Norland is a unique simulation game in which you run your very own medieval kingdom—class conflicts, crime, treachery, and all. You have to deal with every wonderful aspect of living in the Middle Ages, from slave revolts to secret murders. Norland mirrors RimWorld in many ways, as it contains elements of serious strategy gameplay and unforgiving city builder mechanics. The game is set to be developer and publisher Long Jaunt’s first title, and I personally cannot wait to control my own little noble family after seeing Norland’s gameplay overview.
Do you have a specific time period that you have obsessed over, either by reading through its literature and mythology or researching its various cultures? For me, that time period is the medieval era. I studied the Middle Ages for my postgraduate degree, and I loved everything about the gloomy, gritty period shamelessly. This obsession of mine extends to my taste in video games, as I often look for medieval-inspired experiences like The Witcher.
Norland feels like a game that will fit me like a glove, as it combines my strange love for all things medieval with my intense fascination with simulation games. Remember games like The Sims’ weird medieval spin-off? Probably not, since it was obscure enough as is compared to the series’ more renowned entries like The Sims 4. I do, though, and I loved getting to control my own kingdom. Conversely, Norland is offering me the chance to expand on this sort of management much more.
You start by managing your own noble family that owns a city populated by a vast variety of characters, each from diverse backgrounds. From peasants and slaves to criminals and soldiers, each citizen has their own unique needs and complex behaviors calling on your noble family’s focus. In Norland, social status and individuality are everything. Did I mention that you can change up your starting conditions every time you play, making each run different?
I am excited to witness family members build their own relationships, whether those be encompassed by hatred for one another or a simple lust for power. I also can’t wait to build my own little armies and secretly assassinate anyone in my nobility’s way. Norland is definitely way more intense than any medieval Sims experience ever was, and I am genuinely excited to see how we all tackle this RimWorld-like take on medieval city building. God, I do hope there is some sort of motherlode-like cheat, though.
If you like the look of Norland, then you should check out some of our other favorite city-building games for some similar gameplay experiences to peruse through while you wait for the medieval colony sim’s release. You can also browse through a few of the best medieval games out there right now if you are just as weirdly taken by the Middle Ages as I am.