Under The Yoke

About

Under The Yoke is a single player simulation game with a historical theme. It was developed by Priory Games and was released on March 28, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Under the Yoke" is a historical simulation game set in Medieval England, where you start as a serf with a small plot of land and must guide your family through generations. Each character has distinct traits, personalities, and skills, and it's your responsibility to manage their livelihoods, social circles, and daily needs. The game's mechanics are based on three core traits: Mind, Body, and Spirit, which impact each character's abilities and interactions. Your ultimate goal is to ensure your family's contentment and productivity while navigating the challenges of the Middle Ages.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 60 reviews

graphics14 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game has a charming art style and atmosphere, making it enjoyable to play.
The developer is responsive and actively working on updates and bug fixes, showing commitment to improving the game.
The gameplay offers a unique and engaging experience with a focus on historical accuracy and micromanagement.

The tutorial is poorly designed, leaving many players confused about the game's mechanics and objectives.
The user interface is buggy and unintuitive, leading to frustrating navigation and gameplay experiences.
The game frequently crashes, which significantly detracts from the overall enjoyment and playability.

graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
25%
5%
The game's graphics are praised for their beautiful art style, which many players find appealing and fitting for the medieval theme. However, there are significant concerns regarding performance issues, with frequent crashes reported even on basic systems, leading to frustration among users. While the graphics are considered simple, the overall aesthetic and design contribute positively to the gaming experience when functioning properly.
- “The art style is also good.”
- “Having a lot of fun building out my character, the music draws you in and the graphics are spot on for the genre.”
- “This game looks beautiful, the art style is one of the main reasons I purchased on day 1.”
- “While the game is graphically simple, the systems are quite complex.”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The gameplay is generally considered functional but not particularly thrilling, with mechanics that make sense and are well-implemented. Players may find the lack of a tutorial challenging, as it could lead to confusion regarding game mechanics, especially for newcomers. Despite some technical issues, the long-term gameplay experience is appreciated, allowing for significant progress over time.
- “The gameplay is not the most exciting, but I like it.”
- “This mechanics makes perfect sense and they are good in my opinion; however, players will have to be warned because a lot of games have foods be kind of indestructible, so a new player picking this game up will get caught off guard.”
- “A tutorial would walk you through each menu and make you assign your character to do things, to help you understand basic needs and mechanics.”
- “Big fan of the long-term gameplay, though I was able to get pretty far in only a decade with my first single peasant man.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The story aspect of the game is engaging, as it allows players to transition from basic survival to thriving within a social and political framework, including goals like securing elected positions and arranging marriages for their children. Players appreciate the RPG elements that provide ongoing purpose beyond initial needs, but many express a desire for more quests, social consequences, and diverse objectives to enhance the narrative experience.
- “You get to a point where you have a surplus of goods, but then you have to consider how to not just live, but thrive, how to get an elected position, marrying off your children, etc. I like the RPG aspect because it makes me feel like there's still a purpose to playing after you've met those basic needs, and there are little story breaks every now and then.”
- “The game lacks depth in its storytelling, leaving players wanting more engaging quests and meaningful social interactions.”
- “There are not enough narrative elements to keep players invested; more missions and objectives would enhance the overall experience.”
- “The story feels fragmented and underdeveloped, making it difficult to stay immersed in the game world.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is consistently praised for being pleasant and engaging, with many users highlighting its interesting concept. Overall, it creates a captivating environment that enhances the learning experience.
- “The atmosphere is nice and it's interesting to learn.”
- “Nice concept, nice atmosphere.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, highlighting that the user interface (UI) is both buggy and unintuitive, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The UI is buggy and unintuitive.”
- “The UI is buggy and unintuitive.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the historical accuracy and complexity of the game's mechanisms, particularly in farming and medieval production chains, which adds depth to the grinding experience.
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly engaging and effectively enhances the overall experience, complementing the impressive graphics and character-building elements. Players find it immersive and integral to their enjoyment of the game.
- “Having a lot of fun building out my character, the music draws you in and the graphics are spot on for the genre.”