City builders continue to dominate Steam as Manor Lords becomes its most wishlisted game

Houses in Manor Lords — (Image credit: Slavic Magic)

There hasn't been a better time to be obsessed with city builders, and it looks like our appetite for plotting out road networks and crafting bustling towns is as strong as ever, with Slavic Magic's Manor Lords now topping the Steam wishlist charts.

As clocked by GamesRadar, the medieval city builder has risen to the top of Steam's most wishlisted games, overtaking Hades 2, Black Myth: Wukong and Hollow Knight: Silksong. This is particularly impressive when you consider Slavic Magic, aka Greg Styczeń, is a solo developer, who initially funded the game through Patreon.

Still, I'm not surprised. Anticipation for Manor Lords has been high since it was announced back in 2020, buoyed by popular Steam Next Fest demos. It's also shaping up very nicely. Ahead of its early access launch on April 26, I spent a few days developing medieval villages, fighting bandits, and feeding everyone eggs—an extremely good time was had.

There's a lot to like about Manor Lords' approach to building settlements, but what I really dig is its housing system. In a lot of city builders, homes are just where your citizens sleep, but in Manor Lords they are crucial buildings where everything from eggs to spears are produced. In their gardens you can build chicken coops, allotments, breweries and smithies, giving each home a specific purpose. So you're not just plonking down a bunch of homes and never thinking about them again.

It's also a looker. Zooming down to street level, or inhabiting your noble avatar and going for a wander, lets you explore your village's nooks and crannies, giving you a clear view of Manor Lords' incredible attention to detail. Using photogrammetry, Slavic Magic has made an incredibly realistic facsimile of medieval life, and I've spent ages just watching my villagers gab on street corners, feed their chickens or carve up slabs of meat.

Manor Lords isn't the only city builder being added to lots of wishlists, though. Frostpunk 2 has claimed the fifth spot, and you'll actually be able to take it for a spin today if you've splashed out on the deluxe edition, which includes access to a week-long beta.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.