Manor Lords, Slavic Magic’s new release, has quickly become a trending topic among the gaming community. An indie medieval city-builder and real-time tactic, the title is receiving a surprising amount of fame, and for good reason.
It seems to have hit every note that people would want for such games, and, among all the praise it’s gotten, there’s one particular feature that it has absolutely hit it out of the park with. Something that more games should actively implement.
Manor Lords’ Real-Time Map Is One of a Kind
If you ask a fan of Manor Lords why they like it, you might hear a few reasons such as its high level of realism, stunning graphics, and the fact that the city-builder RTS genre needed quality games, which Slavic Magic fulfilled.
Plus, it’s the type of game that can easily devour hours of your time if you’re not paying attention. One of its most-promising features, however, is not any of these; it’s the map. Yes, in a game where you’re tasked with managing settlements to grow and conquer regions till you rule them all, the map is one of the best features.
Taking a quick moment to applaud a ‘cosmetic’ feature that subtlety adds to the immersion of the game – The Map
byu/grhhull inManorLords
That is what this Redditor, grhhull, says after all. And their explanation is quite compelling. Essentially, it gives you an overview of your territory, and even displays the custom name of your town, which is a great touch.
However, more than that, Manor Lords actively updates the map to accurately reflect what’s going on in your town. Are there new roads? Houses? Are you tearing down tree zones? It’s all reflected in the map.
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byu/grhhull from discussion
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The map itself is just for cosmetic purposes for the most part, as the OP admits. Yet, it’s still a nice touch of immersion that the developer easily could’ve left out, but evidently, it’s great that they didn’t.
It wasn’t just OP; other players publicly appreciated how well the map system was executed. It’s a feature that’s been in the game since early access, and keeping it definitely paid off.
Manor Lords and Its Quick Rise in Popularity
Released on April 26th this year, the game was an immediate success, and has sold over 1 million copies on Steam. It’s currently the 3rd top seller on the platform, with over 87% positive reviews and 400k followers.
There’s an enthusiastic indie gaming community that supports indie releases, of course, but it’s a disservice to say that players wanting to ‘stick it’ to big studios is the only reason this game got popular.
Just look at the success of Helldivers 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 (technically triple-A games from an indie studio), Palworld, Valheim, Lethal Company, and others new titles. The community is hungry for good games that change up the formula, and indie studios seem to be taking the risks to fulfill this thirst that bigger companies hesitate to do.
Have you played Manor Lords? What did you like most about it? Let us know in the comments below!
