Highly-anticipated Medieval city builder is in early access now

If you ever wanted to immerse yourself into being a medieval lord, you can now do so in Manor Lords—a medieval strategy game focused on city building and tactical battles, developed by Slavic Magic and published by Hooded Horse.

On April 26, Manor Lords was released into early access on Steam and Game Pass. The early access period is planned to last for around a year and the full release is planned to have more content based on player feedback, making this a great time to jump in, try it out, and share your thoughts.

The game is primarily a city builder. The developer already pointed out that Manor Lords isn’t a Total War or Mount & Blade competitor. There are occasional battles that are fun to play and watch, but most of the time, you are gathering resources, building, managing the townsfolk, and trading. It’s also not a fast-paced RTS where you have to quickly manage resources and units to defeat an opposing player or a faction.

Manor Lords is a relaxing game where you can take your time growing and developing one or multiple towns on the map. Plenty of features in the game prioritize aesthetics and realism above all, like the soil Fertility for growing crops or the Fatigue level of your military units that can affect the outcome of a battle. Don’t let all these features spook you from trying out the game, though. Manor Lords isn’t difficult. There are a few tricks to learn, but those only add to the experience. And there’s always a Peaceful scenario if you want to focus solely on building.

Because the game is in early access, some features are still unfinished, and while there’s no roadmap for future content, the developer is dedicated to growing and improving the game. Manor Lords is available in early access right now on Steam and PC Game Pass with plans to launch on consoles and Xbox Game Pass later.