Medieval Engineers
- February 18, 2015
- Keen Software House
- 72h median play time
Get on Steam"Medieval Engineers" is a sandbox game set in the medieval era, focused on realistic engineering principles. Players can build various structures, such as castles and siege machines, using a variety of materials. The game also features a physics-based destruction system, allowing for realistic deconstruction and demolition of creations.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique building experience with a focus on medieval architecture and engineering.
- The modding community has created a variety of content that enhances gameplay and adds new features.
- The physics engine allows for creative destruction and realistic building mechanics.
- The game has been abandoned by the developers, leaving it in an unfinished and buggy state.
- There is a lack of content and objectives, making gameplay feel empty and repetitive.
- The developers have shifted focus to other projects, particularly Space Engineers, neglecting Medieval Engineers.
- gameplay309 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Medieval Engineers" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a lack of depth and a frustratingly buggy experience. While the building mechanics and physics are praised for their potential and creativity, the absence of a compelling gameplay loop and meaningful objectives leaves players feeling unsatisfied. Overall, the game is seen more as a sandbox for experimentation rather than a fully realized experience, with many users recommending it primarily for those interested in modding or engineering rather than traditional gameplay.
“The structural integrity system was a fun mechanic, which resulted in various different mishaps like half of the castle built on top of the mountain splitting in vertical direction and sliding down the sloped mountainside.”
“The building system is one of the less annoying ones out there and you can build tons of things with the wheels and rope mechanics.”
“This game offers mechanical possibilities and customization that the developer's flagship game, Space Engineers, sorely lacks.”
“There is no gameplay.”
“Gameplay-wise, the game is a buggy mess and has been for the last four years, and with the devs gone that's not going to change.”
“The lack of gameplay reduces replayability of this game and does not challenge the player to keep playing.”
- graphics246 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the beautiful visuals and detailed environments, likening it to a more graphically advanced version of Minecraft. However, numerous users report performance issues, including crashes and lag, particularly on lower-end systems or with integrated graphics cards, which detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the ambitious graphics overhaul and physics engine, others feel that the game is not optimized well enough to support these features effectively.
“Imagine if Minecraft had more detailed graphics and actual physics and that the setting was in medieval times.”
“The graphics are beautiful, and on my new Alienware, I see the grass and trees sway in the breeze.”
“The graphics, engineering, night mode, barbarians, I am out of words to describe this amazing game.”
“The graphics, animations, UI, sound... everything is just barren, lifeless, lacks detail and love.”
“The graphics are not crisp, remind me of vintage Windows 95 era, and movement is rough and jerky with a low frame rate, lags and slow response of positioning commands.”
“Awful graphics, awfully boring, awfully painful.”
- stability225 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 99 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that significantly hinder gameplay. Many players describe it as a "buggy mess" and express frustration over the lack of updates and support from the developers, who have seemingly abandoned the game. While some acknowledge that the community edition has improved stability, the overall consensus is that the game remains unfinished and unoptimized, making it difficult to recommend.
“Also, surprisingly not buggy for an early access game.”
“It runs great on my computer.”
“This game is early access, so there are glitches and things to be fixed, but all of that aside, this is still a great game. The game looks good, the building is dynamic and fun, and the physics do work. Considering Keen Software House's track record with Space Engineers, a lot of these bugs will be fixed within the next few weeks, and more block types will also be added.”
“Game is very buggy, especially the audio.”
“It's evident that the developers left this game to focus on Space Engineers, and I don't believe that this game should be sold at full price or be considered a complete game, especially with how much it lacks and how buggy it is compared to Space Engineers.”
“This game is a buggy mess at many points and can be difficult to enjoy a prolonged online game service without suffering crashes and server freezes which ultimately demand an extremely dedicated hard working server team to just clear grids and adjust server performance only a week after a wipe because the game hates itself too much to even run effectively.”
- optimization155 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 28 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many users reporting significant performance issues, bugs, and a lack of updates from the developers. Players with less powerful systems struggle to run the game smoothly, and even those with high-end hardware experience lag and stuttering, particularly during complex actions like building or destruction. Overall, the consensus is that the game remains a poorly optimized experience, with many calling for urgent improvements to enhance playability.
“The game is being improved on a regular basis through updates that add and polish features and content, optimizations, and bug fixes.”
“Now, with the planet update, survival, block protection, farming, banner editing, much better optimization, weekly updates with devs that talk to you and yes, the same physics as before, I am having a blast.”
“In my opinion, this is amazing for just coming out on early access, runs well on my PC, looks good, brings out your creative side, and the Space Engineers team and Medieval Engineers teams are using the same engine so when one team updates something to improve the engine, so does the other, so in the end, the engine is going to be heavily optimized.”
“A broken, unoptimized mess that was lately abandoned by the developers.”
“Considering the game complete is nonsense, seeing that the game is a poorly optimized dumpster fire, and is plagued by a myriad of bugs.”
“It's still got a lot in it, but there's a lot of things that aren't ideal yet and a lot of things that needed to be added to flesh out the game and improve performance.”
- story76 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many users noting that there is no traditional narrative or quest-driven gameplay. While some appreciate the freedom of a sandbox experience without a set storyline, others express disappointment over the lack of missions, NPCs, and meaningful objectives, leading to a sense of aimlessness. Overall, players seeking a rich narrative or structured gameplay may find this game lacking.
“We built massive, intricate cities and kingdoms, fought many wars and set up entire storylines in our playing together.”
