If you are a fan of stately lords and its free-form, gridless city building, you should check out Foundation, a game coming out of Early Access and launching in full version 1.0 on January 31, 2025.
I played a lot of Manor Lords when it first came out, but since it's an early access indie game primarily worked on by one person, updates aren't very frequent. Alright. The game sold well, continues to perform well, and the developer seems happy to spend time working on it. a new map and features. However, as much as I love Manor Lords, I'm looking for the next solution for my city building, and I think Foundation is it.
It's also a medieval town building that allows you to build without the railings of a grid system, but unlike Manor Lords, the art style isn't as realistic and there seems to be more of a focus on building castles and intricate structures instead. of only roads. and gardens.
Foundation has been in early access for over five years and its fans seem very happy that it is finally getting a full release. “I haven't thought about this game in a while! Last time I played it (Steam says 2022) it still needed quite a bit of work. I'll have to check it out and reinstall it when I release it, I remember it being a pretty chill experience and I quite enjoyed it as a game with little expectations on my part.” write a player on Reddit.
Foundation | Release Date Announcement and Demo Trailer – YouTube
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“I'm a big city builder player and I really loved playing Foundation. Its free gridless building was a lot of fun and allowed you to be really creative. It's not a very challenging game, but it still gives you things to work towards. I felt The biggest obstacles were the upgrade system and trading, it looks like they've updated the upgrade system into a tech tree which is great to use again,” writes another.
The most complimentary comment is: “I love the way you build without grids and for me it has ruined other builders where you have to place roads.”
I'll have to give it a try on January 31st while I wait for the next big Manor Lords update. If you want to try it out yourself, there's a free Steam demo you can play.
While you're here, check out some of the other upcoming indie games that you can get in 2025.