Manor Lords Early Access Review

It’s been a while since Manor Lords or Lords of the Manor was released in early access, I’ve played a dozen hours, completed a couple of scenarios, and can express my independent opinion about the game at this stage.

Before I get to the point, I want to note that early access is a very tricky thing. Often marketing sells it to us as a positive thing, like look how cool the game is already, and it’s only in early access, how many cool things are coming and how cool the game will become thanks to your money! But we, as users, should keep a cool head and evaluate the product not by its future ambitious plans, but by what it is now. Plans and ambitions are great, and even better when they are realized, but as long as they are only at the stage of plans or dreams, they should not influence the evaluation of the product.

That’s why I’m not inclined to shout about “a masterpiece above masterpieces” if the game is not actually such, but only declares itself in this way for the future. It’s just a manipulative technique to sell more copies at launch and it doesn’t matter if it’s early or full access. This was done very well when selling Manor Lords.

This was actually a lyrical digression, so don’t think that I’m going to start harshly criticizing the game now. This is more of a brief explanation of why I don’t follow the hype train and praise something just because everyone else is praising it. In any case, I don’t get paid for it. 🙄

Manor Lords Gameplay

Let’s get to the point. Manor Lords is a classic city-builder with strategic management and landowner simulation. I adore this genre and have played a lot of similar games, so I think my brief opinion on this matter is worth something. In the game’s early access, players can play the main skeleton of the future game. They can see how the city will be built, what needs will have to be met, what production chains are already in place, and so on. But all these things are very limited.

This is best seen in production chains. For example, your settlers need clothes. To do this, you need to have skins (hunting, or a herd of goats on the settlers’ farm), a tannery, and although there is a tailor shop on the settlers’ farm, you don’t need it to meet the need for clothing, because people are satisfied with leather. There are many such simplified chains. But I want to mention something I liked right away: the arrangement of the farms. You can build just houses, or you can set aside more land so that the house is adjacent to a farm, and it’s up to you to decide what kind of farm it will be. This is a very interesting feature of the game.

You decide which farm to choose based on the needs of your residents. But at the very beginning, you can only choose a vegetable garden, a chicken coop (supplying eggs), or a goat pen (supplying skins). Further improvements are unlocked in the development tree for your settlement’s level points and by improving the farm itself. The development tree is also a potentially very good gameplay feature.

Potentially because it is not yet finalized and has few open talents. All of them are divided into four categories: farming, trade, military, and gathering and hunting. At the moment, it takes a long time to get one point because you need to raise the settlement levels – each new level gives you one point. But while the first two levels are quick, the next two levels require a lot of work and a lot of development, not only in terms of life in the settlement, but also in terms of infrastructure, trade, industry, and security.

Security is another matter entirely, because keeping an army here actually takes up all the resources, and in an aggressive environment with a bunch of enemies around, you’re doomed to constant raids and fighting. As for me, the combat system, although beautiful, is still crude and unbalanced.

The last key feature of Manor Lords in the early access is the management of the settlement and gaining a reputation to expand your lands. Again, you won’t be able to see it in full at this time. Orders in Manor Lords are still purely for informational purposes, rather than having a real impact on the development and life in the settlement.

Overall impression of the game Manor Lords

So, in general, the game is hard to call bad, it has great graphics even with the ability to walk around the town from a third-person perspective as a lord or lady of these lands, you could see it in the video. The game also has some interesting, catchy game features like farm upgrades and a development tree. But all the other parts of the game that should make it complete, such as trade, branched industry, or population growth, are currently inferior to many games of this genre. For example, the Ukrainian game Ostriv (which is inferior to Manor Lords only in terms of graphics and lack of battles) or Farthest Frontier, which is also in early access but has deeper gameplay with a lot of features.

So, Manor Lords could potentially be a great addition to the city-building genre, but the current version of the game is more of an extended demo with catchy and attractive elements of the future game. If you like games with strategic city planning, I recommend adding it to your wishlist and keeping track of game updates and discounts to buy the best version of the game that would match the stated price.

And that’s all for now. I hope to read your thoughts on my review of the Manor Lords early access in the comments. I’d love your likes, shares, and subscriptions. Thank you for watching my channels and reading my posts. Have a great day and see you soon!