Chronicles: Medieval is a sandbox RPG that puts players in the commanding role of a medieval army, providing a strong mix of action and strategy. GameSpot was able to preview a hands-off demo and speak with senior game designer Gareth Bourn and lead producer Sam Millen about this ambitious medieval sandbox experience set in 14th-century Europe, where there is an exciting amount of freedom and an impressive attention to detail.
Developer Raw Power Games has created a massive action-strategy game, which features large-scale tactical battles and real-time combat. The game is set during the age of the Hundred Years’ War, and while the developer spent a lot of time researching for historical accuracy, this is not a game about reenacting history. Chronicles: Medieval is designed to give players access to a historically accurate sandbox in order to create their own history within the time period.
“It’s very important for us that there is room for sandbox and very expressive gameplay,” Millen said. “The world and the troops within it give player[s] expression, so you can make combinations and tactical choices.”
Chronicles: Medieval has a rags-to-riches narrative, where the player starts with almost nothing and must work to build up their army and reputation. The game features a vast explorable map for regions of 14th-century Europe, and this allows players to discover camps, interact with NPCs, recruit new soldiers, and more. The map is covered in the fog of war, so players will need to explore to unlock more opportunities across the regions.
There is a lot of army management in Chronicles: Medieval, as players explore the map to gather resources and build up the strength of their army. This is done in part by exploring settlements and getting quests from NPCs, who can give tasks like clearing bandit camps or other activities. They can forge alliances and trade routes to expand their influence across Europe, providing access to precious resources needed to expand further. Players will also need to be proactive with keeping troops happy, providing them with food and pay. Failing to keep soldiers happy will lower their morale, and low morale will eventually lead to desertion.
I’m not a historian by any means, so I admit I didn’t know some of the terminology the developer used for the specific weapons and uniforms, but the attention to detail here is something I suspect history buffs will appreciate. The uniforms are historically accurate, so anyone with the right knowledge can differentiate soldiers by their specific region and unit. For example, a historian can pick out the English Longbowmen from the French Calvary simply by the style of their uniforms.
However, most of what we saw during the demo was a live battle sequence, including the prep stage players will go through before jumping into the actual fight.
In the battle-prep stage, the player can choose how to place their troops on the field, as well as the routes for them to take. Players can mark paths and assign troops flanking routes, and there is complete freedom in how and where they place their troops within their allotted staging area. As shown in the image above, the battle prep stage provides a zoomed-out overhead view of the battlefield, and players can place troops anywhere within their highlighted staging area.
Keeping a keen eye on even the smallest details, the developer showed the troop formations based on their training and status. For example, a unit of untrained peasants will have a slightly sloppy standing formation, while the seasoned troops will have a tighter stance.
Once a player is ready to battle, they are then placed directly on the battlefield in a third-person action mode as a horse-mounted commander. They can order all of their troops to advance, hold, engage, charge, or fall back, depending on what’s needed.
“We know fans of the medieval period are not fans of UI per se,” Bourn explained. So, players have the option to toggle on a UI with helpful battlefield details or remove the text for more immersion.
As the commander, riding horseback lets players be more agile and more easily avoid attacks, but they can jump off to fight on foot as well. Fighting alongside their troops also allows the commander to inspire them. If a battle is going poorly, the army’s morale will drop and soldiers can potentially flee, so a good commander will want to help raise their spirits. This can be done by riding around the troops or by taking out a few enemy soldiers by themselves. One example given was a commander on horseback wielding a polaxe, who took down multiple enemies in order to inspire their army.
The world also reacts to player choice in the game. NPCs will react negatively to a bloodthirsty tyrant who executes defeated commanders, while a leader who spares lives will be more respected and likely gain more benefits. Playing aggressively might help a player gain land and resources faster, but the NPCs will react and be less likely to help in the future. Players will need to consider these consequences of their actions when strategizing and building up their desired reputation.
The entire process of building an army, prepping for battle, and then actually battling looks complex and intimidating. When asked about a tutorial, the developer said it does have more guidance on its radar, but it might not be fully available in the early-access period.
“We do want to set expectations a little bit, but we’re going into early access, and we do expect by the time we get to 1.0 to improve that onboarding experience,” Millen said. “So, I think going into early access at the beginning, expect a little bit more of a complex set of things to wrap your head around, but we want to really smooth that out.”
Our demo showed a full battle played out in real-time, which can take roughly 10-15 minutes, but there’s also an option to have battles simulated to complete them more quickly. The campaign gives the player a 35-year countdown to try to build a reputation for themselves–whether good or bad–and it’s up to them how their story plays out. This campaign includes a wide range of potential battles, including defeating small camps of bandits, laying siege to castles, or challenging the duke or lord of a specific region.
In terms of online multiplayer or co-op, the developer is focusing on starting with the campaign PvE experience for early access, and players will also be able to play through this inthisin a cooperative experience, where they can jump in with friends and choose what specific units they want to control.
“We have more ideas for full multiplayer stuff we’d love to do, but we are predominantly focusing on starting with the single-player PvE experience for early access,” Bourn said.
As someone who isn’t usually enticed by medieval themes, Chronicles: Medieval was one of my biggest surprises from Gamescom this year. I’ve played a lot of Civilization VI, and one thing I wanted from that strategy game was the ability to zoom down on the map and watch battles unfold in real time. Chronicles: Medieval gives complete control over building an army, but it also lets me step onto the battlefield. This makes me really excited to jump in and see what kind of reputation I can build for myself as a commander of a 14th-century army.
Chronicles: Medieval arrives on PC in early access sometime in early 2027. Console versions are planned to follow, with timing to be announced at a later date.
