Great Houses of Calderia

About

"Great Houses of Calderia" is a feudal grand strategy game set in a renaissance-inspired mythical province. As a noble family, your goal is to rule Calderia and overcome the power-hungry Viceroy. You must manage your house leaders and their family members, each with their own stories and desires, by assigning them to key tasks and considering their traits and personalities. Make critical decisions during battles and diplomatic events to rise in the ranks.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 524 reviews

gameplay28 positive mentions

optimization12 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of family dynamics and political intrigue, allowing players to engage deeply with their noble house.
The economic management system is engaging, providing a satisfying experience as players balance resources and trade.
The developers are responsive to community feedback, showing promise for future updates and improvements.

The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and understanding game mechanics difficult.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and stability issues, including crashes and performance drops during gameplay.
Many gameplay elements feel incomplete or repetitive, leading to a lack of depth and engagement over time.

gameplay
190 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
80%
5%
The gameplay of "Great Houses of Calderia" is characterized by a mix of strategic planning and tactical combat, but it suffers from a steep learning curve due to a poorly designed UI and lack of clear tutorials. Players often find the mechanics repetitive and frustrating, particularly with trade and diplomacy, which can detract from the overall experience. While the game offers rich narrative elements and high replayability, many reviewers feel it lacks depth and polish, making it more suitable for newcomers to the grand strategy genre rather than seasoned players.
- “The game combines rich narrative elements with strategic gameplay, offering a deep and immersive experience in a visually captivating renaissance-inspired setting.”
- “The gameplay flows through strategic planning and tactical combat, with significant player agency in shaping the house's destiny.”
- “With high replayability and a dynamic gameplay environment, it offers a fresh experience with each playthrough.”
- “The UI is hard to work out, the objectives don't always work, and the vast majority of the gameplay is 1) build a single building at a time, 2) respond to random events that pause the game, and 3) deal with bandits, which are trivial and just time-consuming to handle.”
- “Complete and utter lackluster tutorial which fails to explain any meaningful game mechanics aside from how to assign farmers and send a family member away from your fief.”
- “Rather, it's frustrating in that the mechanics of this game simply don't work properly, or are so opaque that a literal genius can't understand them after playing the tutorial and plodding around in the game for 6 hours.”
story
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
67%
5%
The game's story is characterized by intricate personal and political dramas, where player choices significantly influence the narrative. With rich lore and immersive character interactions, it offers a dynamic storytelling experience that appeals to grand strategy fans, although some players note issues with mission clarity and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While the main storyline culminates in a large war, many find enjoyment in the smaller, personal stories that emerge throughout gameplay.
- “The story unfolds through personal and political dramas, with each family member's choices impacting the overall plot.”
- “The game's rich lore and intricate storytelling are complemented by a dynamic narrative that reacts to player decisions.”
- “Great Houses of Calderia is an immersive and captivating game with stunning visuals and engaging storytelling.”
- “A major bug is found in the endgame; the 'storyline' is meant to end with a large war involving everyone on the map, but it offers an option to keep playing in a sandbox mode afterwards.”
- “Without being spoiler-ish, there are a few map-wide events (a 'story' would be too strong a word) which eventually lead to a large war in which the player must participate.”
- “This game lacks a story but is still a damn time killer; I've been playing nonstop for 2 days.”
graphics
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
9%
The graphics of the game are characterized by detailed and stylized visuals inspired by Renaissance art, featuring rich color palettes and intricate designs that enhance the historical atmosphere. However, many users express concerns about the overall quality, noting that the graphics fall short compared to similar titles, with requests for higher resolution textures and improved UI. While the art style is appreciated for its uniqueness, some players find the in-game visuals lacking and suggest that further development is needed to elevate the graphical experience.
- “Detailed and stylized visuals inspired by Renaissance art, with rich color palettes and intricate designs that enhance the historical atmosphere.”
- “This game perfectly blends strategy and adventure, featuring stunning graphics and captivating gameplay.”
- “Great Houses of Calderia is an immersive and captivating game with stunning visuals and engaging storytelling.”
- “I lowered my graphics and tried to lessen the load for my computer and the game, but it didn't help.”
- “Graphics are on a level below that of Crusader Kings 2; that is a matter of the sprites they use not lining up quite right visually.”
- “Graphics are poor and the UI is not great.”
optimization
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
36%
43%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with many players experiencing performance issues such as stuttering and crashes, particularly after extended play sessions or when using higher time speeds. While some users report that the game runs smoothly on high-end systems, others warn that it may not perform well on lower-spec machines, indicating a need for further optimization and updates from the developers. Overall, players suggest waiting for additional performance improvements before purchasing.
- “The game runs smoothly with occasional technical issues; regular updates from the developers aim to address stability and performance concerns.”
- “There are a few things overall to be tidied up in optimization (mostly thinking occasional game crashes and typos), but not much that I can say I'd want the game to change.”
