Life is Feudal: Forest Village

Life is Feudal: Forest Village is a city builder/management sim that has a medieval style to it all. This is part of a series, but this was the first game that I played in this franchise. I have played many of these games over the years and this one here manages to be one of the more relaxing games of this style that I have played in quite some time.

Surviving The Winter

There is no big over-arching story to deal with here and while there are little scenarios here and there. For the most part, when you are playing Life is Feudal: Forest Village the survival and thriving of your settlement is what you are working towards. If you have played any kind of city-building sim before, especially one set during this time period you will know what to expect here.

I will say that while the game has a tutorial, this is a game that has a real learning curve to it. I played the tutorial and still was not all that confident until a few hours in that I truly knew what I was doing. To be fair, trial and error is common in games like this, but the early part of the game is really tough.

Why Do You Look Grouchy?

I was pleasantly surprised by the visuals of this game. While most of what you are doing will be from a top down kind of viewpoint which is usually common in games like this. Life is Feudal: Forest Village does allow you to jump into the thick of it with a first-person view. This is a great idea in theory and the game certainly looks good. My only problem is the facial designs on the villagers either all look the same or lack any kind of personality.

Taking Care Of Business

If you have played a game of this style before, you will know what is going on here. To be fair, Life is Feudal: Forest Village plays it very safe when it comes to the gameplay. You need to gather resources, build structures, put people to work, and so on. The people in your village lack initiative at time, but when you tell them to do something, they get to it. The point is, do not leave people to it as more often than not they will start slacking off.

The early part of the game is really hard, but you want to build up so you have enough recourses so that you can manage things like a harsh winter or animals that kill your livestock or a bout of illness and so on. There is a lot to keep your eye on, but once you get past the first few hours, you will get into a roll and the game does become quite a relaxing experience.

Pros:

• Building a settlement from scratch is a good experience
• Managing your people can be fun
• Being able to look around in the first person is interesting
• I liked the visuals
• The game has a very relaxing kind of vibe to it

Cons:

• It is not the most exciting game in the world
• The early part of the game may put some players off