You can currently try out the demo of a new medieval city-building game on Steam. I did and I really liked it!
Damned Pride.As I scroll through the seemingly endless list of demos for the current Steam Next Fest 2025, I’m still complaining loudly that I can’t find enough promising city-building games among them. Then Editor-in-Chief Daniel says, “What about City Tales: Medieval Era?” And I just say, “Nah, that looks old.”
Daniel was justifiably surprised, because at that moment he saw the real City Tales: Medieval Era, while my brain was showing me what felt like one of the hundreds of cheaply produced medieval games on Steam. But to quote Thorin Oakenshield: I have never been so mistaken!
A glance at the Steam page was enough to make my eyes see wonderfully green meadows, tranquil villages and a real castle in screenshots, so I immediately downloaded the demo to my computer and started playing.
And what can I say? I’m glad I did it!
The basics are there
Even though this is not a soulless, but an extremely lovingly designed building game, City Tales faces a problem: there is no shortage of contemplative building games set in the Middle Ages.
On the other hand, the mass of games of this kind has a reason, because the principle simply attracts people again and again. It also attracts me, who, even with the fantastic Manor Lords, still wants to discover new games of this kind.
I was also prepared to get more of the same with City Tales and I wasn’t entirely wrong. Because of course the game delivers a familiar base I start my career as a feudal lord by placing the first wooden huts somewhere in a forest with a European feel, then send out woodcutters and order them to hunt game or gather berries.
The village is growing, and so are the demands. Suddenly, the calls for new goods are getting louder. Clothes are needed, roast wild boar, apple wine and then, please, a small school and an impressive chapel. In no time at all, I find myself in the familiar spiral. I want to get new resources, but first I need others. At the same time, the city must grow steadily to meet my gold needs. You know the game!
And let me say that right away, City Tales masters these basics extremely well. I spent about three hours in the demo and I wasn’t bored for a second. It was non-stop, I was motivated throughout and could have spent much more time in it. Upgrade even more houses, build even more businesses. This is exactly what a city-building game should feel like!
Who’s developing this?
Behind City Tales is the Paris-based studio Irregular Shapes, which has been in existence since 2022 and is made up primarily of fans of city-building games. This is their first project in this constellation, but many of the developers have already gained experience in other companies.
What makes City Tales stand out
City Tales is more than just another city-building game that looks like The Settlers and feels like Anno. City Tales also takes a little from Manor Lords! Although this only refers to the way you build here. Without a grid and by dragging entire properties into the landscape instead of just individual houses.
Simply define the layout with a few clicks and the foundations for new buildings will appear on the field you just drew. But while in Manor Lords this only results in a few individual residential buildings, in City Tales I use it to define an entire neighborhood.
The size determines how many building sites are created, which, incidentally, I need not only for residential buildings. In addition to public buildings such as markets, theaters or fountains, there must also be space for craft businesses such as bakeries or rope shops.
And then the puzzle begins Each district can only accommodate two public buildings, but often needs significantly more. So I have to make sure that the areas of influence of neighboring districts include other districts. On top of that, each house has its own needs to some extent. One family needs a theater to advance, another a church.
It’s not that easy to find the right distribution here– but it’s relaxed enough for me to still enjoy the quaint medieval atmosphere. A nice side effect: neighborhoods definitely have their own personality and are highly recognizable. I store them in my head as: the neighborhood with the funny shape, or the neighborhood with the bakery. Maybe also as the neighborhood with the people who all like apple wine.
That gives the city character and character is another good keyword.
Lord of the Cities: The Companions
The second special feature of City Tales are the so-called companions In many city-building games, I have to directly distribute my faceless subjects to vacant positions, but in City Tales, my focus is on the unique companions, who do not represent the entire population.
They are very special inhabitants who have to keep a new business running for a while before they train a successor who then automatically continues to run the business.
The companions show a lot of potential, because thanks to the likeable illustrations, I can clearly distinguish each of them from the others. This gives my subjects a personality that does not get lost in the crowd later on. Although new companions are added, there are never so many that I would lose track.
My companions also continue to educate themselves and are therefore a strategic resource If I need more bread right now, I let the companion who has more points in food talent than anyone else run the bakery
In the full version, the companions are supposed to approach us with unique story quests, which could give them even more character.
I had a lot of fun with the demo of City Tales: Medieval Era in any case! Especially since it already conveyed well where the journey is headed, what its strengths are, and that it has the potential to entertain me for much longer. Take a look for yourselves, otherwise you might miss a little surprise.
Editor’s conclusion
I was pleasantly surprised by City Tales on many levels! I had expected a demo that looks nice but still runs very unround. Where I click through lazily and think to myself: “Yeah, it’s okay.” But then I really had fun with it! I was motivated throughout, enjoyed the atmosphere and saw potential everywhere that has yet to be realized.
Of course, there were also quirks, such as not being able to decide exactly which slot a manually placed business occupies in a neighborhood or that there was no way to upgrade several apartment buildings at once. What annoyed me most was that the areas of influence did not always have the effect they should, and thus the comprehensibility suffers.
Then there are weaknesses in the presentation, such as not being able to watch residents go about their business. City Tales will not be the next Manor Lords or the next Foundation, but you can at least spend a few good hours with the demo. We’ll see if there’s more to it later.
