Manor Lords Critic Reviews

Manor Lords is undoubtedly a work in progress, but everything that I've played so far has not only given me a wonderful experience but shows fantastic signs of progress and a future that certainly looks bright.

Manor Lords is a fantastically assembled city builder for those of you with some patience and an interest in history. It's more reminiscent of The Settlers and Banished than something like SimCity, yet at the same time, it has battles in certain situations that bring to mind Total War, all while still being something all on its own.

Manor Lords is a complex and seductive spin on the city builder that may not defy conventions but has the makings of a genre-heavyweight.

Manor Lords represents an impressive feat, especially when you consider that it was created by a single, passionate developer. With its in-depth gameplay mechanics, realistic estate management and immersive strategic combat, it offers a unique experience that transports us right back into the Middle Ages. Despite the complexity of its mechanics, the game is easy to get to grips with, instantly immersing us from the very first minutes we lay our hands on it. The logic behind the villages and production lines is remarkably well thought out, making for a natural and satisfying town-building experience. Moreover, Manor Lords is constantly evolving with new features and game modes, adding to the already solid experience offered at the time of its early access release. The active community and feedback from the developer are helping to shape the future of the game, giving us a glimpse of an even brighter future. Despite a few minor shortcomings, Manor Lords has already established itself as a reference in the city-builder genre thanks to an immersive and captivating experience that promises hours of exciting gameplay. With its release scheduled for the 26th of April, there is no doubt that Manor Lords will capture the gamers’ hearts.

If the current version of Manor Lords is still missing many improvements and a whole axis of interaction with the development policy systems, the game already has the capacity to tirelessly occupy you for long hours, and has all the potential for later playing one of the most complete city-builders of his generation. An easily achievable bet thanks to already brilliant experience in its construction, its credibility and its more than flattering aesthetic.

There's a confidence to Manor Lords that belies its one-person development, and what's there can be spellbinding, but it's a pastoral idyll that still needs significant development.

This game deserves all the time in the world needed to accomplish its true vision, which is clearly something spectacular and deeply engaging, but I’ll be damned if I don’t get a pressing sense of impatience thinking about everything to come. Manor Lords has me absolutely hooked, as I’m sure it will have you as well, and while updates may be a little slow, I’m super excited to see them come.

Manor Lords is a gorgeous medieval city-builder that kept me occupied for hours building my perfect, cozy hamlets. But it's not the type of Early Access game that seems like all it needs is some spit and polish to be fully playable. No, it's definitely unfinished in several key, critical ways, notably lacking much of an endgame challenge or any way to put its flashy RTS battles to a real test. It's a great foundation, and I see a lot of promise here. But there was only so much fun I was able to squeeze out of such an incomplete demo. I will definitely be keeping my eye on Manor Lords and eagerly awaiting each new update, but I also wouldn't blame you if you decided to hold off on striking the earth for now. That's not a dig at all. I said the exact same thing about Baldur's Gate 3 when it first released into Early Access, and it eventually came full circle to become one of my favorite games of all time. But I have to be realistic about what's here right now – and it’s somewhat less than what would allow me to recommend it wholeheartedly.

The main challenge Manor Lords faces as it evolves through early access is, I think, how to be more transparent with its inner workings without fully showing its hand; lessening some of its magic. I don’t want to know exactly what the ants in the farm are thinking as they carry leaves to and fro, after all, but I’d probably like to know a bit quicker why they’ve all suddenly stood still. And, to an extent, I do think figuring out these inner workings is part of the intended challenge. Such basic rules can seem an unusual thing to obscure for a management sim, but then again, Manor Lords is a much more unusual game than it might first appear. It definitely doesn’t feel even close to complete, but it does feel alive. That’s much more important.

For the time being, though, it’s a beautiful and mechanically impressive city builder that still has plenty of room to grow.

Manor Lords has earned its stripes. It may take some more time until Manor Lords reaches its full potential, but even in its current state, it's every bit as detailed, immersive, and fascinating as a strategy game needs to be.

Zoning new buildings is a pleasure in Manor Lords - significantly better than Cities Skylines 2, somehow - and watching your citizens drag the logs over, build the foundations, and set up the support beams, is completely immersive. You can wander around your town in third-person, your great red cloak billowing behind you, and exploring the streets at a walking pace brings the whole package together. “I built this,” you think.

Simply put, Manor Lords is a gorgeous game, especially for something that was almost entirely put together by a single developer. Its various structures and NPCs are some of the most detailed I've ever seen in a city-builder, and the beauty of its medieval European landscapes is accentuated by its natural lighting and color balance. The environment also changes as seasons come and go, with heavy spring rains, autumnal color shifts, and winter snowfalls highlighting the passage of time.

Though not content-complete, Manor Lords feels like an incredibly fresh take on city-building, borrowing mechanics from other genres and fusing them authentically with history to create something unique and special. Its mechanical foundations could not be more solid, so all this game needs to fully unlock its immense potential is more time and meat on its bones...We aren’t scoring Early Access reviews, so all I’ll say is that I highly recommend this game even ahead of its full launch, if the developer’s vision speaks as much to you as it does to me.

With a realistic and addictive execution, Manor Lords brings a complexity never before seen to its genre. However, this is precisely a cutoff point for players who are not interested in worrying about so many details during gameplay.

Manor Lords is probably the future of medieval RTS games. However, that future is still a couple of large hourglass flips away. The early access version is fun for the first 30 hours or so, but after that, you'll probably be jumping right back into HoI IV or whatever strategy game you were playing before you jumped into Manor Lords.

Manor Lords has a strong start, but can't shake off its Early Access feeling.

Manor Lords still requires time to develop, especially when building out several of its more intriguing features. Nevertheless, its emphasis on medieval city-building with dashes of combat can prove enjoyable.

You can sense the real potential and exceptional quality of Manor Lords, but what's more common is the disappointment of the lack of content. It has a unique medieval atmosphere, a first-person perspective that can immerse players, and a distinctive 'backyard economy' system that combines the fun of building supply chains and managing labour in the production process. While warfare isn't at the heart of Manor Lords, it's done quite well and evokes a sense of familiarity with the Total War series.

In its current state, Manor Lords just doesn’t have the staying power needed to put it into the same category as a Palworld or Valheim - at least not yet. There are just too many unfinished components to keep people playing for weeks. The development, policy, and production trees are full of skills that are still a work in progress. Combat is entertaining at best, full of small skirmishes and little control over your units (and that may never change), and although the economy model shows potential, there just aren’t enough production lines or tiers to keep you occupied beyond a few in-game years.