Is Manor Lords Worth the Price? An Honest Review

Manor Lords surprised everyone by becoming the top wishlisted game on Steam shortly before its release. Even though it is an early access, it still thrilled thousands of gamers and reached nearly 180,000 concurrent players in its first week.

We have seen great reviews and many people point out it feels more polished than some triple-A games that are supposed to be complete. In this day and age, where we are constantly seeing video games by the supposedly top gaming developers be absolute flops, can an independent solo developer create something worth $40 ($30 until May 10)?

Manor Lords: Pros and Cons

Everyone can agree that Manor Lords definitely has done a lot right. It was one of the smoothest launches we have seen in a long time and we all expected to see a plethora of bugs. Some gamers have been playing for 20 hours or more and have not experienced any bugs.

The developer, Greg Styczen, has been asking the community where he needs to improve and how we would like to see Manor Lords evolve. The city-building RTS strategy game is beautiful. Every detail has been worked on and looks authentic. Many players have said that they have lost hours just watching their villagers get on with their lives. It is as historically accurate as you can get while still being enjoyable for its players.

This is everything you would want from an early-access game. The farming and trading systems are complex and realistic but understandable. The obstacles are difficult but can be overcome with some basic logic and problem-solving skills. The building is easy to use and the burgage plot system is interesting.

There is so much that Manor Lords has done well, but that doesn’t mean there aren't things it seriously needs to work on. The biggest problem with players right now is the lack of content. It does feel like after a few hours there isn’t much else to be done.

If you want something to happen constantly then Manor Lords might not be for you. We cannot forget that it is still early access and we have seen that Slavic Magic has plans for much more content. The idea is that you can create a different settlement, either in a new game or region, and develop your village differently. We will be seeing more game modes and additional buildings but the main question is when.

That is what will truly say if Manor Lords is a great game. If Slavic Magic sticks at it and builds upon this fanbase they have created, Manor Lords will go far. If Greg Styczen takes the money and runs, which has been done before, his creation will be forgotten as just another unfinished mess. So far, he has stuck to it and announced patches coming and content on the way. It is a good sign and an amazing start in a lot of gamers' opinions.

Is Manor Lords Worth the Price?

It all comes down to the price. Is it worth the $40 price tag? We should also add that if you purchase Manor Lords before May 10, you will get 25% off because it is early access.

$40 could be considered slightly high for the amount of content we have available right now. There is only so much that you can do before things become repetitive but hopefully, this will change in the future. While Manor Lords being created by a solo developer shows his passion and dedication, it shouldn't matter how many people were on the team. It could have been one person or a thousand. The end result is what we need to consider.

Nowadays we spend double Manor Lords’ asking price on terrible games that add microtransactions and are full of bugs but proclaim to be complete products. This is an opinion piece and my opinion is that Manor Lords is already better than some triple-A games that want more money. With some time and determination from Slavic Magic, it should only get better.

As it stands now, Manor Lords is a good game that you can enjoy for 20 hours before moving on to something else. In time, if Slavic Magic stays true to what they promised then their city-builder will be an amazing game we can play for 50 hours and more. It is worth taking the risk because even the worst scenario will end with you playing a decent game.