Manor Lords Early Access: One Developer Embarrassing AAA Studios

April 26, 2024

Manor Lords Early Access: One Developer Just Embarrassed AAA Studios

You know that feeling when you're playing a city builder and think "this would be perfect if it was actually historically accurate and didn't treat peasants like mindless drones"? Well, one madlad named Greg Styczeń spent seven years in his basement creating exactly that. Manor Lords isn't just good, it's "why doesn't Creative Assembly make games like this anymore" good.

What Makes Manor Lords Different?

This isn't your typical "place square buildings on a grid" city builder:

Organic Medieval Villages - Buildings follow roads naturally. Your town looks like an actual medieval settlement, not a spreadsheet with graphics.
Actual Feudalism Simulation - Your villagers have families, inherit plots, and follow seasonal work patterns. It's like The Sims met Crusader Kings and had a beautiful baby.
Resource Chains That Make Sense - No magic warehouses teleporting goods. If your granary is across town, people actually have to walk there. Revolutionary concept, I know.
Battles That Don't Suck - When diplomacy fails, form shield walls and charge. It's simplified Total War combat that actually works.

City Building Like It's 1390

Forget everything you know about grid-based city builders:

Burgage Plots - The backbone of your settlement. Families live here, grow food in their backyards, and eventually upgrade to artisan workshops. Each plot tells a story of the family living there.

Seasonal Gameplay - Spring planting, summer construction, autumn harvest, winter survival. Your villagers aren't robots; they follow realistic work patterns. No more building castles in blizzards.

Trade Routes That Matter - Set up actual trade relationships with neighboring regions. Export your surplus ale, import that iron you desperately need. Economics that would make a Paradox game jealous.

Church Politics - Build churches to keep your people happy and the clergy off your back. Medieval life simulator confirmed.

Real-Time Battles Without the Jank

When words fail, swords prevail:

Formation-Based Combat - Your militia actually holds formation. Flanking matters. High ground matters. This isn't Age of Empires blob warfare.
Morale System - Watch enemy units break and flee when you charge their flanks. Nothing more satisfying than a well-executed cavalry charge.
No Unit Spam - Every soldier comes from your population. Lose too many and your economy collapses. Actions have consequences.
Siege Warfare - Build your own castle or assault others. Watching your archers rain death from the walls never gets old.

Early Access Reality Check

Let's be honest about what you're buying into:

The Good:

Core gameplay loop is already addictive
Regular updates from a dev who actually listens
Mod support already active
Runs surprisingly well for an Early Access game

The "It's Early Access":

Late game content is thin
Some features are placeholders
Occasional pathfinding wonkiness
AI lords are about as smart as a medieval peasant (which might be intentional?)

Community Response: Instant Classic

The Steam reviews tell the story:

"Better than most AAA releases" - 2 million wishlists vindicated
"This is what Banished should have been" - Shots fired at every medieval city builder
"700 hours played, still Early Access" - The ultimate endorsement
"My village looks like actual history" - Historical accuracy nerds rejoicing

The modding community is already going wild. Someone made a Game of Thrones total conversion within a week. The Discord is more active than a medieval marketplace.

Should You Buy Manor Lords?

Get it if:

You've ever watched a medieval documentary and thought "I could run that village better"
City builders feel too gamey and unrealistic
You appreciate when one developer shows up entire studios
You understand what "Early Access" means
You have 100+ hours to lose

Wait if:

You need a complete experience right now
You rage when features are missing
You prefer fantasy/sci-fi settings
You think Sim City 2013 was "pretty good actually"

Manor Lords proves you don't need a 300-person team to make something special. While AAA studios chase trends and battle passes, one developer in Poland created the medieval city builder we've wanted since Age of Empires 2.

Is it perfect? No. Is it finished? Also no. But it's already more engaging than most $70 "complete" games. At $30, it's a steal for anyone who's ever dreamed of ruling their own medieval fiefdom.

Now if you'll excuse me, my villagers need me. The harvest is coming and I've got bandits at the borders. Being a medieval lord is hard work, but someone's got to do it.