms | Price (MSRP) |
   |
$39.99 |
| Developer | Publisher |
| Slavic Magic | Hooded Horse |
| Number of Players | Age Rating |
| 1 | Teen PEGI 12 |
| Time to Finish | Cross Platform Play |
| TBD | No |
| Official Website | Official Website for Manor Lords |
Manor Lords Latest News
⚫︎ Slavic Magic has finally given Manor Lords a major update, its first since January 2025 following a 9-month hiatus. Game Creator Greg Styczeń apologized for the delay, promising to look into what went wrong to prevent such a delay in updates from happening again.
⚫︎ Slavic Magic has announced a major overhaul for Manor Lords, its medieval city builder currently in early access. In a recent Steam post, lead developer Grzegorz Styczeń confirmed that the next update will deliver a full rework
of core systems, including buildings, production chains, and environmental interactions.
⚫︎ In a post shared by the game's devs themselves, the official Manor Lords X (formerly Twitter) account reassured fans that development is progressing steadily. The team behind the game is expanding, and the next update is described as getting “more and more juicy.”
⚫︎ Manor Lords marks its first year in Early Access with major development progress and new features. The team, which began as a solo effort, has expanded to include specialists in programming, art, design, and AI.
⚫︎ A new Manor Lords preview showcases upcoming features including stone castles with modular upgrades, the introduction of a new map called Devil’s Hill—a strategic battleground—and a full overhaul of the development tree.
Manor Lords Overview
Manor Lords, developed by Slavic Magic and published by Hooded Horse, entered early access on April 26, 2024. Available on PC (Steam), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, this city-building simulation game marks Slavic Magic's debut as an indie developer, offering a unique standalone experience set in medieval Europe.
The game focuses on realistic visuals and intricate medieval city-management mechanics, featuring organic city growth and layouts. Designed to reflect the historical processes of urban development during the medieval era, Manor Lords provides a detailed and challenging city-building experience grounded in historical accuracy.
| Steam |
 GOG |
Epic Games |
Xbox |
||||
| Price | $39.99 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manor Lords Gameplay
Manor Lords is a city-building simulation that immerses players in historical feudalistic practices such as familial trade, serfdom, and a craft-based caste system for managing a city’s population. Players assume the role of a Lord tasked with transforming a humble settlement of tents into a thriving hamlet populated by tradesmen, workers, soldiers, and farmers.
One of Manor Lords' most noticeable features is its organic approach to city growth and layout. Departing from the grid-based systems typical of the genre, the game allows players to designate areas for specific functions, with buildings constructed automatically within these zones. These zones can be subdivided into smaller plots, oriented freely, and shaped to follow the natural contours of the land, reflecting the irregular and practical layouts of medieval settlements.
Furthermore, Manor Lords implements a historically accurate task assignment system. Roles are assigned to entire families rather than individuals, with specific tasks limited to certain family members—for instance, only male family members are eligible for military enlistment. Households can also be converted into artisan hubs, emphasizing the craft-based economy of the period.
Resource gathering relies on an annual cycle of sowing, tending, and reaping, while farming yields also depends on additional factors like crop-rotation, soil quality and weather. Combined with the game's gradual separation between citizen castes, Manor Lords provides what is likely to be the most historically accurate medieval city-building experience to date, down to the inconvenience and setbacks of such an age.
Manor Lords Reviews
Great Foundations for the Best Medieval Game of All Time
The early reception of Manor Lords has been largely positive, though tempered by a recognition of its unfinished state and noticeable shortcomings. Critics and players alike have praised its ambition and potential, with many noting that, with further development, the game could become a definitive entry in the medieval city-building genre.
Aaron Bacabac of Game8 awarded the game a strong score of 82, describing it as a rising royal among medieval city-builders.
He commended its historical accuracy and praised the developer’s commitment to building a game that authentically represents medieval life rather than compromising the theme for gameplay conventions. Bacabac also highlighted the organic city-building mechanics, noting how they help the game stand out in a crowded genre.
Leana Hafer of IGN acknowledged the unfinished nature of the game but pointed to several promising features, including the ability to walk through settlements at ground level and its early implementation of RTS-style battles. While not fully polished, Hafer described the game as a strong offering for an early-access release.
Nuno Carvalho Marques of Strategy and Wargaming went as far as calling Manor Lords the best medieval game of all time.
He praised its historical detail, organic city-building systems, and overall attention to authenticity, suggesting it sets a new benchmark for future RTS and city-building titles.
User reviews on platforms like Steam and Metacritic have been more mixed. While many players appreciate the solid foundation and potential, they express frustration with the game’s unfinished state, feeling it was released too early in development. Despite these criticisms, most agree that Manor Lords has the potential to evolve into a standout title with further refinement and time.
Manor Lords Announcement Trailer
Manor Lords - Announcement Trailer | Medieval RTS/Citybuilder
Manor Lords Trivia
⚫︎ During food shortages in your settlement, villagers display a distinct animation as they walk, clutching their bellies to reflect their hunger.
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