The art direction and graphical style is another strong suit in the historical representation of FoG 2: Medieval. In essence, the units themselves and the accurately composed army lists bring history to life on the battlefield. Despite not adding any major mechanical or feature changes, the simple inclusion of the new Knightly Lancer unit type and the prevalence of the Unmaneuverable trait for a majority of units makes combat feel distinctly medieval compared to the ancients setting of the parent installment. One of the biggest strengths of the Field of Glory series that also can be found in Medieval is its setting and focus on historical accuracy and authenticity. It’s exhilarating when that elite unit of huscarls break the center of the enemy line and it’s equally exciting to see a lowly Raw Spearmen unit hold firm in the face of a knightly charge. This relationship between army composition and terrain makes the tactical and strategic elements of FoG 2: Medieval incredibly engaging.Ĭombat is, of course, a vital part of the gameplay and its robustness comes from the relationship of all the different units and their capabilities, as well as an element of randomness thrown in for good measure to add some tension to individual unit engagements. The terrain can drastically shift even a single engagement in favor of units that fight more favorably in said terrain. Due to the randomly-generated maps, no battle will feel the same and some armies may go from being powerhouses to being severely weakened. The sheer number of unit types, capabilities, and behaviors provide a huge amount of tactical and strategic depth.Īnother excellent and integral element of gameplay is the effect terrain has on units. Armies are represented by a vast variety of units from different cultures, time periods, and fighting styles.

Players will deploy and fight on randomly generated maps with the goal of routing the enemy army off the field and breaking their fighting spirit. The core system of turn-based tactical battles where two opposing forces face off and battle for dominance hasn’t changed and is still as good as it’s ever been. Though not officially under the FoG franchise banner, Byzantine’s earlier titles, such as Pike and Shot: Campaigns and Sengoku Jidai: Shadow of the Shogun, utilize the same ruleset with minor modifications. The Field of Glory series of wargames are adaptations of the historically-set tabletop miniatures game of the same name. FoG 2: Medieval rides that fine line, avoiding stagnation, by improving just enough on its predecessors. Tradition can also become a crutch that limits innovation, but a strong gameplay loop, thematic additions or modifications of varying scale, and excellent implementation can compensate for a lack of franchise innovation. Field of Glory 2: Medieval, developed by Byzantine Games and published by Slitherine Software, makes a compelling case to revisit this historical period.īyzantine Games is a development team that adheres to their design traditions to preserve the best elements of their games. The prevalence of iron-clad and colorful knights, as well as the arrival of large nomad armies provides a lot of interesting and flexible tactical decision-making. The medieval battlefield and thrill of combat is always an exhilarating topic to explore in strategy games.

Medieval battlefields gameplay