Lords and Villeins

How about playing God and helping your people to flourish from one generation to the next? In this medieval colony sim, you don't manage the everyday lives of each resident. Instead, you manage whole family trees over generations. Not to mention the animals, relationships, seasons, and wars. The game already has a thriving fan community.

Are you a fan of the Middle Ages who likes to play at being lord of the manor? You've come to the right place.

Lords and Villeins is a deep management sim where your every decision influences the destiny of the dynasties you'll control.

Our favourite part? The intergenerational evolution.

What really makes Lords and Villeins stand out from other management games is that you'll be managing families over several generations. You really do get to play God. Every one of your decisions affects the growth, relationships, and destiny of each family, for unrivalled strategic depth.

One of YouTuber Pravus' faves, Lords and Villeins is much more than just another sim. It's a city builder that adopts a different approach to the genre by introducing families and dynasties who live their lives independently, but under your guidance. Proper planning is essential or your city will flounder. It can be easy to get lost in this game, but it already has a highly active community, proof of its lasting appeal.

It is a solid strategy game that gamers who like meticulous resource management will love, underpinned by beautiful graphics that are a real joy to behold for anyone who likes taking their time to build cities and detailed houses.

We liked the game's pixel art aesthetic. Lords and Villeins is proof that you don't need cutting edge graphics to create immersive gameplay. The influence of hit games like Prison Architect and Stardew Valley are clear to see, but Lords and Villeins adds its own cute touch.

A vital tip to help you get started: Master the tutorial by all means, but it is worth remembering that it's a bit different from the standard game, with major features like the king's levies turned off. And not everything you build in the tutorial will be in the main game. To put it more bluntly, the environment and graphics aren't a priority in the tutorial, which can sometimes be enough to stop you making the quick progress you need to complete it.

Some little tips to help you on your way: remember that there is almost zero farm production in winter. That means you'll need to stockpile resources. Remember that people can't eat acorns!

Then there's fishing. Use the same fishing rod for every member of the family, and then cast big nets. The nets automatically catch the fish. To add more fishing rods and nets, you can build jetties.

Play around with the tax rates and plan ahead for the king's annual targets if you want your colony to prosper.

Then all that's left to do is to take over the reins of your dynasty, build a prospering kingdom, and get totally engrossed in this medieval saga. Long live the king!