City Tales: Medieval Era

About

City Tales: Medieval Era is a single player economy city builder game with economy, medieval, historical and business themes. It was developed by Irregular Shapes and was released on January 29, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

Build medieval cities teeming with life and tales untold. Forge organic urban landscapes and manage a rich economy whilst building bonds with companions whose stories are intertwined with the fate of your city.

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 225 reviews

story19 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Relaxing and cozy city builder with a captivating art style and pleasant music, perfect for stress-free gameplay.
Unique district zoning and companion systems offer fresh mechanics, allowing organic city growth and strategic planning without excessive micromanagement.
Engaging storyline and character quests add flavor and progression, providing motivation and enhancing the experience.

Performance issues on some hardware, including lag and long loading times, especially with larger cities.
Limited content and short game length, with some players feeling the late game lacks depth and challenge.
UI and tutorial shortcomings, such as confusing explanations, lack of detailed guidance, and difficulty managing upgrades or production efficiently.

story
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
74%
4%
The game's story is generally described as simple, cozy, and relaxing, serving primarily to provide goals and pacing through companion quests and city-building progression. While some find the narrative and characters charming and enjoyable with a satisfying ending, others criticize its generic nature, lack of depth, and repetitive quest design, noting limited post-story content and room for expansion. Overall, the story adds flavorful context without overshadowing gameplay, but many hope for further development and refinement in future updates or expansions.
- “Very interesting ideas and a novel interface with a surprisingly good story, interesting characters, and smooth playstyle.”
- “I love the main story and side characters' stories as well.”
- “A storyline that roped me in that had a satisfying ending (that I hope will continue in future updates!)”
- “- The story feels very generic; I found it hard to care about.”
- “- Sometimes quests ask for things that you have already done (build a building, but I've already built ones that are needed for my city, so destroy/rebuild; or create x districts that satisfy y constraint, but my city is already filled up, so I will have to do that in a hamlet).”
- “- The story aspect doesn't feel fleshed out, and it is never explained why you suddenly get a bigger construction area, or why new companions suddenly just show up.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
54%
6%
The gameplay offers a relaxing, low-stress city-building experience with innovative district and NPC mechanics that provide both creativity and light strategic planning. It balances simplicity and depth well, making it easy to pick up while still rewarding patient progression, though some mechanics could use refinement and better explanation. Overall, it delivers a cozy, engaging loop that appeals to casual players seeking a chill but satisfying simulation.
- “The influence/demand mechanics give a light challenge to planning district layouts so it is not boring.”
- “An interesting mechanic of companions who have their own quests keeps things fresh, and the fact that there aren't any consistent resource demands from citizens makes it a non-spreadsheet kind of gameplay experience, contributing to a really chill and laid-back experience.”
- “The city building mechanics are very chill and relaxing, and I like the whole zoning system.”
- “I enjoyed it but it was very short and the mechanics don't have much depth or replay value to me.”
- “And for those it doesn't feel like citybuilder at all, barely even feels like a game, I regret not watching gameplay videos of it.”
- “Although, I find it unfortunate that the mechanics encourage you to upgrade every single house.”
graphics
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
40%
6%
The game's graphics receive widespread praise for their charming, vibrant, and unique art style that evokes a relaxing, storybook-like medieval atmosphere with a picturesque and cozy aesthetic. While generally polished and visually satisfying, some users note occasional performance issues on larger cities and minor critiques on character designs, suggesting room for further graphical optimization and customization options. Overall, the visuals significantly enhance the calming gameplay experience and distinct district-building mechanics.
- “Beautiful graphics that truly make it look like you're building a village from your favorite storybook, evoking real Beauty and the Beast vibes.”
- “The art style is actually quite nice, one of the better-looking cartoony art styles I've seen in games recently, that thankfully doesn't go into overly edgy territory.”
- “Graphics are really good, so much that I often find myself just slowing down the game to zoom in and appreciate the art and detail.”
- “For me, the character and building graphics are a huge let-down.”
- “I had a graphic issue at the start where it kept shutting down the HDMI connection to my monitors. After I changed the graphic quality lower, it was fine.”
- “I don't love the art style for the advisor and heroes, who look a little too much like old flash adventure quest type stuff.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
27%
