➤ The end of the Middle Ages 🎮

Year 1404 is a management system set during the century that marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era. The latest noble son of a very successful series, especially in Germany, which began many years ago, this new chapter tries to repeat its predecessors by showing off a renewed graphics engine and some tweaks in the gameplay. Starting the game you can choose between different modes, all quite classic, which include the free game and three campaigns. Basically, the game mechanics are identical in all modes, i.e. you have to be able to manage a human settlement, equipping it with different infrastructures that are used to exploit the resources of the territory and ensure population growth. The goal is to make it grow by transforming a muddy slum into a rich and prosperous urban center. The fulcrum of each settlement is the market (read the dedicated box for some historical details), around which houses for the population must be built so that they can start fishing, chopping wood and working the fields.

Economic growth entails a better standard of living for the inhabitants and the gradual transformation of peasant society into a mercantile society. Each step forward in the development of the company triggers new needs related to new buildings to be built. Progress is only possible by satisfying the needs expressed by the inhabitants, summarized in convenient, easy-to-consult graphics. Obviously life for the player is made complicated by various factors such as the lack of resources in certain territories, which forces them to explore the map in search of regions to colonize, or it requires to trade with advanced settlements that have the resources they need.
Unfortunately, the difficulties are not only of an environmental nature and soon there will also be fires and discontent to request drastic interventions to solve intricate situations, especially if the construction of the city has not been properly planned and some sector has been left uncovered for too long.

Why the market?

Some of you, the most curious, will have wondered why the fulcrum of the settlements in the game is not the classic castle or fortress, if you prefer, but the market. The developers wanted to stick to history and chose to represent the realities of the merchant municipalities, born in Spain in the eleventh century and subsequently developed in other parts of Europe, until the affirmation of the city lords, monarchies and the birth of nation states. Having blossomed within the feudal system, which had characterized the early Middle Ages (a period which by convention goes from 476 AD to 1066 AD), in the municipalities external trade takes on a primary role and is the main form of break with the system previous economic, more closed and centered around the court.

The Saracens are coming!

The three campaigns certainly represent the most structurally interesting mode of the game. Each of them is divided into several missions, in turn divided into small quests, usually activated by the requests of allies or enemies. In reality, the three campaigns follow a single narrative thread and are part of a single large campaign that culminates in the confrontation in the open field with the Saracens. Some may be disappointed that by moving from one mission to the next, the efforts made in the previous one are canceled and the game always loads preset settlements, resetting any changes made by the player. So you will understand that it is useless to go too far beyond what is required by the plot and take advantage of the extra resources to expand the colony. Probably a similar system was necessary in order to create more articulated missions, but we are always talking about a management software and the player is pleased to see his efforts take shape on the screen. Obviously the problem does not arise in the free mode, where there is no division into missions.
The weakest phases of the game are those of clashes. At the beginning there is very little fighting, but soon the time comes to cross swords against the Saracens. Unfortunately in these situations Year 1404 it transforms and clumsy simulacra of what should be heated battles appear on the screen. Above all, naval clashes and those with more troops lack precision and any attempt at tactical planning is thwarted by the response of the troops, very ready to act recklessly, unless they follow the directions given. The conclusion is that the only winning strategy is that of accumulation, that is, we must aim to form immense armies to overwhelm the opponent from a numerical point of view.

Nice and heavy

Graphically the title of Related Designs is the best the genre has to offer. The representation of the cities in evolution is very detailed, with models of buildings and inhabitants treated in detail, as well as those of the various naval and land units. After a few hours of play, when things start to get serious, it is a pleasure to wander around the different settlements and watch the carts carrying the raw materials, the citizens going to the temple or the drunks coming out of the tavern on duty, all of course with their animations. Also from the point of view of the effects we are faced with an excellent job: the water is very realistic, especially being able to select the maximum level of detail, and there is no lack of assorted special effects that cheer the games.
A lot of technical bombast pays off in terms of performance. At the maximum level of detail, the game struggles a lot, especially when the settlements have become real cities, with dramatic drops in framerate that force costly cuts in order to continue playing decently. Unfortunately, the drops also occur if you have a PC higher than that recommended by the system requirements (of course, if you have a twenty thousand euro PC with built-in teleportation, you will not feel them for sure) and are very annoying because the details must be lowered precisely in the situations in which the graphics engine gives its best in terms of pure visual rendering. A real pity, in short, not being able to enjoy the graphic beauty to the fullest in the situations in which it can express itself at its best.

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Year 1404 it is a title in many ways valuable, but it also has some flaws that must be considered, especially if you are looking for a well-balanced title in its various aspects. However, if you want a deep and very long-lived management software, but with a less elaborate military part, you will find bread for your teeth in the last work of Related Designs.