Medieval Dynasty – Review

Medieval Dynasty is a particular video game that needs to be defined: it has elements of an RPG, a management, a survival game, to sandbox elements. It has existed on other platforms since 2021, but has only been available for PlayStation 4 since April 20, 2023. We will play Racimir, an eighteen-year-old who, after the most common prologue, which was an attack by bandits that destroyed his home and his family, he has to start a new life in a new place. It will be very difficult to make an objective judgment about the medieval dynasty, because the specific dynamics that characterize it can easily divide the audience. In this review we will try to analyze all the important points.

A medieval life simulator

After a short introductory film, we find ourselves in the middle of a forest, ready to reach a nearby village in search of our uncle who has made a fortune. As soon as we reach the village, the innkeeper will tell us bluntly that our uncle is dead: let’s start, do what you want in this vast valley. Medieval Dynasty does not propose a plot or path to follow, but is riddled with an infinite number of quests, whether they are defined as chapters, stories or side missions. A major flaw is that not only are the dialogues unspoken, with totally silent exchanges, but the texts of the NPCs are very long and written in a way that isn’t exactly easy to read. That is why there is a good chance that you will immediately skip all dialogues, also because they will not tell anything interesting.

Among other things, the game has no tutorials: it will be limited to pointing out what to do through some missions called chapters. The menu also contains a card full of information, but these are often not useful in practice. The main goal will still be to found our village and create a dynasty. The village and its population will grow based on what we decide to build and how, while around the valley we will be able to court a woman and make her his wife, to have an heir who raises will take into his own hands when Racimir dies, if he dies… Medieval Dynasty actually offers an interesting way to travel through time. Each character has a certain age and each year goes through the four seasons: each season lasts for three playing days, each day is about forty-eight real minutes. During the seasons, the map and our character’s needs change at the same time.

Rome was not built in a day…

If you like crafting and management, Medieval Dynasty is the game for you. If the opposite is true, you will hate it. The gameplay is extremely slow, as is the progression system for characters and villages. But the development of your village is the beating heart of the gameplay. You will find yourself building houses for your inhabitants wherever you want, who in turn can produce children, and dozens of other buildings with the most varied functions: huts for hunting and fishing, sawmills, buildings for agriculture, warehouses, forges and whatever. otherwise that comes to mind, suitable for the Middle Ages. The management of the buildings and the needs of the residents is very clear and has a special tab in the pause menu. Unfortunately, the lack of an effective tutorial will make the first hours of the game a nightmare, precisely because of the depth of this management component.

The crafting system is sometimes over the top. The game world is bursting with resources and there are hundreds of items that can be crafted, but even a simple task like bringing water to a villager’s house will be very time consuming: to bring water you need a bucket, which is crafted of planks, which are made of a trunk, which is obtained by cutting down a tree with an ax, made of a stick and stones. The whole thing is exhaustively slowed down by the maximum weight the character can carry. Against these factors and based on your play style, Medieval Dynasty offers content that can keep you busy between thirty and one hundred hours. The size of this interval is answered in the next section.

…but maybe with some help it can be done sooner

Just as our village and its inhabitants will need constant support, as they cannot do it alone, the main character will also have a series of indicators to keep an eye on in order to avoid his death. Racimir will indeed go hungry and thirsty, he will have to beware of the winter cold and the intoxication that some foods can give him. He will have to wash so as not to be avoided by his interlocutors and will have health and vitality parameters, which will consequently be affected by everyone else. Aside from vitals, the only other threats are the bandits that will attack our village as it grows and aggressive animals: we’ve done well, considering the misfortunes that there were in the Middle Ages. Medieval dynasty specifically presents a not too varied flora and fauna, but the hunting and gathering of plants will be essential for sustenance.

An excellent aspect that sets this simulator apart and makes it suitable for everyone is that the developers have made available a series of important modifiers that can be activated at will. We are talking about many profound changes, including, for example, the elimination of needs such as hunger, thirst and body temperature. The most important, however, are the possibility to make the maximum transportable weight infinite and the possibility to drastically reduce the production time. Going on an expedition into the woods and having to return after collecting five logs, as they weigh a lot, is very restrictive compared to being able to transport a thousand logs at a time. Also, having to craft a hundred items that take five seconds each will slow down the gameplay immensely compared to being able to craft a hundred in the same five seconds. Freedom is left to the player: would you rather punish the realism or your patience?

The technical sector and the content

Medieval Dynasty doesn’t offer particularly great graphics and animations, but they are still enough for a very enjoyable gaming experience. In addition to the already mentioned lack of voice in the characters, some animations for certain actions are missing: mostly these are the object creation animations, but it is understandable given their variety. However, strategies have been used in other cases: if we consider, for example, the water of rivers, it will never exceed our character, and consequently it will be possible to cross any river on foot and without ever having to resort to swimming .

The game world is huge and full of resources, but there are no major cities: indeed, the largest village will probably become ours. This is perhaps a pity because since it was the Middle Ages one could have been more daring and imagined more castles and such. Likewise, the missions are also very sparse. Whether it’s large or small orders, it’s just a matter of continuously completing delivery requests for certain items, except on rare occasions. The background music is few and repeats on a loop, but they are not annoying. The audio effects, on the other hand, are promoted, first of all the beeping of the protagonist when he gets tired, which, among other things, can also be deactivated from the options.

Yes, but the trophies?

Medieval Dynasty Platinum, for which we are preparing a guide, can be quite clumsy and extremely long. Although there is no real storyline, you are first asked to complete the so-called main story. Some trophies are related to village development and skill improvement. Most trophies involve the completion of various and specific actions, some of which can be missed. One of the most annoying trophies for the player is certainly the one associated with collecting a thousand logs, which turns out to be a real joke and will test your patience. Add to this a trophy that requires you to have a million coins and one that requires you to play as a child: they will take away an inhuman amount of time.