Manor Lords Review? Coming Right up! Manor Lords has been one of the most anticipated Medieval Strategy games to date. With over 3 million wishlists and 177,000 concurrent players according to Steam Charts. The question arises,” Is Manor Lords Worth It?”
What is Manor Lords exactly? It’s kind of confusing even for me to describe it in words, considering it breathes the essence of a city-building simulator that adds a bit of RTS elements and a tinge of end-game Medieval Warfare. What’s amazing is that this game has been in development by a one-man army, which was later reined in by publisher, Hooded Horse. While the game is not perfect by any means, Manor Lords oozes with dedication and love through and through.
Manor Lords vs. Total War? Nope
Manor Lords and Total War are two entirely different games. Total War goes balls to the walls with its turn-based RTS warfare, whereas Manor Lords starts off as a cozy city builder with some end-game warfare elements. So, it wouldn’t be fair to compare both games. You could say that it’s trying to throw a punch at games the likes of Total War or other city-building games. The truth of the matter is that Manor Lords tries its best to be its own genre; its own thing.
Manor Lords isn’t your average copy-paste Medieval game like Age of Empires. It’s very different, and you can only truly understand the game if you experience it for yourself. It’s a pretty cozy game, in fact. But enough of the vagueness. Let’s dive into the Gameplay of Manor Lords.
Manor Lords puts a brutal emphasis on survival, hunting, trading, making money and building your colony. The trading posts are where you’ll be spending the bulk of your time as you try to figure out ways to make money and establish trade routes. Slowly you’ll work your way up to more advanced trade routes via Logistics, Hunting, Gathering, and much more.
Building an army, and making money is important and all, but harvesting food is something that Manor Lords makes you beg for. You really need to collect your resources, such as flour, turn them into bread and store them accordingly. Otherwise, you’re going to have a bit of trouble making it through the harsh winters. And it’s not even a joke.
Manor Lords Review: Random Encounters
Manor Lords likes to throw some AI opponents or Bandits at you from time to time. So, how do you deal with them? Well, you could use your troops or army, but what about equipment? Equipment isn’t something that is easy to come by if you’re actively trading. Therefore, if you have an untrained army, you’ll have to hire mercenaries to take care of bandits– on a monthly basis…
Sure, these bandits, opponents, or barbarians will do what people did in Medieval Times. Destroy your crops, burn down a few buildings, kill your villagers, all that heinous pillaging stuff. That’s something you’ll have to deal with as you play Manor Lords until you establish a stable economy and a fortified military. Still, recovering from pillagers is not that hard.
Moving To Other Regions: How To Obtain Influence in Manor Lords
So, how do you move to other regions in Manor Lords? Well, it boils down to hiring mercenaries, training some units and then attacking some barbarians. This allows you to obtain Influence Points in Manor Lords–and I mean loads of it in a small amount of time–provided you do win those fights. Individual units can be controlled, but it’s more like a game of rock, paper, and scissors.
Once you’ve accrued enough Influence, you can make your way to another settlement and claim it as your own. For the time being, the regions and map size in Manor Lords is kind of restricted to a few regions, but since the game is yet to release and get out of Early Access, we might see more regions in the future.
Once you’ve made it to another region, you’re supposed to–collect more resources, fix up a logging camp, and construct a Foresters Hut. Get more Firewood and connect those routes to your Main Settlement and now, you have control of two regions. So, what about money? All the money you have is controlled within just one central treasury. You have to collect money from Raids, Trading, and imposing Taxes. Yes, you can impose Taxes in Manor Lords. How else are you going to run a settlement?
Manor Lords Is Not Balanced By Design
Manor Lords is not a balanced game by any means, and this is by sheer design. The devs even mentioned this. This means that the yield of money you get from selling resources is not going to be equal. Crafting vital resources like iron will give you a fine profit in contrast to something like wheat, flour, bread. It is what it is.
Likewise, the bandits, raiders, or pillagers you encounter might not always be weak. You might run into some overpowered bandits capable of putting you on your knees and making you restart from scratch. The developer doesn’t intend to do anything about it. It seems he wants to keep it that way.
You might hire the best mercenaries in the game by selling expensive resources and gamifying the game. Sure, that might add a bit of a sour taste in the mouths of gamers looking for a balanced game, but Manor Lords isn’t.
Manor Lords Review: Cities Skylines in Medieval Times!
And to end things off, Manor Lords is still in Early Access. And when Manor Lords finally releases on April 26, 2024, it’s STILL going to be in Early Access. So if you’re fine with Medieval Cities Skylines, then go for it. And if you’re looking for a Total War: Killer, then remember. Total War killed itself anyway. So…
That wraps up our Manor Lords Review. Stay tuned for more Manor Lords updates, Guides, Reviews, and News at Esports Eclipse! Till then, check out our Helldivers 2 Guides if you’re into spreading Democracy!
