Rewriting the history of the Crusades in Knights of the Crusades

Indie.io publisher and developer Reverie World Studios have officially released their ambitious real-time strategy game, Knights of the Crusades, as an Early Access title for PC.

This game, set during the medieval Crusades, is now available on Steam for Windows PCs. The development team at Reverie World Studios is committed to continuously updating the game weekly to 'significantly expand content and systems' in every aspect, while also listening to feedback from the player community.

Konstantine Fomenko, Producer and Design Director at Reverie World Studios, shared in a press release: "This is a game that's developed alongside the players, and this roadmap is just the beginning. We're adding depth to the campaigns, refreshing the factions with unique mechanics, and working directly with the community to make this vision a reality."

Knights of the Crusades transports players back to the tumultuous period of the Middle Ages. This was a time when nascent Western European powers united under the banner of religion, waging wars to reclaim the Holy Land from Islamic control and place it under Christian rule. These wars, spanning two centuries, not only reshaped the political, economic, and religious landscape of the Middle East but also profoundly impacted the whole of Europe. Military orders played a pivotal role in the Crusades, becoming powerful and influential forces in the political arena of the time.

In Knights of the Crusades, players will have the opportunity to build a powerful military order from scratch, or directly take command of existing forces such as the fledgling Templar Order, the Emirate of Tripoli, or any of the 52 available kingdoms and orders to rewrite the course of history in their own way.

The rewriting of history is realized through a unique combination of RTS tactical combat gameplay, a macro strategy system, and an open campaign design. Starting with a fledgling order, players must meticulously manage logistics, ensuring the army never runs out of food and has enough materials to craft siege weapons as they advance towards crucial objectives such as Jerusalem.

Players also need to master the art of tactical combat in a setting where kings often directly lead their armies into battle and gunpowder is still a distant memory of the battlefield. Through a skillful combination of strategy, leadership, and a bit of luck, players will gradually build their territory, establish influence, and venture into an even more brutal battlefield – a complex political world with constantly shifting alliances, fragile diplomacy, and long-term schemes.

Furthermore, players can fully experience the conflict from the opposing side, choosing to play as one of the Muslim rulers in North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, or the Middle East. Starting with the advantage of an established state and relatively developed infrastructure, the main objective will be to defend against the invasion of dozens of Christian kingdoms and monasteries descending upon the Holy Land. By mastering complex systems simulating logistics, combat, and politics, players have the chance to become a Saladin of the First Crusade, preventing the war from escalating into two centuries of bloodshed.