I’ve played a lot of Going Medieval this last weekend. The game launched a couple of weeks ago and I just about managed to get my hands on it in time to pour every spare moment I had into it. Luckily this was a weekend in which I had nothing else on, so I’ve spent a significant amount of time building and surviving in one of the most engrossing management games I’ve played all year. On the surface, Going Medieval doesn’t look that good. I discounted it at launch as a copy of TABS, seeing zero depth. Having played it though, I can confirm that this is the deepest management game to come out in 2021, and it’s only in early access.
The concept of Going Medieval is simple, survive. You’ve got three modes, one which is pretty chill and sees no combat, one that has a balance between survival and combat, and a third that is all about tonnes of combat and barely surviving. I’m on the middle mode, and that’s stressful enough. Every time you feel like you’re on top of stuff, a bunch of combatants comes along to tear you a new one. It’s relentless, even the weather wants to kill you, but it’s so enjoyable.
As I mentioned, the game is in early access right now, but it’s got much more content than some of the full releases that have already come out this year. There’s also a roadmap showing all the planned features that will be added over the coming weeks and months, and it’s really daunting to think that this game could get any deeper to be honest. Everything feels like it takes the right amount of effort, but the visuals balance the hardships out to make it a pleasant experience in every way.
I think this game has serious legs, which is already evident in the number of people playing it. There’s plenty to keep you entertained in one game mode, let alone all three, and it’s going cheap. This game is the one that you should invest in if you’re looking for a new early access title to spend some money on.