The Guild 2
- June 24, 2010
- 4HEAD Studios
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"The Guild 2" is a life simulation game set in the middle ages, where players found a dynasty, manage resources, and interact with the game's immersive 3D world. Real-time events such as public executions and robberies add an extra layer of realism, and players must balance their actions to ensure their dynasty's success. The game features options for both merchant and thief careers, and the impact of player decisions can be seen in the growth or decline of their party and family.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of life simulation, business management, and RPG elements, allowing players to build a dynasty and engage in various activities like politics and crime.
- Once players get past the initial learning curve, the game can be very addictive and provides great replay value with multiple career paths and strategies.
- The medieval setting and character interactions create an engaging atmosphere, making it enjoyable for fans of strategy and simulation games.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including issues with AI pathfinding, mixed language dialogue, and frequent crashes, which can significantly hinder the gameplay experience.
- The interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for new players to navigate and understand the mechanics without extensive trial and error.
- Many players feel that the game lacks depth and can become repetitive over time, with limited options for meaningful progression once the initial goals are achieved.
- gameplay72 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of innovative mechanics and significant technical issues. While players appreciate the depth and variety of gameplay options, including business management and political intrigue, many express frustration with poor mechanics, bugs, and repetitive micromanagement that detract from the overall experience. Some users recommend starting on easier levels to grasp the mechanics, but overall, the game's execution feels inconsistent and at times, lacking in direction.
“The gameplay is innovative and provides a lot of varied options including building wealth by running your day-to-day business operations and expansion, getting involved in politics and the accompanying intrigue, sabotaging competitors, and building a family.”
“I became addicted to this game because of its political mechanics, and how you rival other dynasties throughout time (through business trade, political regard, and even combat).”
“Overall, this game's unique gameplay and combination of genres makes it worth a purchase.”
“However, the entire game series is a mechanical disaster - Germans simply suck at developing games.”
“Gonna have to change my review and downvote this since it is simply unbearable with all the game mechanics and the bugs especially.”
“The AI is hopelessly simplistic, the interface is clunky, and for a sim game, the gameplay is surprisingly restrictive.”
- stability50 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. While some players find enjoyment in its concepts and mechanics, the persistent technical issues have led many to describe it as a "buggy mess" that feels unfinished and frustrating. Overall, the lack of effective patches or fixes has left a negative impression on the community.
“The game feels unfinished and buggy and slightly aimless.”
“The game is extremely buggy in ways that are downright insulting.”
“Good game, but buggy as all hell, to the point where it is almost impossible to progress.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as dated, reflecting its age from 2006, with many users noting that they appear unappealing and reminiscent of late 90s titles. While some appreciate the artistic design of towns and maps, the overall visual experience is hindered by bugs and performance issues on modern PCs. Despite these shortcomings, players who prioritize gameplay over graphics still find enjoyment in the game's depth and mechanics.
“The graphics are a bit dated now, but they still look good for this kind of game.”
“Pros: the artwork on the towns and maps is well done despite the limitations of the graphics capabilities.”
“Graphics are nice, textures are sharp enough, scenery is beautiful with flowers moving in the wind.”
“However, the game is incredibly old and the graphics are very dated. The game can crash sometimes and runs horribly on modern PCs to a certain extent.”
“If you like to sit down and learn an entire game, invest your life into it, and if you generally don't have anything better to do with your life than play a medieval sim game with graphics from the late 90s, this game is perfect.”
“The game is buggy, the graphics are unappealing, and it has a dated feel, but it also has a lot of depth and is a lot of fun.”
- grinding16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and micromanagement-heavy, detracting from the enjoyment of a leisurely farming experience. Players find the need to manage various professions and navigate complex systems to be excruciatingly painful, with tutorials adding to the frustration rather than alleviating it. Overall, the grinding mechanics seem to transform what could be an engaging game into a burdensome chore.
“If you're interested in a tedious game where you micromanage details, try this out.”
“I thought it was awful, tedious, and broken.”
“I normally don't take the time to bash on something years later, but this was so excruciatingly painful and tedious to play; I thought I should warn others.”
- story14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal, primarily introduced during the tutorial, and lacks a dedicated story mode, which some players find disappointing. While the narrative evolves alongside gameplay mechanics, many feel that once the game is completed multiple times, it becomes repetitive and lacks depth. Players appreciate the ability to create their own narratives, focusing on the broader theme of dynasty building rather than a singular character's journey.
“I bought the whole pack, and I am glad that I did because the story evolves as does the animation and game dynamics the further you go along.”
“You can make your own story.”
“No story mode and once you beat the game a couple of times using different strategies, it becomes stale.”
“The only addition of this version is that it has a sort of a plot as you go through the tutorial.”
“You see, the story is not about this first character - it's about the dynasty they build.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its diverse career paths and class systems, allowing players to explore different strategies for achieving fame, power, and fortune. Players appreciate the fun and engaging nature of the game, which encourages multiple playthroughs to experience various class dynamics and their interactions.
“All jokes aside, the game has great replay value as there are many avenues you can take to fame, power, and fortune.”
“This game is fun and replayable, and I will enjoy it for some time to come.”
“The different classes and their functions make it a replayable game just to see how well one can adjust to each starting class and how to marry into a class that complements the initial business.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, running slowly even on high-end hardware, and features clunky character actions. Additionally, players have reported incomplete localization, with much of the dialogue in German, and a tutorial that fails to adequately explain gameplay mechanics. Overall, the consensus is that the game is not well-optimized and may not be worth the investment.
“It runs slowly, even on a brand new top of the line laptop. Half the dialogue comes out in German because they failed to re-dub it. The tutorial doesn't teach you a huge percentage of what is going on in the game. Save your money.”
“Not optimized at all.”
“Disregarding the terrible performance issues, character actions are very clunky and rough.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by amusing anecdotes that players find entertaining, though they are presented in a casual manner, allowing players to engage with them at their discretion.
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, reminiscent of low-quality apps commonly found in app stores. Players express frustration over aggressive tactics that prioritize profit over player experience.
“You know all those terrible cash grabs you find in the app store?”
“You know all those terrible cash grabs you find in the app store?”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is well-received, with a soundtrack that perfectly complements the gameplay. Users appreciate the simple and easy-to-navigate interface, which enhances the overall experience across various game modes.