“I think the absence of a set storyline is a plus, not a minus, for the game.”
“If you like solving problems with wood, building and breaking stuff, digging tunnels through mountains, with a fair amount of roleplaying and making your own story, it is really there.”
“This game has no story.”
“There is absolutely no story mode or any element of narrative.”
“If you're looking for a storyline, this isn't the game for you.”
- grinding66 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious and time-consuming, with players often feeling overwhelmed by the amount of resource gathering required for building and farming. While some enjoy the potential for creativity and the unique mechanics, many find the gameplay to be a slog, particularly due to a lack of engaging content and a frustrating user interface. Overall, the game appeals to those who appreciate a slow-paced, grind-heavy experience, but it may deter players seeking more dynamic gameplay.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Be prepared to waste a lot of time working on one seemingly simple project after another while endlessly grinding for resources.”
“It is an unpolished sandbox where you can go grinding like hell to build a castle without any other purpose as to build in an empty world with no real struggles and no real enemies.”
“The current research system is boring, grindy, and again simply not fun.”
- music60 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its beautiful and soothing medieval soundtrack, which enhances the overall atmosphere and immersion. Many players find the music to be a standout feature, often describing it as uplifting and fitting for the game's setting. However, some users have noted that the limited variety of tracks can lead to repetition, detracting from the experience over time.
“The music of the game is really fantastic and underlines the medieval setting.”
“A fun game, very relaxing with the lovely music in the background.”
“If you like medieval themed orchestra, then the music alone is reason enough to buy this game!”
“At the end, I feel like someone spat into my face after taking my money as I have paid full price for the game while it was in early access, and all I got at the end after the price was reduced (no wonder why it was reduced) was the 'deluxe' edition, which is just mainly a soundtrack with a few songs and some useless banner.”
“The soundtrack (the only thing that the 4 euros DLC gives you) is terrible.”
“Then I felt like the same 4 songs were repeating over and over.”
- monetization33 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been overwhelmingly criticized by users, who describe it as a blatant cash grab with little effort put into development or community engagement. Many reviewers express frustration over the game's abandonment and the developers' focus on releasing numerous DLCs for another title, Space Engineers, rather than improving this game. Overall, the sentiment is that the game is not worth purchasing due to its exploitative practices and lack of meaningful content.
“Abandoned until it was nothing more than a cash grab.”
“A low effort, cash grab is all this game is; never buy anything from these developers.”
“Pathetic business practices and a completely disgusting unapologetic cash grab from a lazy and incompetent company.”
- humor17 mentions
- 82 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it entertaining despite its numerous bugs and issues. Users highlight moments of absurdity, such as malfunctioning mechanics and unexpected outcomes, which lead to both laughter and frustration. Overall, while the game has potential for comedic enjoyment, it often feels like a chaotic experience that can be both hilarious and exasperating.
“Pulleys like to jump around and ropes are apparently made of a funny kind of rubber that gains elasticity as your portcullises and other things hang there doing nothing, causing most carefully constructed mechanisms to fly apart violently.”
“But the game is playable at a Skyrim-level of 'buggy but funny'.”
“Alternately, if you like destroying castles and laughing at piles of rubble that you made, this game is definitely for you.”
“Building options are awesome, but survival mode is a totally unplayable, unfunny joke.”
“I just wasted 3 hours on this in the last day and I had so many 'are you shitting me' moments it's not funny.”
“I know what you are going to say, I can build a pendulum. Let me rephrase: please make the ropes have an elasticity coefficient below 1; perpetual motion is not funny when it's occurring from bottom to top.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it infinitely replayable and creatively rewarding, others feel that a lack of updates and gameplay variety leads to boredom and diminished long-term engagement. The community patch may enhance playability for some, but overall, the game's potential for replayability is hindered by its stagnation since early 2019.
“This game has a lot of replay value to me, like Minecraft but way better than that.”
“I can recommend this game for its awesome replayability and the fact that it lets your creativity run wild while staying really realistic and rewarding.”
“Different enough that there is replayability.”
“This can lead to boredom and a lack of long-term replay value.”
“The lack of gameplay reduces replayability of this game and does not challenge the player to keep playing.”
“This game has been left to die since February 2019 while we were expecting it to be polished and more playable online.”
- emotional7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game elicits a strong response from players, ranging from heartbreak over its abandonment to moments of joy and satisfaction from gameplay mechanics. Players express a deep connection to the game's community and experiences, while also noting that certain elements can lead to frustration or nausea. Overall, the emotional journey is marked by a blend of joy, nostalgia, and disappointment.
“This is heart breaking.”
“So I give a heartfelt thank you to all the peeps at Keen for the gift that is M.E.”
“Due to that system, the destruction of the buildings is incredibly satisfying... or heartbreaking, depending on what side of the wall you're on.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its immersive medieval setting, enhanced by relaxing music and appealing graphics that, while not hyper-realistic, effectively contribute to the overall experience. Players appreciate the vibrant environment, including interactions with animals and the ability to cultivate crops, which further enriches the game's ambiance.
“While you are searching for the right spot, you walk by the buildings of other players, enjoy the atmosphere, drink some tea, and relax to some medieval music.”
“More to do, more to build, and a nicer atmosphere.”
“The graphics are not hyper-realistic, but the atmosphere created and the quality of the lighting sure create a good experience.”
“The animals, the atmosphere, and the ability to grow crops.”
