Slavic Magic, aka developer Greg Styczeń, is eager to reveal what the city builder is really all about and meet players' expectations ahead of Manor Lords' Early Access launch on April 26. The game is currently the most wishlisted title on Steam, which is a pleasant problem for any developer, but it also means that expectations are high, so Styczeń wants aspiring aristocrats to know what is in store for them.

"Manor Lords" is an all-out city builder, but because it includes real-time battles and a mode that allows you to roam the settlements, it could be compared to other games in the genre; Styczeń wants to set the record straight.

One of the most compared games is Total War. Screenshots and quick clips of rows of warriors charging onto the battlefield are reminiscent of Creative Assembly's burly strategy series, but the similarities go beyond that.

"Manor Lords is not a competitor to Total War. It is a city builder with battles. Yes, there are battles, but they are not as large or frequent as one might expect. Most of the gameplay is focused on building and managing the city.

On the rare occasion when fighting other armies, you can issue a few commands, but simplicity is the name of the game here. Much of the game mechanics focus on the aesthetics of the city, and resources take time to move around the map." The result is mostly a laid-back experience, where high-tension moments spice up the atmospheric city planning, rather than the game being a constant high-tension affair." It is not a "fast-paced RTS like Age of Empires or Starcraft.

Don't look at a large map divided into regions and think it's an empire management game. You can't conquer or marry your way across Europe, although there are regions on the map. The game is designed to be played on a much smaller scale.

This makes "Manor Lords" feel different from similar city-building games, but not so much that you feel like you're playing "Crusader Kings."

One of my favorite features is the ability to take a walk as a noble ruler, but Styczeń notes that this is merely an "experimental, cosmetic bonus feature. It's "not even an RPG" because you can't really do anything in that mode. When I first saw this mode, I got the vibe of "Mount & Blade," but Styczeń emphasizes that it is not such a game.

Styczeń also explained why he decided to release Manor Lords in early access first. He said, "This is my first real game, and not only is it still incomplete in some ways, but I bet you will all ask me to change parts of it that you don't necessarily like. His goal is to "pursue an open development strategy" and get feedback from players to improve City Builder. For this reason, he decided not to announce a roadmap yet. We want to adopt a philosophy of "listen, verify, and implement. By doing so, the first month of patches will be bug fixes and refinements. In the meantime, we will work with Hooded Horse to gather your feedback and prioritize the work based on what we hear."

This all seems very sensible. One of the advantages of being a stand-alone development is having a clearer vision, but this is a double-edged sword. This way, Styczeń can be more nimble and work on what people are most excited about.

And Manor Lords is shaping up very nicely. I spent a few days fiddling around with this game earlier this month, trying and failing to build an egg-based economy, but it is on track to become one of my favorite city builders of the last few years. While the early access builds don't have access to some features, such as building different types of settlements or working through all the research trees, there are still plenty of elements to keep the lords and ladies-to-be busy.