Going Medieval

There are the bones of incredible game in here but it's saddled with trollish developers blindly ripping off other titles with no understanding of their own game's differentiators. It's been frustrating watching this game lazily drip adding Dwarf Fortress mechanics. A year ago the combat wasn't amazing but it was at least enjoyable. Then they started watching players on youtube that were cheesing it and set out to destroy those tactics, as if personally offended by them, and it ruined the mechanics that were also working for the rest of us, forcing us to play a specific way. It's a telling sign of the disconnect between the developers and their players that "enemies use siege weapons" is a checkbox right up front in the options because they've never felt great. You'll waste hours of your life manually maintaining little character paths that should be automated because the developers think that playing "whack a mole" is fun with a mouse. The blight mechanic and the combat are both in an abysmal place as of launch. For all of early access we would ask for quality of life improvements and without fail every time they came the developer added more pain points with them. Too much is required instead of seen as optional for gameplay choice and variety. And dont ever try to use cows to haul iron for sale, it's hell on earth getting them all back in their pen when you return. Apparently the devs think stopping everything you're doing and manually clicking on individual characters and cows so your pawns can rope them before they get eaten by wolves is a fun way to spend our time. And that's all maddening because there is a great building system here. You can build beautiful castles and cathedrals if you turn off the combat, so that the random attack directions don't destroy your work. Which, that sucks. We should want combat to be on and still be able to build the beautiful castles. The devs have never added the oft requested feature to "repair as it was" when a building gets destroyed. You're going to be manually rebuilding all the walls when the siege weapons and random digging troll soldiers burn them down. And don't get too into the little characters in your village, they don't grow or evolve themselves very much. You're here to build quick little square box castles that follow the golden path through using everything the developer built. They've worked hard at punishing you for daring to think aesthetically or "role play" the characters. It's a shame. In the hands of more capable leadership they would stop everything and reassess the underlying village management game they have versus the civilization simulation they're clearly copying. (For the love of all that is holy, Foxy Voxel, find your own creativity and STOP copying your design document blindly from the far more expansive Dwarf Fortress.)

One major issue with Going Medieval is the absence of any family or lineage system, and that omission ends up weakening the entire premise. A medieval setting is inherently tied to kinship, inheritance, and generational continuity, so leaving that out makes the world feel disconnected from its own theme. A believable medieval settlement is not just a collection of individuals; it is built around households, trades passed through generations, and relationships that evolve over time. Without those dynamics, the experience loses a significant layer of depth and authenticity. As it stands, the colony ends up feeling more like a temporary shelter than a growing community. New settlers arrive randomly, with little identity or long-term connection to the place. Since there is no possibility of forming families or establishing continuity, there is no real sense of future or legacy. Instead of developing something that endures, you are simply maintaining a rotating group of inhabitants with no lasting stakes. That said, I would be willing to revise my opinion if the developers decide to implement these systems. Adding family mechanics, lineage, and generational progression could turn this into a much more complete experience, rather than a game that currently feels only partially realized

Okay so... Both the good and bad reviews here basically say it all. I do love this game, to a point. That point starts right about the time I've got my town more or less set up. There's no dynasty, no reason to care about one character over another, the NPCs have more of a functional story to them than your original villagers do. The only villager I care at all about, in my most recent build, is this lady who showed up nearly dead with the intolerant religious faction hunting her down. And the only reason I care about her is because at least she has story events (sill) happening many attacks later where they demand we turn her over. Even that got old when I realized these morons were never going to give up no matter how many times we effortlessly stomped them into ground. Nothing feels real or connected, and it feels shallow. Clansfolk is the same price, is older but still putting out massive update additions, and you end up feeling way more connected to your home and people. Yeah, sometimes a kid (or even baby) dies in Clanfolk. For me at least, it's rare, but I have strong memories attached to each gameplay loop where that happens, and I promise myself to make sure I don't let that happen again. With Going Medieval, they're just pixels, I don't care. For me, Going Medieval is what I would start my nieces or nephews on if they wanted to get into this genre. I wouldn't suggest it to a peer.