17%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing, unobtrusive, and beautifully fitting soundtrack, often described as soothing and lo-fi, enhancing the peaceful and organic city-building experience. However, some users find it repetitive over time, despite its strong medieval aesthetic complement. Overall, the soundtrack is considered polished and a significant positive aspect of the game.
- “Nothing quite beats watching your town grow organically with such a peaceful soundtrack and beautiful aesthetic; I can't fault this wonderful game.”
- “The least micromanaging, organic growth, and beautiful music with soothing graphics.”
- “Very polished :) I really enjoy the art style, the mechanics, and especially the music!!”
- “The music gets pretty repetitive and boring after a while, though it does run on theme with the medieval aesthetic pretty well.”
- “Music?”
- “- music.”
optimization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
Optimization in the game is currently mixed, with several users reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, lag, and high system load even on good PCs, particularly in early stages. While some note stable and smooth performance, many highlight the need for better optimization, especially in handling city districts and graphics. Developers have acknowledged these issues and are reportedly working on improvements, which could enhance the overall experience in future updates.
- “Takes some planning to get the overlap optimized between districts, which adds a fun planning and puzzle element.”
- “I found the developers acknowledging the issue and saying they were trying to work on optimization; if this gets fixed, I'd definitely recommend it!”
- “The performance is stable, with no lag or stutters to ruin the experience.”
- “Needs to be optimized, as it transforms my PC into a jet engine every time it runs.”
- “I have a very good PC, but even on the lowest quality settings the game stutters constantly, it's not fluid, and clicking often doesn't work, especially when creating districts.”
- “In fact, I have never played an early access game so badly optimized.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere is widely praised for being immersive, cozy, and charming, creating a warm and friendly environment that enhances the storytelling without disrupting gameplay. Players find it engaging and pleasantly relaxing, contributing to an overall enjoyable and addictive experience.
- “The atmosphere is phenomenal, the intro was awesome and immersive, and the stories are fun to follow.”
- “The characters and story elements add some nice flavor without getting in the way of gameplay, and the overall atmosphere is cozy and pleasant.”
- “Add in the charming atmosphere, and you've got a game that feels warm, friendly, and surprisingly addictive.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Grinding in the game is well-integrated through companion skill progression, where assigning workers to tasks like farming or cooking not only automates production but also levels up their abilities, making the process engaging rather than tedious. Unlike typical builder games, grinding feels purposeful as companions improve both the economy and their individual skills over time.
- “Example: you grind up farming and processing on one companion, give them a hamlet, and move all your farming to that hamlet.”
- “But it has a couple of interesting ideas - being the companions that are the heart of the game's action economy they are required to turn on all new buildings, but quickly automate them, but then can further improve/upgrade that building while getting better at that type of work (farming, cooking, construction etc).”
- “Each type of work is counted as a skill, so if you put a worker in a farm, they'll level up their farming skills.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Replayability is mixed, with some players appreciating post-game content and multiple endings that encourage replay, while others find the game short and lacking in depth, resulting in limited incentive to replay despite initial enjoyment.
- “High replay value despite already knowing the plot.”
- “I dropped 20 hours in and got all 47 achievements, which suggests replayability for achievement hunting over weeks to months. It made me feel good about my gameplay abilities and I enjoyed the district tooling.”
- “Can't speak to the replayability factor but I dropped 20 hours in and got all 47 achievements, so if you like to hunt them over the span of weeks to months, that was incredibly lackluster.”
- “I enjoyed it but it was very short and the mechanics don't have much depth or replay value to me.”
- “Perhaps even offering a post-game option to marry or otherwise give special position to one of them, which would give extra story (and being able to only choose one would increase replayability) and give some big city-wide bonus related to the companion.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a wholesome and emotionally satisfying experience, making players feel accomplished, especially upon completing all achievements quickly. While its replayability may be limited, its charm and positive impact on self-confidence provide a rewarding experience.
- “A wholesome game that is worth your time.”
- “It is cute, I love the district tooling, and I guess it made me feel pretty good about my gameplay abilities.”
- “Might be the first game I've 100%'d in under a day, which felt pretty rewarding.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game demonstrates excellent stability, running smoothly without any bugs or glitches, including on Arch-based Linux systems.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s monetization is well-received, as it features no micro-transactions or ads, providing a pure and enjoyable experience reminiscent of classic online medieval city builders.