Manor Lords releases first update in nine months as Steam reviews turn sour

When it comes to strategy games, none are as intriguing as Manor Lords. Developer Slavic Magic started off by putting his heart and soul into the game as a solo project, before it grew beyond his wildest dreams. Still in early access but with a bigger team now supporting it, the surprise hit has released its first major update for nine months. The lack of updates in this time has soured the fanbase somewhat, bringing its overall 'very positive' Steam rating down to 'mixed' in the last 30 days. Hopefully the scope of this patch, as well as the developer's transparency, will bring players back on board.

"Sorry for taking so long this time," writes Greg Styczeń, original and lead developer of Manor Lords. "I am rethinking what went wrong to ensure it won't happen again. I focused on expanding the developer team and tackled way too many issues at once."

I can vouch for that last part, as these patch notes are huge. Even just listing all the major changes would have us here all day. However, I'll cover the most important updates and you can head to the post itself for the full rundown.

The first thing you'll notice after downloading the experimental beta are the new maps and the ability to preselect your starting location in the game setup screen. You can also choose new game modes from here, including Duel against the (improved) AI, and four-Lord-free-for-all Fractured Realm.

Once you've started a game, you'll notice new jobs and buildings, including the quarry, lime kiln, and stonemason. Each comes with a connected resource in rough stone, mortar, and dressed stone respectively.

When it comes to building fortifications, stone castles are now on the cards. You can also climb ladders, hover over buildings to see the soldiers inside, and open and close gates individually rather than all at once. There's also a new system for positioning units on walls.

The latest update also carves up each region into different environments, which provide affinities to certain buildings. The example Styczeń gives is pig pens increasing in efficiency in regions with a lot of woodland.

Additionally, you now need to maintain your structures, the approval system has been reworked, and there are numerous balance changes throughout most aspects of the game. Vegetables have been split into cabbages, carrots, and beetroots, and meat has been divided into mutton, chevon, pork, beef, chicken, and small game. There are dozens of smaller changes, too, from adding river fishing to adding missing wall snapping points to make building towers easier.

There's bad news, however. Due to the scope of this update, older saves will no longer work. With that sizeable caveat in place, is this patch enough to satisfy disgruntled players after such a long period without an update? I'm not so sure.

Manor Lords' latest experimental beta patch is available now. You can download the game on Steam for $25.99 / £22.75 until Monday, October 6. Read the full patch notes here and buy the game here.

If this news has you ravenous for more, check out our list of the best city building games. If it's history you're after, the best medieval games should have you covered.

What do you make of Manor Lords' nine month update hiatus, and is this patch worth the wait? Let us know in our community Discord server, where readers and staff discuss all the latest gaming news.