FireFly Studios’ Stronghold, a classic example of a castle-builder game, was quite popular during its early 2000s heyday and its 2013 re-release was also met with a positive reception.
We definitely recommend trying out the game, as it features complex real-time strategy gameplay mixed with a detailed representation of medieval kingdom management. If these mechanics strike your fancy, we also invite you to take a look at our list of 12 awesome castle-building games like Stronghold.
| Name | Released | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Northgard | 2017-02-22 | Indie | Shiro Games |
 | Life is Feudal: Your Own Steam | 2015-11-17 | Indie | Bitbox Ltd. |
 | Life is Feudal: Forest Village | 2017-05-26 | Indie | Mindillusion |
 | Age of Empires II HD | 2013-04-09 | Strategy | Hidden Path Entertainment |
 | Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition | 2019-11-14 | Strategy | Forgotten Empires LLC |
 | Age of Empires IV | 2021-10-28 | Strategy, Real-Time | Relic Entertainment |
 | Stronghold: Warlords | 2021-03-09 | Simulation | Firefly Studios |
 | Stronghold Crusader 2 | 2014-09-22 | Simulation | FireFly Studios |
 | Stronghold Crusader HD | 2002-07-31 | Simulation | FireFly Studios |
 | Going Medieval | 2021-06-01 | Medieval | Gramophone Games |
 | Rise of Nations: Extended Edition | 2014-06-12 | Strategy | Big Huge Games |
 | Age of Mythology Extended Edition | 2014-05-08 | Economy | Ensemble Studios |
 | The Settlers 2: 10th Anniversary | 2006-09 | Strategy | Ubisoft Blue Byte |
 | Medieval Kingdom Wars | 2017-06-09 | Indie | |
 | Majesty Gold HD | 2001-03-23 | Strategy | Cyberlore |
 | Anno 1404 - History Edition | 2020-06-25 | City-building | Ubisoft |
 | Foundation | 2019-02-01 | Indie | Polymorph Games |
 | Kingdoms and Castles | 2017-07-20 | Indie | Lionshield Studios |
 | Banished | 2014-02-18 | Economy | Shining Rock Software |
Northgard
| Released | 2017-02-22 |
| Genre | Indie |
| Developer | Shiro Games |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
In Northgard, the player is put in charge of a group of Scandinavian explorers, banished from their lands and searching for a new place to settle. As the leader of the settlement, the player has to make sure that their people will thrive in this new environment.
The game relies heavily on the management aspect, with the player assigning positions to their minions and developing new means of improving the Viking village. Northgard can also be played in online PvP, with the players’ settlements cooperating or competing for the land and resources.
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Life is Feudal - Your Own & Forest Village
| Released | 2017-05-26 |
| Genre | Indie |
| Developer | Mindillusion |
| Game modes | single-player |
Your Own and Forest Village are, in fact, two very different games, set in a similar world. Your Own follows the gameplay patterns of such titles as “Mount & Blade: Warband” and “Kingdom Come: Deliverance”.
Forest Village focuses on the city-building and managing, giving the player control over a whole town with people to look after. Whether you prefer a sandbox-survival nature of Your Own or the management mechanics of Forest Village, you’ll find plenty to enjoy about Feudal Life: Your Own and Forest Village.
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Age of Empires II HD
| Released | 2013-04-09 |
| Genre | Strategy |
| Developer | Hidden Path Entertainment |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
If you are a fan of real-time strategy games, you must’ve played at least one of the Age of Empires titles. If you haven’t had the chance to do it, then Age of Empires II HD is your best choice.
Experience the classic RTS/city-building gameplay with improved graphics and multiplayer options and see what you’ve been missing for all these years. Or, if you’re an AoE veteran, return to the roots of the RTS genre and see how it holds up against the more recent titles.
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Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
| Released | 2014-06-12 |
| Genre | Strategy |
| Developer | Big Huge Games |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
Like many RTS’ with selectable civilizations, Rise of Nations relies heavily on “what if” scenarios. For example, the player can choose to play as one of the Native American nations and push back the European expansion on the continent. This gives the player a chance to see how the civilizations that were historically subjugated or wiped out would develop into modern times.
Rise of Nations features complex gameplay mechanics, which require the player to consider every move carefully or face its consequence. Combined with extensive building systems, this makes RoN a title that all fans of RTS city-builders should try.
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Age of Mythology Extended Edition
| Released | 2014-05-08 |
| Genre | Economy |
| Developer | Ensemble Studios |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
A spinoff to the Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology takes the player to the ancient times, where people believed that their fates were governed by the will of almighty gods. While most of the gameplay mechanics remain the same, the presence of gods and their influence on the world of the game is what makes Age of Mythology so different than other games in the “Age of…” series.
