The Guild 3

About

"The Guild 3" is a real-time 3D strategy and role-playing game set in medieval Europe. Players create a family dynasty and work to achieve wealth and influence through crafting, trading, social maneuvering, and political schemes. With non-player characters making their own decisions, the game offers a diverse and dynamic world to explore.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+15

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,438 reviews

gameplay54 positive mentions

stability190 negative mentions

The game has improved significantly since its early access release, with better graphics and more stable gameplay.
The economic simulation is engaging, allowing players to build businesses and manage their dynasty effectively.
The developers are actively updating the game and responding to community feedback, showing commitment to improving the overall experience.

The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for players to navigate and manage their characters and businesses.
Many features from previous games in the series are missing or poorly implemented, leading to a lack of depth and immersion.
The AI is often unchallenging and can be frustrating, with rival dynasties frequently attacking players without meaningful consequences.

gameplay
291 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
68%
13%
The gameplay of "The Guild 3" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth compared to its predecessor, "The Guild 2." While some appreciate the new mechanics and automation features, others criticize the repetitive nature, clunky controls, and numerous bugs that hinder the overall experience. Overall, the game shows potential for improvement but currently feels incomplete and less engaging than earlier titles in the series.
- “Now the game is working quite nicely, having a great gameplay depth and is a worthy successor for the series.”
- “Depth of game, richness of mechanics are mind-blowing so far after non-stop 8 hours of multiplayer session.”
- “Gameplay is super fun, you can automate many tasks or micro-manage for better results.”
- “The gameplay is boring and barebones compared to the predecessors which came out 11 years ago. Are you kidding me with this asinine bullshit?”
- “Gameplay becomes stale towards the end, and the most annoying part is the multiple reputation attacks that the AI can launch at you, but if you want to do the same thing to the AI, you have to manually click on a lot of things, which is too much work.”
- “They really need to add in some more mechanics/bring back older and better mechanics (like the ships idiots...) because this game seems to be missing meat on its bones.”
graphics
256 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
64%
11%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players noting significant improvements over its predecessor, "Guild 2," while others criticize them as outdated and poorly optimized. Many users experienced performance issues, including crashes and low frame rates, particularly on higher settings, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite some praise for the aesthetic appeal and atmosphere, the consensus suggests that the graphics still require further refinement and optimization to meet modern standards.
- “The graphics are beautiful, I feel totally immersed in a living, breathing medieval world.”
- “The graphics are great!”
- “The game looks beautiful; the environmental aesthetic is very pleasing with different types of homes to be built and thriving districts.”
- “The most painstriking aspect is the graphic side of the game: ugly characters, terrible shadows, almost no indoor areas, and the most ugly UI that I've ever seen.”
- “To add insult to injury, the graphics look like they were designed 10 years ago (which they very well might be, considering how long this game has been in development).”
- “Graphics are very dated; I ran into issues where clicking did not register, and I got booted after twenty minutes due to a crash to desktop.”
stability
195 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
1%
97%
The stability of the game has been a significant concern among users, with many describing it as "buggy" and "unfinished." While some players note improvements over previous iterations, such as reduced glitches and better performance, the overall consensus is that the game remains plagued by numerous bugs, crashes, and incomplete features, making it difficult to recommend for long-term play. Many users suggest waiting for further updates and patches before fully engaging with the game.
- “It is relatively bug-free, and I had a good time overall playing.”
- “Looks and runs great now.”
- “Windows of market, residence, community, etc. are stable, and no glitches so far, meaning everything that is in it works as it should.”
- “This is an unfinished buggy mess that should be removed from the store.”
- “The game is very buggy, especially the tutorial.”
- “It's incredibly buggy at times and has a strangely disjointed and unintuitive play style.”
optimization
113 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
65%
