Thrive mixes Manor Lords' mechanics with fantasy world design, and it's hit 1.0

There are a lot of games out there that mix strategy design with a fantasy aesthetic. From Against the Storm to Songs of Conquest, Warcraft 3 to Age of Wonders 4, this combination of setting and genre has always found an audience. Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown follows suit, but, as a mix of RTS and city-building, it throws even more ingredients into the mix to make it stand out from the pack. If you want to see how it works for yourself, now's a good time. Thrive has just hit 1.0 on Steam, and, to celebrate the full version's launch, it's heavily discounted for a limited time.

Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is an RTS strategy game, but it's also a city builder and a fantasy RPG as well. It casts players as the ruler of a fictional medieval city who, either by themselves or in co-op, must work to build, manage, and protect their fledgling settlement.

There's plenty of 4X DNA in Thrive's design, evident in the world map that players can explore to collect resources and interact with friendly or enemy villages and armies. Much of the world's reaction to the player is governed by the choices they make as ruler, choosing to be authoritarian or fairer-minded when decision points arrive. At home, though, the game centers largely on upgrading the ruler's society across a tech tree, entering into trade agreements, and building out their kingdom's infrastructure.

The full version of the game has finally arrived. Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is out now on Steam with a 65% launch discount that brings its price down to $9.79 USD / £8.04 until Thursday June 26. Grab a copy right here.

Otherwise, you can find other games like Thrive to play with our picks for the best fantasy games and best RTS games on PC.

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