Manor Lords, an upcoming city-builder by developer Slavic Magic (a solo developer team) and indie strategy game publisher Hooded Horse, gets a demo for the currently ongoing Steam Next Fest.
Manor Lords is a medieval-themed city builder, but rather than being vague about its time setting, this is the feuedal era where peasants swear fealty under their baron lord: you.
The city-building aspect is a free-form, not bounded by rigid grids. Even the plot of residential land for each family can be of various sizes and shapes.
The unique bit of Manor Lords is that like in the medieval ages, you can raise an army and lead them to battle, Total War style. And there’s a diplomacy system where you can influence other lords, or feud with them into wars.
If you like games like Banished or the recent Farthest Frontier, you might find something you recognise in Manor Lords. But the final product is going to be more ambitious, doing more than just a city-builder would.
The Steam Next Fest demo gives you a sample of the early game, and a glimpse of the bigger systems that will be at play in the full game. You don’t get to dabble in diplomacy, but the survival elements where you must balance growth and keeping stock of food and firewood is all here.
Currently, Manor Lords is the most wishlisted game to be featured on Steam Next Fest, and after trying the demo ourselves, the game really has potential.
You can download the Manor Lords Steam Next Fest demo here. The game has no release date yet, but it’s coming to PC via Steam.
