You can now play the most popular game on Steam since April 26th. We are of course talking about Manor Lords. But does it live up to the hype? We took a closer look at it for you.
Manor Lords was already on the wish list of over three million players on Steam before it was released. Some are already calling Manor Lords the most promising building game on the market. The medieval building game was developed by solo developer Slavic Magic over six years and has been officially available in early access on various platforms since April 26, 2024. You can find out what the game is about and what system requirements the game has here.
Building game with cool features
Before you get started, you can choose your own lord or lady and even design your own coat of arms. You currently have the choice between various pre-made characters. It is unclear whether there will be a character editor in the future. Then the actual game begins: You start somewhere random on the map with a handful of settlers. First you build a logging camp and a few small houses for your settlers. Over the years, your small village develops into a large city with complex supply chains. What also sets the game apart from other games are the conflict resolution elements. If necessary, your farmers will turn into militias to defend your city from enemy attacks. On the other side of the map, in addition to marauding bandits, there is another lord who will of course become your rival.
But that’s not the only thing that makes the game a unique experience. So you can basically watch your city and your settlers grow. If you zoom into the game, you can see various settlers doing their work. This makes the game feel very lively and immersive. For example, if you zoom in on a hunter, you can see how he goes into the forest, hunts and later uses the animal. Every single tree trunk is transported by an ox, your settlers have to walk to their place of work and back every day, you can track everything that happens in your city. Another cool feature is that you can walk around your city as a lord in third-person view.
That’s what players say
After just ten minutes of early access, Manor Lords was already the number 1 top seller on Steam. After just one hour, the number of simultaneous players exceeded 100,000. This means the game is currently among the top 10 most played games in the last 24 hours. You can currently get the game on Steam for €29.99, and from May 10th it will cost €39.99. Anyone who has the Game Pass can play the game there. The game will apparently also be released for the Xbox, but it is not yet clear whether it will also come to other consoles.
Of course, you have to keep in mind that the game is currently still in Early Access and was developed by only one person. Therefore, there are still small discrepancies here and there. Nevertheless, the game was able to convince most players with 89% positive reviews.
That’s what the editorial team says
Our editorial team also caught the Manor Lords fever and worked diligently to build it up. Conclusion: Manor Lords definitely has addictive potential, but there are also some bugs and construction sites that are currently disrupting the flow of the game in some places. In addition, much of the content and game mechanics are far from final and expandable. However, you should always keep in mind that this is an early access title, so in a sense it is an investment in the future. In any case, we look forward to the further development of the game.
The building game seems to live up to its hype. The attention to detail and the diverse options seem to convince most players so far. You can safely ignore small discrepancies and look forward to future versions of the game.