A settlement game that made me care about every single settler. After 179 hours, Going Medieval has become one of my favourite colony management games. I wanted to share both what I love about it and a few ideas that I hope the developers might consider. I've always been a fan of RTS games, starting with Age of Empires III. One thing I always felt those games lacked was the importance of each individual unit. Soldiers were often just expendable pieces on a battlefield. Going Medieval completely changed that for me. Every settler feels like a person instead of an expendable unit. They have backgrounds, moods, preferences, beliefs, relationships and daily needs. Managing a settlement feels believable because everyone naturally takes on multiple roles. Today's farmer may become tomorrow's doctor. A cook can pick up a bow when the settlement is attacked. A soldier returns to farming after the battle ends. That's exactly how a real settlement should feel. One of my favourite aspects is how the game quietly turns every profession into its own little management game. Building a kitchen becomes kitchen management—planning work shifts, keeping ingredients nearby, preserving food, and making sure production keeps up with demand. The same applies to farming, hunting, trading, brewing and crafting. It keeps every part of the settlement engaging. The recent updates have clearly improved many systems, and it's nice to see active development. I still encounter occasional production glitches where workstations report targets as fulfilled when they aren't (or vice versa), sometimes only resolving after rebuilding the workstation or restarting the game. These issues are much rarer now, but I hope they continue to improve. The rest of this review isn't criticism—it's simply a collection of ideas from someone who genuinely enjoys the game and wants to see it become even better. 1. General / Game Setting What I like - Every settler feels important. - Great balance between colony management, survival and medieval life. - Excellent atmosphere. Suggestions - More official scenarios and campaigns beyond survival. - Objectives such as defending a king, protecting a monastery or cathedral, supplying a kingdom during war, or "King of the Hill" style maps. 2. Landscape & Map Design What I like - Vertical building and terrain manipulation are some of the game's strongest features. - Building into mountains and creating underground settlements is incredibly satisfying. Suggestions - More unique map landmarks and terrain variations. - More reasons to explore beyond the starting area. 3. Character Depth What I like - Settlers have personality instead of feeling like robots. - Managing their daily lives is enjoyable. Suggestions - Expand personalities further. - More interactions, rivalries, friendships and leadership traits. 4. Wildlife & Domestic Animals What I like - Hunting and livestock both feel meaningful. Suggestions - A dedicated Shepherd role. - Dogs assigned to protect livestock from predators. - More animal behaviours and interactions. 5. Building & Settlement Design What I like - Building multi-storey castles and underground cellars is fantastic. - Temperature management is one of my favourite mechanics. Suggestions - Allow cellars to become a recognized room type that provides additional food preservation or fermentation bonuses. - Expand room specialization further. For example, workshops could gain efficiency bonuses when their relevant materials are stored within the room, encouraging better settlement planning. 6. Weapons, Equipment & Armour What I like - Combat encourages planning instead of simply making stronger weapons. Suggestions - Give players the ability to craft every existing weapon and equipment type already present in the game. - Allow crafting of currently unavailable equipment such as metal shields. - Expand equipment progression with more craftable armour and weapon variants over time. 7. Clothing & Appearance What I like - Equipment progression feels rewarding. Suggestions - Give players more control over who wears specific equipment. - For example, I'd like to reserve golden armour for my Sergeant, distinctive clothing for my Broker, or a particular outfit for my Bard. Small appearance controls like this would make settlements feel more organized while also making important settlers easier to identify during battles. 8. Agriculture & Fishing What I like - Farming is enjoyable and supports the entire settlement. Suggestions - Add more crop varieties over time. - In the in-game dictionary, include the ingredients required to prepare each dish. The dishes themselves are already well explained, but seeing their recipes would make it easier to plan farming, preserve rare ingredients, and explore the game's excellent medieval cuisine. 9. Crafting What I like - Production chains are satisfying to optimize. Suggestions - Continue expanding crafting progression and the variety of equipment available throughout the game. 10. Prisons & Prisoners What I like - Prisoners add interesting gameplay. Suggestions - Expand prisoner management. - Dedicated jailer behaviour. - More interactions and rehabilitation options. 11. Community Roles This is where I think the game has enormous potential. The existing roles are enjoyable, but many feel mechanically limited. Examples: - A Settlement Leader who improves morale, attracts settlers and inspires defenders. - Shepherds managing livestock with dogs. - Bards boosting morale during celebrations and battles. - Sergeants encouraging nearby soldiers. - Brokers providing economic bonuses beyond trading prices. These roles would make settlements feel even more alive. 12. Rooms What I like - Room specialization is rewarding. Suggestions - More specialized room types with meaningful buffs that encourage different settlement layouts and planning. 13. Trading & Diplomacy What I like - Trading is an important part of progression. Suggestions - Allow players to visit allied settlements. - Trade directly at their markets or through their brokers. - Seeing how NPC settlements function would help new players while making the world feel much more alive. 14. Battles What I like - Battles reward preparation. Suggestions - Easier management of large groups. - Better formations. - More control over battalions. - Less need to pause constantly. - Banner bearers could inspire nearby troops while making armies feel even more medieval. - Archers having optional secondary weapons like daggers or hand axes would also be a nice addition. 15. Siege Warfare Suggestions - Expand siege equipment. - Mobile siege towers. - Assault ramps. - More varied enemy siege tactics. - It would also be great to eventually see enemy armies using war dogs and more varied battlefield compositions. 16. Other Suggestions The most requested feature is probably horses. I completely agree. Horses could expand almost every system in the game: - Cavalry. - Saddles. - Horseshoes. - Stables. - Wagons. - Greater caravan capacity. - New military strategies. - Greater importance for spearmen and pike formations. If cavalry is already planned for a future update or DLC, I'd happily support it. Final Thoughts Going Medieval has become one of my favourite colony management games because it makes me care about the people living in my settlement rather than simply managing resources. It has excellent foundations, active developers, and updates that genuinely improve the game. Most of my suggestions come from wanting the world to become even deeper, not because I think it's lacking. If the developers continue building on these systems over the coming years, I honestly think Going Medieval could become one of the defining medieval settlement simulators. Thank you to the developers for continuing to improve it. I'm excited to see where the game goes next.

Very nice game, but please add the ability to make new child settlers.

我觉得现在同类产品多到都可以出一个环世界like游戏评级了（ 结果还是不如环世界。。除了有Z轴可以往上盖房子之外，处处都带来一种虽然这游戏也不错，但是我为啥不去玩环世界的感觉2333

Over 4000+ hours on a single survival save from 0.10.4, updated it with new saves to now we are at 1.1.XX so yea worth the money and the time. They actually made a good game that takes mods. Game plays as Rimworld in 3d. Not more I need to say other than if you like Rimworld you will like this no doubt.

The game feels great, the graphics are amazing, and there are many, many fleshed out mechanics that I love. Combat is overall not bad, but can get a little cheesy imo. The one big thing missing from a game like this that needs to exist is one thing: FAMILIES There should be romances between characters, role giving to colonists like nobility, last names that carry down genes, and child-bearing gameplay such as childcare, teaching (schools and teachers?), and choosing passions as they grow up (like rimworld). This would elevate a game like this to the whole next level, truly cementing it among the top of the top I feel. I hope and pray for this to happen at some point.

It is a great game. Really fun if you like building castles and doing base defense. Only thing I wish was in the game is the ability for the settlers to marry and have children. It's a very obvious bit of the game that is missing to make it worth playing past the midgame.