- “They do seem more computationally demanding on my PC for their quality, so there's lots of room for improvement in optimizing display performance.”
- “It just seems like it isn't optimized yet for players.”
- “As it stands right now the game is fun enough to play even without a lot of the more in-depth mechanics not implemented, that being said after playing for a little while the game takes a massive hit to performance and is almost unplayable when you choose the higher time speeds.”
- “My game kept stuttering and dropping frames to the point it was giving me a headache.”
replayability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
Overall, the game exhibits high replayability due to its intricate systems, dynamic gameplay, and robust modding support, allowing players to create and share custom content for varied experiences. However, some users noted a lack of depth in certain aspects, leading to low replay value for those seeking more complexity. Thus, while many find endless replay potential, others may feel limited by the game's simplicity.
- “The game's intricate systems and modding support offer significant replayability and variety in each playthrough.”
- “With high replayability and a dynamic gameplay environment, it offers a fresh experience with each playthrough.”
- “The procedural events and character-driven stories ensure that no two games are the same, contributing significantly to replayability.”
- “Low replayability.”
- “There is no depth to the game (build up population, have way more resources than you need, trade if you feel like but you really don't have to, and dominate without any real threats ever appearing), and there also seems to be no replayability.”
- “If you're a Civ or CK fan, this is a bit simple with low replay value and some awkward design.”
grinding
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with players noting that after the initial playthrough, the gameplay becomes monotonous due to artificial roadblocks and the need to wait for resources or citizens. Many find the mechanics shallow and frustrating, particularly in managing economies and engaging in warfare, leading to a sense of boredom and annoyance. Overall, while it may serve as a beginner-friendly entry point to grand strategy games, it ultimately lacks depth and becomes a grind.
- “The game introduces several artificial roadblocks that just get annoying and grindy.”
- “Having to wait hours in real life for a new citizen to pop is incredibly tedious.”
- “Once again, if you are completely new to the grand strategy type of games, this may be a nice little beginner entry point, but know that it is shallow to the point of being extremely boring, and it's generally tedious after you realize how simple literally all of the gameplay ends up being.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is currently plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, which significantly impact the user experience. While some players report that these glitches do not completely ruin the game, they still detract from overall enjoyment and functionality. Additionally, specific features like trading and offspring generation are noted to be particularly problematic.
- “Unfortunately, the game is quite buggy and the UX is rather appalling.”
- “- Technical issues: I found some notable glitches that, while not ruining the game, definitely affected the experience.”
- “Unfortunately, the game is super buggy (and sometimes the UX is so bad that it often feels like there is a bug).”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The music in the game has been criticized for being lackluster and unmemorable, with many reviewers noting the absence of voice acting and ambient sounds, contributing to an overall quiet experience. Comparisons to other games, such as "Imperiums: Greek Wars," highlight a desire for a more engaging and polished soundtrack. Overall, the music does not meet player expectations and detracts from the gaming experience.
- “Please publish your soundtrack; it is very good.”
- “Then content, better soundtrack and community.”
- “Also, one last point: the soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired.”
- “It's basically what you would find waiting for you if your mom said, 'we have Crusader Kings at home.' Anyway, slow gameplay, awkward UI, unpolished art, and eerily quiet with no voice acting and little ambient sound and music.”
- “Go listen to the soundtrack of Imperiums: Greek Wars.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd economic mechanics, which, while entertaining, often lack balance and convenience. Players find the mini-games to be both hilarious and strategically engaging, contributing to the overall comedic experience. However, there is a concern that overly realistic mechanics may detract from the game's humor.
- “The mini-games are hilarious yet enjoyably tactical.”
- “It's good to have realistic mechanics in the game, but not until these mechanics make the game less funny.”
- “The economy is very funny to grow, even if it doesn't make sense in terms of balance and convenience.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by detailed and stylized visuals inspired by Renaissance art, featuring rich color palettes and intricate designs that effectively enhance its historical ambiance.
- “Detailed and stylized visuals inspired by Renaissance art, with rich color palettes and intricate designs that enhance the historical atmosphere.”
- “The game's atmosphere is immersive, drawing players into a beautifully crafted world that feels alive and vibrant.”
- “The sound design complements the visuals perfectly, creating an enchanting atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development is highlighted as a key strength, with evolving family dynamics adding depth and ensuring that each playthrough feels unique and engaging.
- “Character development and the evolving family dynamics provide depth, making each playthrough unique.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a complex emotional response to the narrative of marrying an unappealing and cruel princess for strategic reasons, highlighting feelings of conflict and discomfort. This scenario evokes a range of emotions, from frustration to empathy, as players navigate the moral implications of their choices.
- “Making plans to marry an ugly and cruel princess just to have an ally made me feel a lot of different ways.”

Buy Great Houses of Calderia

15h Median play time

21h Average play time

6-40h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 12 analyzed playthroughs

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