Medieval Dynasty, the Medieval survival RPG developed by Render Cube and publisher Toplitz Productions, is currently in early access on Steam. The Alpha build is pretty impressive so far, but there are still a few components that the team is probably working hard on implementing and improving. The early enthusiasm for the game is definitely justified and I think those who have played are quite eager to see what the future holds for Medieval Dynasty.
The premise of the medieval dynasty is as follows: your house was lost due to the war and you go in search of your uncle to start a new life. Your journey ends at the place where the game takes place, a peaceful country with several villages and many resources to survive. To survive the seasons and build your dynastic reputation, you need to collect resources, meet your basic human needs (food and water), help fellow citizens in quests, start a family and finally build your own village. This is a relatively large list of items to achieve, but these goals will bring you back to the game again and again.
After the first hours when I established myself in Medieval Dynasty with a simple shelter, collected resources and lucky citizens on the progress of the quest, He already had his hooks in me. The different reward loops (e.g. survival, quest progression, character progression) that this game offers at the same time work very well. The survival aspect is simple: you must respect the hunger and water meters while keeping your temperature at bay (Winter requires warmer clothes than at the beginning). Food is available via mushroom and berry search or Hunting/catching wild animals, and any natural water source allows you to fill your belly. You will need a simple house to sleep in, which also offers storage space and a place to cook your raw meat. Finally, you can grow vegetables and raise livestock once you have put your village into operation to feed yourself and your villagers.
I haven’t made a full-fledged village work yet, but the sight of it keeps me going. I really enjoyed banned, a survival management game that has similarities with which I think Medieval Dynasty is a first-person Version. With only a few inhabitants, I assigned them to the hunting lodge to maintain food stocks during the winter. I have currently set up a few fields for farming, but I have not yet had the opportunity to familiarize myself with planting in order to maximize growth for the seasons. It is a little difficult at the moment to understand everything that is necessary to keep your villagers happy, because I invited the first inhabitant without a real food warehouse and he almost starved to passed away. I am sure that as the development progresses, there will be more information and community Wikis to help you plan a stellar village.
Hunting is definitely a highlight of the beginning of the game. Throwing wooden spears at deer and bison (i.e. Bison) is satisfying, but it’s not without Frustration. The basic Bow you get or make in the game offers more accuracy from a distance, but feels under-powered compared to the spear. Either way, once you have found your prey, you can strip the animal for valuable meat, leather and fur. Since I hunted way too much between trips to the different villages of the Medieval Dynasty, I sold a lot of excess meat so that it wouldn’t spoil in my inventory. There is a deterioration mechanic in the game, but I don’t think it’s fully worked out at the moment. The basic understanding is that the objects on your desktop spoil faster than if they were stored. Cooking a degraded piece of raw meat increases its freshness, so save yourself large cooking sessions right after the change of Season.
Speaking of seasons, they are absolutely charming. Every Season looks and feels authentic. It is also very nice to see how the villagers and villages change at any time of the year. I was a little surprised that every Season passes in 3 match days, but after a few years, this transition makes sense. I think maybe the devs could add a perk that unlocks an extra day per Season if that’s possible, but it would be nice if it stayed at 3 days. During each season, the landscapes of the medieval villages change and can sometimes be so breathtaking that I would stop to enjoy the view before going down to the nearest valley. This game looks awesome and I can’t wait to see how the modders get their hands on the game to improve the lighting and landscapes like in Skyrim or other games with beautiful ENB presets.
Between the season changes and survival, your character will age and improve his abilities. There are several skill trees with many benefits to unlock (although some of them are not fully implemented yet). An early advantage that was worth getting was an increase in experience points earned when performing survival skills, which allowed for faster progression, and the ability to use the investigation mode to discover herbs and resources around the world. It was an invaluable element for finding objects in lush forests, where the ground is covered with shrubs and plants, for finding herbs and mushrooms. Other skill trees with unlockable perks include hunting, Diplomacy, Farming, mining, and Crafting. Your character progresses as you develop your village and Dynasty, so you have a lot to do and plan to play Medieval Dynasty.
