The medieval era saw political turmoil across Europe, brutal combat between warring factions, and a laissez-faire approach to personal hygiene. Any hygiene, actually. Thankfully historical RTS Ancestors legacy focuses on the former elements. Featuring four playable nations, a strong focus on tactical play, and sumptuous visuals powered by Unreal Engine 4, it’s one for the history buffs and RTS enthusiasts alike.

Ancestors Legacy setting

This is a staunchly realistic medieval game, which means no spells, no dragons, and no other fantasy tropes that often creep into the era’s depiction in games. Spanning the years 793 AD - 1278 AD via a number of legendary battles, Ancestors Legacy shows these famous events from the perspectives of the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Holy Roman Empire, and the Slavs.

As Ulf Ironbeard and Rurik of the Vikings you’ll take on the English and invade Novogorod, while the Anglo-Saxon campaign sees Edward the Confessor navigate a tricky civil war scenario in England, then Harold II Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. While the Slavs defend against German attacks with Mieszko and Bolesław I the Brave repels Prussian emperor Henryk II and attempts to take Kiev.

Ancestors Legacy core gameplay mechanics

This is a squad-based RTS with a 10-unit cap, which means the focus is on micromanagement, strategic positioning and timing. The resource management aspect centres on wood, food, iron, and housing, the latter determining how many units you have at your disposal at a given time. Taking control of neutral villages on the game map is also of vital importance, because capturing and maintaining them boosts your Faction’s resources.

Your squad’s also subject to many different status effects, and managing these is key. Effects may be positive - morale and health boosts, for example - negative, like movement or retreat blocked. Most can be either positive or negative, such as damage or range modifiers. All status effects come in three levels, with the highest having the most profound effect on your squad’s stats.

Ancestors Legacy system requirements

Here’s the bare minimum you’ll need in your rig to run the game:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows® 7 (Service Pack 1) , Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 - (64-bit only).
• Processor: 2.6 GHz Intel® Core™ i5-750 or 3.2 GHz AMD Phenom™ II X4 955
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD5850 (1 GB VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 18 GB available space
• Sound Card: Integrated or dedicated DirectX 11 compatible soundcard

...And the recommended specs:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows® 7 (Service Pack 1) / Windows® 8 / Windows® 8.1 / Windows® 10 / (64-bit only)
• Processor: AMD Octa-Core / Intel Quad-Core processor running at 3.4 GHz (AMD FX X8 8350 or Intel Core i5 3570 or newer architectures are recommended)
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD/NVIDIA dedicated with at least 2048MB of dedicated VRAM and with at least DirectX 11 and Shader Model 5.0 support. AMD Radeon R9 285 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670
• DirectX: Version 11
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 18 GB available space
• Sound Card: Integrated or dedicated DirectX 11 compatible soundcard

Ancestors Legacy release date

The game released on 22 May 2018. Following launch, dedicated servers are now online and the game’s first official post-launch tournament took place on 18 July.