Stronghold - On this day

On this day, exactly 20 years ago, Stronghold could be played on the PC platform. It was a strategic game in which the goal was to build a fort (or take it from the enemy) and rule with compromises to keep their population alive. Although similar concepts already existed at the time in Age of Empires and several other games of that type, Stronghold managed to win over a small community of fans who fell in love with its medieval atmosphere and great music.

The game took place around the year 1066 in the area of what was then Britain, and the player clashed against four characteristic rulers who used nicknames after animals: a rat, a pig, a snake, and a wolf. Each of them used different warfare tactics, so the player had to outwit them first in defensive missions, and then in leading the siege. There were a total of 21 missions in the military campaign.

Stronghold gave equal importance in gameplay to military campaigns and the economy, and in addition to the main campaign, he had several challenges focused on one of these segments of gameplay. The game could also be played cooperatively on a local network, and the fan community used a map-creating tool to make sure Stronghold gets a bunch of extra content and no expansions or DLC packages. One of the more famous upgrades is the map package from the Lord of the Rings series.

The series continued its success with the sequel Stronghold Crusader, but then it started its downward trajectory by switching to 3D with Stronghold 2 and moving to the fantasy world with Stronghold Legends. The third part took the series to a low ebb, and Crusader 2 didn’t help it either, so Stronghold’s best moments can be found in the HD reissue today. This release brings support for higher resolutions, a better view of the battlefield, and increases the total number of units available.

Despite all this, Stronghold still lives. A new game called Stronghold Warlords was launched this year, focusing on a whole new historical period and Asian territory. However, she didn't do very well either with only 62% positive ratings on Steam.