Nobody knew I was a fan of simulation games, not even myself. Going Medieval marked my entry to this genre of games and I can not be more glad. The game welcomes all types of players, from new to experienced, to play the game according to their own skillset. Hence, Going Medieval is truly a game for everyone. Now let’s dive into my 20-hour journey in the game and how I’ve grown attached to it.
Going Medieval dropped in like an ice-cream truck in a terrible heatwave (why yes, it is an allegory for some of the really awful video game releases of late). Did anyone expect the game? No. Are we happy that the game is here? Hell yes! The mechanics are very easy to grasp and you will not be left confused for a long time. Booting up the game for the very first time, you will be asked a couple of questions through which you can choose the name of your civilization, set the difficulty, choose the terrain, and a couple of more options. And just after this brief intro, you’re all set to build your very own medieval civilization.
The game is set at the end of the 14th century where 95% of the global population has perished. Your people take to these new lands to find a new home and build a civilization for themselves. However, claiming uncharted territories for oneself come with new threats. Your new home will be constantly raided by barbarians, assassins, dudes in knight armor bearing crosses, and other kingdoms.
Talking about the actual core of the game, you need to make sure that your villagers are happy, their needs are fulfilled and the village is ever prospering (just like all socialist countries…oh wait). You need to constantly develop and progress in your village because of various reasons. One of the most prime ones being the ever-increasing threats.
Your village will never be immune to threats. Depending on the difficulty you’re playing, raids will be fewer or it will rain raids. However, the attackers will vary from time to time. You will often encounter Barbarians, Raiders, Blood-thirsty Assassins, and knights in shining armor. Did I miss anything? Oh, Yes, You will encounter a pack of wolves trying to hunt you down as well.
So how are you going to take a stand against it? The answer is simple – Grow. All activities in the village are direcly related. To stand a fighting chance, you need to survive. To survive, you need armor. To make armor, you need armorers and armor workstations. To sew armor together, you need to grow linen and hunt animals for leather. All of these activities require individual effort, hence managing your villagers in each activity they partake in is essential.
The game also puts an emphasis on verticality, which has been done flawlessly. You can build multistory buildings and even build underground chambers for storage or hiding your cool stuff. During summers, you need to build proper underground storage for your food (since refrigerators are not a thing yet), or they will rot over time and you might just be left starving.
Apart from each season that lasts for 12 days each, you will also face dynamic weather at times. Including hailstorms during spring and winter, heat waves during summer, severe thunderstorms that can damage your village, and more. All of these elements make the game closer to realism.
Wrapping everything up, the game is still in early access for another year, with an amazing road map planned for it. The content in the roadmap will surely make the game more interesting and twice the fun it is right now. It will add more depth to the existing mechanics in the game. But the game in itself right now is very fun to play. There is always something happening in the game apart from your daily schedule and that keeps the game fresh.
Going Medieval is an amazing early access title that can become more amazing with the passing of time. You can pick the game in early access from Steam at a very reasonable early-bird price.
