Studio 369 has just released its brand new medieval city builder, Noble Legacy, where you have to take control of a village on the brink of collapse, and turn it into a large thriving city. What sets the game apart from many other survival games is the use of the Steam Workshop and an integrated AI conversation system, so you can talk to the villagers.

In Noble Legacy, you play as a lord who inherited a claim to land after winning a war. This place is called Greenwood. While the land is ripe for cultivation and lush with trees for building, it has been neglected for quite some time. To see it thrive once more, you have to get your hands dirty by rebuilding the town yourself and taking control as lord. In doing so, you will not only boost the people’s happiness but also attract new villagers who can help you expand your wealth and the town.

Unlike most games in the city building genre, you play on the ground in third person rather than as an overseer viewing from a top-down perspective. This gives you finer control over the structures you build and their interiors. While Noble Legacy provides you with building prefabs, you can also build from the ground up using square foundations, walls, roofs, and more, similar to many survival games. However, if you are not a fan of the provided builds and do not fancy constructing something yourself, you can check out the Steam Workshop and see what other people have made. If you find something you like, simply download it, and then place it in your world.

The villagers are the main focus of the game. Depending on their skills, you can assign them different jobs, so getting people with the right skill set is key, as not everyone can become a salesperson or a priest. Besides food and pay, you also need to keep them happy. This can be done by decorating their workplaces or houses. Some also have personal traits you have to keep in mind, such as wanting to work with a person of the opposite gender. Complying with these demands enables them to work more efficiently.

If you walk up to one of your villagers, you can start a conversation. There are a few default options, but the game also lets you type what you want to say to them. This system uses a version of OpenAI, the platform used to make chatbots like ChatGPT. With it, you can have full custom conversations with them.

Also, from time to time, problems can arise. A villager will tell you what happened, and you have some time to fix what is going on. This can be as simple as taking care of a bandit or finding out why so many people are getting sick.

The developers have already released a roadmap on what we can expect over the course of a year. During Fall, they plan to enhance the relationship system and let you marry villagers and give them gifts. Once you expand your kingdom, you will also need a place to stay. Coming in the update, you will be able to build a castle to live in. Later in the year, they are looking to expand the number of jobs available, such as husbandry, hunters, and shepherds, as well as adding a minigame for fishing. Early next year, new diseases will spread through town, prompting the addition of an apothecary. The update will also expand on combat and the marriage system.

Noble Legacy is available in Early Access on Steam, with console releases still to be announced.

Do you think more games need an AI conversation system? Let me know in the comments.