The European Middle Ages are a ripe period for exploration. A millennium of the very tumultuous history of many different cultures makes for an incredible font of inspiration. Kingdoms clashing over land and grudges, new settlements growing into towns and cities… doesn’t that sound like the perfect premise for a compelling video game?
Indeed, the realm of digital entertainment is quite fond of the Middle Ages. Even if we disregard all the fantasy games based on the medieval aesthetic, we’re left with countless games which use historical settings to great effect. The political and cultural turmoil of the period is especially fitting for strategy (and strategy-adjacent) games.
Gamifying history: Medieval strategy games in practice
Video games, even those with the most attention to realism, can’t truly be realistic and accurate. Each game has its own rules, and often compromises have to be made for various abstract ideas and alternate timelines. Finding the right balance between gameplay and realism can be tricky, and different games choose to navigate it in different ways.
The smaller the scale, the bigger the precision
You might think it’s hard to mess history up if you’re only in charge of a single city or fortress. Considering there were hundreds of them back then, surely a single one probably wouldn’t make such a huge difference. In reality, such a limited and focused scope requires developers to get into the real nitty-gritty of running a town.
Take, for example, Manor Lords, this year’s city-builder has showed a lot of promise. Set in 14th century Franconia, you are put in charge of building a thriving settlement. In addition to managing the trade, taxes, and such, you’ll also have the opportunity to uitilise the game’s wonderful, grid-less construction system that allows you to hand-draw roads, housing plots, and more. Such an organic, up-and-coming model is a rarity in the genre and will make your growing village much more true-to-life. Manor Lords has many such realistic, authentic touches in its gameplay and presentation, on top off all your typical video game things like technology tree.
On the other hand, classics such as Anno 1404, prefer to go into the complex systems of economic growth and governance of a large city. The Anno series has always been a treat for fans who enjoy establishing policies and large-scale planning making 1404 no different. Some parts might be hard to believe, especially the idea of a big city being realistic compared to a small town, but it still manages to be detailed and complex, while still being easy to navigate.
Somewhere in between the two, we have the 2000s classic, Stronghold. As the name may suggest, it places you in charge of building, maintaining, and defending a self-sustaining walled town complete with a heavily fortified stronghold as well as an array of buildings providing resources and citizens. It’s quite old-school, but its Definitive Edition proves that a good design will always work, and if turtling in your base is your favourite flavour of RTS, this is the best historically-inclined city-builder for you.
Grand ambitions
Sometimes such small-scale operations aren’t quite what you desire in a game. Perhaps you crave conquest, political machinations, and grand battles. They are a bit harder to fit into historically accurate settings, but often they keep to some degree of accuracy, even as they allow you to rewrite history to your liking.
One such game is Total War: Medieval II. It is also one of the classics, but not the last one on this list. As the title might suggest, it focuses on the grand schemes of waging war in the European Middle Ages. You will find yourself splitting playtime between a strategic map; where you issue marching orders to your armies, engage in diplomacy, while working on improving your regions, and the real-time tactical battles between hundreds of units, testing your abilities as a commanding officer of large military.
With skill and patience, Total War: Medieval II will let you conquer Europe as an otherwise underdog kingdom, however, where it excels in warfare, its social aspects leave much to be desired. If you desire a completely opposite proportion of simulation, turn your eye towards Crusader Kings III, the latest, and by far the most accessible, in the series of incredibly complex, nuanced, and staggeringly reactive dynastic simulators.
In CK3, you assume the role of a noble house’s leader, tasked with ensuring the dynasty grows in power and influence. Within this context, your freedom is limitless. You could become the head of a new religion and face censures from the Pope, you could attempt to assassinate your own family to trim the succession line. The world is your oyster in this game where even the wildest and ahistorical swings can lead to believable results and many funny anecdotes. The longer the campaign lasts, the more chances you have of seeing some totally crazy stuff happening.
Both Total War and CK favour simulating the dynamics of Medieval world over intense simplifications and complete fiction, but other games prove that they can still lead to fantastic gameplay and memorable experiences.
Perhaps historical accuracy isn’t what you seek, after all?
One memorable and beloved example of such games is the Age of Empires series, particularly the AoE4 installment. These old-school real-time strategies tend to boil city-building down to a few symbolic constructions and armies to individual warriors. Although these aspects may not be strictly accurate, they still leave a lot of room for great RTS gameplay, and dedicated campaigns based on historical events and periods, such as the Norman conquest of England.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have games games such as Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, which takes place in a fully fictional setting. Despite that, its immersive and convincing details make it a pretty good showcase of certain real medieval weapons, armor, and basic architecture, even if the setting is only vaguely based on Europe. The game is, technically, a third/first person action RPG, but its open field battles and sieges see you command small armies, and over time you are likely to earn your own fief, perhaps even establish a trading operation, giving M&B2 an interesting strategic and tactical aspect.
Multi-faceted appeal
Whether you’re itching for detailed, in-depth, simulations, or a fun, “abridged” or fictional form of history, there is always a game out there for you. The titles in this list are just a fraction of the period’s representation in the genre, and an even smaller fraction of medieval themes and elements in gaming.
If you’d like to start exploring the game versions of Middle Ages on your own, you can find hundreds of attractive deals on digital keys in G2A.COM’s rich and diverse offers catalog to start your journey. Now go forth and conquer!
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