Each civilization chooses one major god to aid them – including Zeus, Ra, Odin, etc. As the player progresses, minor gods who provide additional support in various gameplay aspects are unlocked. If you don’t mind a bit of fantasy in your real-time strategy games, then we can wholeheartedly recommend you play Age of Mythology.
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The Settlers 2: 10th Anniversary
| Released | Sep, 2006 |
| Genre | Strategy |
| Developer | Ubisoft Blue Byte |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
A spinoff to the Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology takes the player to the ancient times, where people believed that their fates were governed by the will of almighty gods. While most of the gameplay mechanics remain the same, the presence of gods and their influence on the world of the game is what makes Age of Mythology so different than other games in the “Age of…” series.
One of them is definitely the autosave feature – now forgetting to save manually won’t cost the player hours of progress. The player can now also remap the keyboard buttons – something that players used to customizing the inputs to suit their style will definitely enjoy. History Edition is definitely worth checking out, not only to see how it holds up against RTS’s currently available on the market.
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Medieval Kingdom Wars
| Released | 2017-06-09 |
| Genre | Indie |
| Developer | |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
Medieval Kingdom Wars is a rare combination of a real-time strategy and a roguelike, and the gameplay is as complex as one would expect. The player sends their armies into epic battles, including open field skirmishes and brutal sieges. The game features elements of RPG related to the technologies used by the nations – the player can develop them to gain access to new tech.
Finally, there is the roguelike aspect of the game, through which the player is forced to push through the game with few options for repeating certain segments or choosing different paths.
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Majesty Gold HD
| Released | 23 Mar, 2001 |
| Genre | Strategy |
| Developer | Cyberlore |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
Majesty Gold HD is another HD remake on our list. A classic title in the RTS genre, Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim gives the player a chance to rule their own kingdom. Aside from the usual features of a real-time strategy game, Majesty features a complex base-building system.
The player starts with the basic building, which is the palace. Around it, they can build other facilities. Some of them require certain conditions to be met before the player can place them there. Others cannot be placed in combination with other buildings. Figuring out the ins and outs of base-building in Majesty Gold HD will give the player plenty of fun.
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Anno 1404 - History Edition
| Released | 2020-06-25 |
| Genre | Strategy |
| Developer | Related Designs, Ubisoft Blue Byte |
| Game modes | single-player, multiplayer |
As the title suggests, Anno 1404 is set at the dawn of the 15th century. The game features various classic RTS mechanics and some unique ones related to the city-building gameplay. The game’s factions are divided into the Occident (western) and the Orient (eastern) nations. Each of them has its own style of building, related to the social standing of the NPCs.
A key feature of the game is building monuments, such as a cathedral for the Westerners and a mosque for the Orient nations. Building such a thing is a major undertaking, which will require a great deal of preparation on the player’s part.
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Foundation
| Released | 2019-02-01 |
| Genre | Indie |
| Developer | Polymorph Games |
| Game modes | single-player |
This medieval city-builder offers the player a chance to raise their city wherever they want, in a process described as “organic building” allowing the player to let their city-planning imagination loose. The player can raise free-form monuments and later share them with other players. The developers emphasized the support of mods and sharing various elements of the game world between the players, including entire maps.
As of writing this article, the game is still in the Early Access stage, so some things are still subject to change. But if the premise of “organic building” strikes your fancy, then you should go ahead and try out what Foundation has to offer.
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Kingdoms and Castles
| Released | 2017-07-20 |
| Genre | Indie |
| Developer | Lionshield Studios |
| Game modes | single-player |
Kingdoms and Castles features similar gameplay elements as Foundation. The game focuses on building the city and defending it from the upcoming invasion.
To do that, the player will not only have to place housing and everyday facilities for the citizen but also build fortifications and defense systems. All that is embellished with a cute graphics style, procedurally generated clouds, and a seasonal change system.
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Banished
| Released | 2014-02-18 |
| Genre | Economy |
| Developer | Shining Rock Software |
| Game modes | single-player |
Much like Northgard, Banished focuses on building a pocket of medieval society and maintaining it. Unlike many of the games on our list, this one focuses solely on managing the player’s town by building facilities to keep the people satisfied.
The game doesn’t feature outside threats, such as invasions of enemy forces, giving the players problem within the community instead. To keep the city thriving the player will have to deal with diseases, aging population, hazardous conditions, etc. Keeping the people alive and happy through all of that is the main task of the game.
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