19%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some players noting significant improvements over time, while others still experience performance issues and bugs. Many users appreciate the game's aesthetic and low-poly models for enhancing performance, but criticize the lack of adjustable settings and persistent optimization problems, particularly in multiplayer modes and late-game scenarios. Overall, while the game is playable and has become smoother for some, it still requires substantial optimization to meet player expectations.
- “The game has been optimized to the point where I actually enjoy playing it.”
- “The performance is crisp and the graphics are gorgeous.”
- “Very optimized and runs well.”
- “There is zero optimization.”
- “The entire engine for this game is monkey code, it's built on a gigantic lake of stinking poop and it has all kinds of rough optimization; we had a ton of disconnections and desyncs during multiplayer and the singleplayer, and how it presents itself is horrible. They just need to start from scratch; bad game for the franchise which brought so much love into my life when I was a kid.”
- “Right now, it's a buggy mess; there's a lot of placeholder art, performance issues, and flaky interface input, but the game oozes potential. I bought this game on early access to get a taste of what's to come and to support the devs. I didn't expect perfect and I didn't get perfect; this game has a lot of content and has nearly a year to iron out the bugs and performance issues before release, so I'll wait, patiently, like an adult knowing full well what I've bought into.”
story
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
85%
6%
The game's story revolves around managing a family dynasty through various missions, including trade and political endeavors, but players find the narrative lacking depth and clarity. Many side missions are described as tutorial-less, leading to confusion about objectives and outcomes, which detracts from the overall experience. While there are elements of character backstory and some enjoyable voice acting, the absence of a cohesive campaign or engaging storyline leaves players wanting more.
- “It has a strong family storyline and economics.”
- “A medieval life simulator where you control a family through the ages and follow their overall story.”
- “Each profession and character presents a little backstory in the form of a text (a nice touch!) and the voice acting presented so far is quite enjoyable.”
- “You just pay 10 grand for them to go on this mission, they disappear for a bit, come back, and then... literally nothing happens. You drop 10 grand in the toilet most of the time.”
- “There isn't even a message that says what a disgrace the mission was for whatever reason, and maybe give you a tip on how to make it better next time.”
- “No quests other than the tutorial and the primary winning objective.”
grinding
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessively tedious and repetitive, particularly in managing businesses and relationships. While some appreciate the potential for automation in certain tasks, the overall experience is marred by the need for constant micromanagement and a lack of engaging content, leading to a sense of emptiness and frustration. Players have noted that the game feels overly grindy, with progression often feeling like a chore rather than an enjoyable challenge.
- “The whole game is just grinding influence points and then there is nothing more to do.”
- “The gameplay is so tedious and unintuitive as to make 'playing' feel like hard work.”
- “It got seriously tedious in the end and I switched it off and don't plan to go back until there have been a few more updates, and trust me, updates are definitely needed.”
music
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
70%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the pleasant soundtrack and atmospheric qualities, while others criticize the lack of variation and the intrusive presence of minstrels playing loudly during gameplay. Many users have reported issues with overlapping tracks and frequent changes in music, leading some to mute it entirely. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, technical problems and repetitiveness detract from the experience for several players.
- “Looks great, great music and atmosphere!”
- “You can play to enjoy the atmosphere - has a nice soundtrack and pleasant graphics.”
- “Its a far cry graphics wise since Guild 2, I totally love the buildings, the choice of homes you can build, it's a huge step up in eye candy and the music is amazing.”
- “There is a slider to turn off the music, but that does not apply to the minstrels that constantly play music very loudly during gameplay.”
- “Edit: recently, the music in the game has been changing every 5 seconds and often 2 music tracks will overlap, which is very annoying.”
- “I've had to lower the music volume to 0 as the continuously changing music was too distracting.”
replayability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
54%
13%
Overall, the game exhibits high replayability due to its diverse career paths, goals, and maps, allowing players to explore various strategies and roleplay styles. However, some users note that the gameplay can feel repetitive regardless of the chosen path, which may limit long-term engagement. Continuous updates from the developers are improving the game's playability, enhancing the overall replay experience.
