#Stronghold 2 game review full#

Spanners can and will be thrown into your idyllic system, however, with some peasants deciding work isn’t for them - locking up your key production systems as they strike.

Through honour generated by tournaments, rationing and lordly parties, you can keep your peasant morale up and have an efficient, clockwork castle.

#Stronghold 2 game review full#

The overarching system of economic independence is something I don’t recall seeing in full swing until 2010, so for Stronghold 2 to boast it half a decade prior is impressive and competes equally with any current-gen economy game.Īlongside the economic systems is the management of your peasantry. That wonderful feeling you get once the key requirements of production lines are in place: the granary, the tool forges and the weaver’s huts, all working in harmony to produce bread, swords and money without your intervention. Popping down chunky walls and multi-stage defensive sectors as your fortress absorbed the natural resources around itself and crept progressively further into the surrounding landscape felt organic and fun.Ĭompared to more modern titles, Stronghold 2 continually surprised me by showing just how ahead of its time it was. The castle building - arguably the core selling point of the game - was intricate and satisfying to slowly grow and expand. The light baked-goods simulation of yore was actually defined by multiple regions and settlements, their supply chains interwoven into a tapestry of oxen transports, production lines and dedicated poop collectors. But with a decade more gaming experience under my belt and experience of newer, bigger games, Stronghold 2 was way more complex than I expected. I remembered a decently fun castle-building game with some elements of ensuring grain from farms was milled into flour and baked into bread. I went in with these rose-tinted goggles firmly in place, the knowledge that this game was released before my nephew was born etched into my expectations as I started the campaign. It was with this re-release that I found myself faced with the worn, yet familiar, Firefly Studios’ splash screen from my childhood - followed by the opening music reminding me of homework, my brief Dr Pepper obsession and the sound of My Chemical Romance from my teenage sister’s room next door. Wind the clock forwards a decade and Firefly Studios has re-released the genre-defining Stronghold 2 on Steam, with all the modern features including facilitated multiplayer, workshop community map support and achievements for killing ten thousand rats.

Then Stronghold 2 burst through the castle gates of the societal management genre with promises of bigger fortresses, economies spanning multiple settlements and refined combat that actually felt like an enjoyable part of the game, rather than the frustrating distraction of the previous title. It is strange to remember that Firefly Studios’ Stronghold 2 came out over twelve years ago, with concepts, mechanics and gameplay that promised to exceed the already high bar set by its predecessor.Įconomy and micromanagement games certainly weren’t a new thing back in the hazy year of 2005 the likes of Caesar, Settlers and even Beasts and Bumpkins had been blazing that trail for nearing a decade prior.