For the time being, there’s no game like Manor Lords. This medieval city builder has successfully combined strategic combat with classic gameplay that you won’t find in any other title of its kind. However, there are several games similar to Manor Lords, in which you can build your village, manage your resources and prepare your defenses against raiders.
Farthest Frontier
Fairly successful in its early access period, Farthest Frontier is beautifully designed and challenging to play. You’ll need to build your settlement, keep the villagers happy and at the same time prepare the army to hold off relentless waves of raiders. If you’re not prepared enough, enemies will kill your people and steal all your gold. Sometimes unforgiving, this game is rewarding as you progress and advance your buildings to the next level.
Anno
This is undoubtedly the most popular of all medieval city-building franchises, and for good reason! You can build, explore, trade, manage diplomatic relations with other cities and improve your own towns. The game features naval combat, and although it’s pretty basic, enemies attacking your ships can really ruin your economy. You can pick any Anno game, and it will offer you endless gameplay. What’s more, Ubisoft recently released Anno History Collection on Steam, so you can choose which one you’d prefer to discover first: Anno 1404, Anno 1503 or maybe even games that take place after Middle Ages, such as Anno 1602, Anno 1701 or even Ano 1800.
Going Medieval
Building a magnificent castle is only part of the gameplay in Going Medieval. Featuring real-time combat, this game will test your ability to protect your village from enraged bandits. Prepare your defenses and ask your soldiers to attack incoming enemies, using the environment to your advantage. In this game, the success of your battles depends not only on the number of fortress walls, but also on your ability to think strategically.
Medieval Dynasty
This is not a classic city builder that you could think of. Although the game is played from a first-person perspective, Medieval Dynasty is an excellent colony simulator. What’s more, it features an intriguing single-player story mode and even a separate map for cooperative play. In this game, you can face enemies as you explore the surroundings, or be attacked by wild animals. Other than that, the game is fairly calm, and you can change the settings if you prefer to play it as a simulation or management game without the harsh survival aspects.
Bellwright
Like the previous title, Bellwright offers a first-person third-person perspective. But unlike Medieval Dynasty, the game is much more challenging when it comes to confronting enemies. The game’s combat system is quite similar to that of Mount and Blade, and you need to equip yourself with better weapons and armor if you plan to fight anyone. Recently released in early access, Bellwright has a promising future.
Endzone – A World Apart
Unlike other titles, this one doesn’t take place in the Middle Ages, but it still deserves your attention. Endzone – A World Apart takes us to a post-apocalyptic period where the Earth has been ravaged by radiation and disaster. Your objective is to create a brand new civilization on this ruined planet, while facing extremely harsh weather conditions and relentless raids. The sequel to this survival colony sim, Endzone 2, is scheduled for early access release later in 2024. Although it will feature the same design and setting, this new game will introduce machinery into the gameplay, a major step forward for your settlement.