[Review] Lords and Villeins (PC) Review

[FazzNoth]

Well, Lords and Villeins is an adventure, I can say that. I am a lover of sim games, a lover of city-building games, but have never mastered the strategy genre, and this game is nothing without strategy. Whether its gaining gold, materials or just making sure everyone has a roof over there head, there is no time to relax, and balance is key.

Diving into Lords and Villeins I thought I was in for a fun little city-building simulation, building a medieval town that I was in full control of. In the game you will be responsible for peasants, servants, noblemen, clergy, and a number of different kinds of businesses. Forest, fishing and farming are the big three, but in just the tutorial (which you could spend an entire day in and not complete), you’re introduced to carpenters, innkeepers, miners, hunters and more. It is your mission to make sure all your villagers have what they need, produce what they should and work together to create a booming economy.

Easier said than done. If you don’t have MMO-amounts of time to play Lords and Villeins, don’t even try. I usually play simulation games because they are easy to put down and come back to as I please. While this may be true somewhere very far down the road, just getting the basics down pat is a major undertaking. Just when you think you have a system in place in Lords and Villeins everyone runs out of straw and no one is impressed with you.All that being said, I don’t want to put Lords and Villeins down. I want to run the tutorial over and over, so I truly master the basics and can build a thriving community. I want to fill the map with buildings, have dozens of farm animals and hoard straw to my hearts content (the straw shortage really got to me). I want to make it to a point where everyone can have floors, and walls that are made of solid materials. I’d like to see my peasants happy and comfortable, or maybe hang out with a noble or two. Right now, I feel like a slum lord.If I’m playing this poorly and still want to play, it really speaks to how interesting and in-depth Lords and Villeins is. There are definitely some issues with the beginning hours of the game. The tutorial wants to bring you through every step of a very detailed game, yet somehow misses so many steps along the way. It teaches you about some items used in the homes or farmland, but not all of them, so you never knew you needed a flailing spot to create straw (seriously, still mad about it).

Most importantly, it never explains the type of renting systems available in the game. Socage, Fee-Farm, Stewardry or Frankalmoigne is one of the first decisions you have to make, and this far into the game, I’m still sort of guessing what each means. This isn’t plain and obvious, though it may be to some, and it can really start your game off on the wrong foot if you aren’t sure what’s going on.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/lords-and-villeins-pc-review/ar-AA13XtUF