Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a massive achievement for many reasons. It was a fairly small development team working on a passion project which, while aware their target audience was somewhat niche, could have ended up a total disaster and having no audience if the final product didn’t have the quality they hoped for.
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Fans of medieval video games have a lot to look forward to in the near future, but these are the most promising titles on the horizon.
Most open-world medieval set games, especially story-focused RPGs, are within the Swords and Sorcery genre, leaving the historically accurate to the Real Time Strategy games. However, Kingdom Come also boldly adhered to the decision to have a realism-based story without magic or fantasy elements. Thankfully, the great majority of players loved the game, and it rightfully earned much respect for its historically accurate setting and characters. With the sequel on the horizon, many are finding themselves in the mood for more video games set in the medieval era that lend themselves more to historical realism than fantasy.
8
Wartales
Take Command Of A Mercenary Company During Grim Times
- Released
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April 12, 2023
- Developer(s)
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Shiro Games
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong
While Wartales does actually take place in a low fantasy setting and there are elements of the fantastical, it very much captures the feeling of the real world and dealing with mundane, compared to dragons and wizards, but deadly problems.
The player is tasked with controlling a mercenary group, attempting to survive and, if possible, thrive through these hard times. The methods and moral choices as to how this is accomplished are left up to the player. Like Kingdom Come, Wartales creates an excellent sense of rising up from the very bottom of the social and influential pile into a place of power and importance.
7
Mount and Blade Series
Forge Your Own Kingdom
- Released
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October 25, 2022
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong
While the Mount and Blade series is an RPG set in a fantasy facsimile of our own medieval history, there are no magical creatures or powers to speak of. Mount and Blade is all about the medieval power games of alliances, marriages, making allies and enemies, and, of course, war.
The player creates their own character with a customized background and is challenged with rising to power any way they can. Naturally, much of the gameplay takes place on the fields of battle, which can range from small twenty-man skirmishes to huge battles involving thousands of troops which can decide the fate of kingdoms. If Kingdom Come is the ultimate medieval RPG on a micro level, then Mount and Blade is definitely the macro equivalent.
6
Yes, Your Grace
Suffer The Stresses Of The Throne
- Released: March 6, 2020
- Developer: Brave At Night
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
This is a small title by the studio Brave At Night which focuses on a king and his immediate family as he makes choices relating to personal matters, such as if his daughter can keep a pet bear, and also about issues of the kingdom and those living in it.
It has a vibrant 2D-pixel art style and memorable characters, which adds to the tension of the coming invasion and the outcome of the decisions of the player, as the effect can become very personal. With the players starting from the polar opposites of the social scale in Yes, Your Grace and Kingdom Come, with one aiming for a deliberately retro stylized look while the other steers for natural realism and historical accuracy, they make interesting partner pieces to play together.
5
Manor Lords
The Challenges Of Running A Medieval Village
- Released
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April 26, 2024
- Developer(s)
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Slavic Magic
- Publisher(s)
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Hooded Horse
- OpenCritic Rating
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Fair
While still in early access, Manor Lords has already garnered a lot of well-deserved praise and positive feedback from a large player base. It is, essentially, a medieval city builder sim but with a much smaller scale and detail-orientated approach than is the norm for this style of game. Much like the way that Kingdom Come desired to make its focus a more realistic medieval tale of someone of no importance gaining a little importance in the world, Manor Lords sets its gaze on a single household within a kingdom and the intricacies of managing an estate as opposed to the usual grand scale kingdom/country management.
Rather than taking control of a country or a city here, the player plays the titular role of a manor lord, looking after a small township. Taking care of the economy, agriculture, and defense of a smaller population in a more hands-on style compared to other city builder games like Sim City, it’s a refreshing take on the city builder sim for those who prefer taking control of the minutiae and seeing the results of their work on a more personal than global scale.
4
Crusader Kings Series
Create A Dynasty To Survive History
- Released
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September 1, 2020
- ESRB
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T for Teens: Drug Reference, Language, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
- OpenCritic Rating
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Mighty
Crusader Kings is a highly detailed, historically set, and informed grand strategy game. The series covers the years between the 9th and 15th centuries during which the player is tasked with establishing a surviving dynasty. There is no set plot and Crusader Kings relies on its excellent emergent storytelling to deliver unique stories for the campaign.
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While, similarly to Kingdom Come, the game has a tendency to overload the player with mechanics and information to the point it can be daunting and seem insurmountable, there is an extremely rewarding experience to be had if this can be pushed past.
3
Age Of Empires 2: The Age Of Kings
Endless Medieval Warfare Of All Kinds
- Released
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November 14, 2019
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
A classic medieval RTS that is absolutely brimming with customizable options and content. There is a wealth of buildings, military types, environmental choices, “Hero” characters, and entire eras that can be toyed with to the players’ liking.
There is easily a full game’s worth of fun to be had with the map editor alone, but there is so much more available, such as multiple campaigns and multiplayer modes to put the players’ colonizing skills to the test. For players who enjoyed the wealth of historical knowledge and detail on display in Kingdom Come there is similar fun to be had here. If Kingdom Come is a Bernard Cornwell novel, then Age Of Empires is a bit like having a toy box of accurate soldiers.
2
Pentiment
A Murder Mystery With A Distinctive Style
- Released
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November 15, 2022
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
A very different type of historical game with hardly a sword or shield in sight. Pentiment is a point-and-click murder mystery with an extremely compelling story and characters. Pentiment also has a truly unique aesthetic, creating the appearance of a late medieval scroll come to life.
Set in 16th-century Bavaria, the player is tasked with solving a series of murders and, in an interesting turn, deciding the past of the player character, Andreas, as they advance through the story. While Kingdom Come has some memorable main and side missions based around churches and mystery, Pentiment goes full Umberto Eco and makes this the full focus of the narrative.
1
Chivalry Series
A Bloody Brawl Of Steel On Steel
- Released
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June 8, 2021
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
While in many ways Chivalry is quite the opposite of Kingdom Come, with a sole focus on multiplayer combat and there is little to no story or characters to follow, the first-person gory medieval battles do bear something of a resemblance to the larger set-piece battles of Kingdom Come.
The combat itself is like a more simplified version of Kingdom Come’s. It is still directional-based attacks and defense but without all the RPG factors to worry about, such as what armor a person is wearing and weapon durability. Instead, providing an arcadey feeling but atmospheric version of medieval warfare.
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