At some point, we’ve all felt the desire to gather our loyal subjects, construct imposing fortresses, and put our enemies to the sword in true medieval fashion. Age of Respair is one upcoming medieval castle builder that looks to scratch that very specific itch through a blend of real-time strategy and city building elements.
Inspired by classics such as Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader, publisher and developer Respair Games aims to put its own spin on the subgenre while dressing up its debut project, developed using Unreal Engine 5, in a fresh yet adequately nostalgic garb.
Age of Respair Release Date
Whether you opt for its story-driven campaign or hop straight into skirmishes against AI opponents, the foundations of any good castle in Age of Respair start with gathering resources such as wood, stone, and iron.
Once your workers fill your stockpiles, they fuel entire production chains while feeding your people, who are instrumental in all your efforts.
Keeping their bellies full is but one step towards keeping your population happy. Buildings such as churches, taverns, and decorations offer necessary morale boosts while making sure that your people pay more taxes and don’t abandon you when you need them most.
At the same time, Age of Respair offers the alternative of ruling through fear, which increases resource production at the cost of happiness. Plop down torture machines, and your people will work harder, at least until they reach their limit.
Of course, all your efforts revolve around ensuring your castle’s defenses can hold back any foe. Strong walls, towers, and deep moats act as your main source of protection against enemy invasions. Not only that, but they also keep your king – who rumor has it is a fairly important guy – safe.
Making sure that you have enough weapons, trained soldiers, and siege machines then plays a vital role in conquering your opponents, which has the wonderful side effect of also stopping their pesky attacks.
Just make sure you carefully scout ahead to avoid sending your large groups of organized units straight into an ambush.
Even with other independent projects contributing to the RTS renaissance that’s steadily brewing, the castle builder subgenre doesn’t get a lot of entries. It will be interesting to see if Age of Respair can live up to or even surpass the classics when it launches on PC, via Steam, in 2025.
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