- “Lots of replay value with different career paths, goals, and cities.”
- “Massive amounts of different avenues and choices to make, so the replay value is nice.”
- “Unlimited replayability, as you aren't playing this game right if you don't learn all of the professions and play all of the maps.”
- “Would say the gameplay is very similar whichever path you chose, so low replayability.”
- “The game is really easy; however, if you pursue weird goals or focus on a roleplay style campaign, you can really extend the replay value of this.”
- “The updates are slow to come, but they don't break stuff and need quick updates to get it replayable.”
humor
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of mild cynicism and quirky charm, with players enjoying humorous dialogues, funny moments in multiplayer, and unexpected scenarios, such as the "spouse rush." While some find the robotic voiceovers amusing at first, they can become repetitive, akin to a joke that overstays its welcome. Overall, the game offers a unique comedic experience that resonates well with fans of historical management strategy.
- “However, as I said already before: it's a cult game (already Guild 1 and Guild 2 were it) and fortunately has lots of perks and features along with mild cynical humor, etc. So in summary, it's a 'must buy' for true historical management strategists out there.”
- “The game has a discrete sense of humor which adds charm to it.”
- “In Guild 3, you start as a peasant/common villager of the Middle Ages who has nothing but his rusty old shack with a funny name like 'this is all we could afford'.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
43%
21%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its beautiful visuals, great music, and immersive feeling, while others criticize it for lacking the intricate details and flair that enhance the overall experience. Many players note that while the core atmosphere is present, it feels sterile and incomplete, missing key elements that would elevate it further. Overall, the game's atmosphere is seen as a strong point, but it requires additional updates to fully realize its potential.
- “Looks great, great music and atmosphere!”
- “The atmosphere is very beautiful and the mechanics are fun.”
- “The atmosphere is absolutely there - the graphics (modest, yet effective), the music, the sound effects (I squealed with joy when I heard the old 'coins on table' sound from the first game).”
- “Simultaneously, it's pretty much a sterile presentation where its predecessors had tiny little details that added to the atmosphere - but that is a common thing in pretty much all modern games.”
- “No atmosphere, no flair, no real fun.”
- “- atmosphere is virtually nonexistent.”
monetization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with reviewers highlighting its high price relative to the limited content and numerous bugs. Many feel that the game's early access status is misleading, suggesting it is far from playable and primarily designed to generate revenue rather than provide a quality experience. Overall, the sentiment is that the game's monetization practices are exploitative and reminiscent of other poorly received titles in the industry.
- “Just a quick cash grab, like it always is with THQ.”
- “Indeed it is one of the many cash grabbers that haunt Steam's store - very little content, very high price compared to what the game currently offers, a devoted group of defenders that will protect their pet against all evidence, buggy codebase, shattered user interface, 'crash fair' enthusiast engine, and un-navigable maps festival mode always on.”
- “Lets be clear about this: in any other industry or trading environment, this would have been called fraud and even punishable by law as unfair investment advertising.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
Character development in the game has been criticized for its simplification, leading to a less engaging experience despite easier management. Reviewers suggest that incorporating more complex tasks and a wider range of perks and skills could enhance depth and player investment in character progression. While the game attempts originality in its leveling and political systems, it still leaves significant gaps in character development.
- “Game concept - I will give a 4/5. They are trying to be original with how they are working through character development and redesigned leveling system/dynasty development/political system.”
- “Character development has been simplified, which makes it easier to manage but also a bit underwhelming.”
- “Character development with different perks and skills is needed.”
- “Maybe give them some high-level tasks like 'build a family, gain influence, gain reputation, do a political career, etc.' Doing so would be great in combination with increasing the depth you can go into with character development.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting its wholesome nature and heartfelt quality, suggesting it resonates deeply with players and showcases the creators' emotional depth. Overall, it is recommended for its ability to evoke strong feelings and connections.
- “10/10 would recommend this wholesome game.”
- “I know what those glorious depths of your creative souls are capable of; it's shining all over the heartfelt quality found in The Guild 2.”