Stronghold Review

Nowadays, there are countless “castle simulator” games to choose from. However, in 2001, Stronghold was the granddaddy of them all!

Of course, in the nearly two decades since that release, the castle simulator genre has exploded. And there have been quite a few sequels in the Stronghold series. That leaves the question — is the original still worth playing?

A Tale of Two Games

If you’ve never played a castle simulator, you may expect this game to play like the original Warcraft. However, that estimate is only half right.

Technically, Stronghold is two games in one. There is the military aspect that most people focus on (and, to be fair, all of the advertising focuses on), but there is also the city-building aspect.

In addition to getting servants to build and train your units, you must also find ways to keep those servants happy. This can come in the form of giving them more food, lowering their taxes, and other entertaining options.

To be completely honest, the city-building element is pretty basic. But it helps make this game feel like more than just another hack-and-slash medieval adventure.