There are some games you don't really need to explain to someone who played them more than 20 years ago. All you have to say is “Wood needed!” and suddenly you've brought back a little piece of their childhood. That's why I was particularly interested in trying Stronghold 4 at Gamescom. After several sequels and different attempts to expand the formula, the question I wanted answered was simple: is Stronghold finally returning to its roots?
After what I had the chance to play, my answer is – yes, it looks like Firefly Studios is finally heading in the right direction.
Economy Is Back at the Center of Everything
At Gamescom, I specifically played Economy Mode, focusing on the economic side of the game, and that alone was enough to give me a good idea of what Firefly is trying to achieve. Stronghold 4 is developed and published by Firefly Studios, and it is the latest main entry in the series, returning to its medieval roots and taking place before the events of the original Stronghold. The game is planned for PC/Steam in 2026.
What immediately stood out to me was that the economy doesn't feel like something that simply exists because an RTS is supposed to have resources.
It is the heart of your castle.
You gather raw materials, organize production, take care of your population and try to keep the entire system balanced. That feeling of interconnected production chains was one of the defining features of the original Stronghold, and here you can clearly see the desire to bring that philosophy back.
And that's what I've been missing.
Not just building structures, but having the feeling that every building exists for a reason.
It's Not All About the Army
One thing we sometimes forget when talking about Stronghold is that the military side was only half of the experience. The other half was building a functioning castle.
Making sure you have enough food. Making sure your people don't leave. Keeping production running. Having enough resources for the next step. And only then can you start thinking about how you're going to defend yourself when someone decides your castle looks like a nice place to visit.
That's the balance I felt while playing Stronghold 4.
Of course, I haven't seen the complete game yet, but what I played felt much closer to the philosophy of the early games than some of the later attempts to turn the series into something it wasn't.
A Return to Classic Stronghold
Firefly has been very open about wanting Stronghold 4 to return to the series’ roots and the idea of the ultimate castle simulator. The game offers greater freedom when building your castle, more detailed customization of walls and other structures, as well as a deeper economic system. And that's exactly what I wanted to see.
I don't need Stronghold to try to become Age of Empires. I don't need a game that fills the basic formula with dozens of extra systems simply because it's 2026.
I want to build my castle, watch my little settlement grow, solve problems in my economy and then prepare for the moment when someone decides it's a good idea to attack everything I've built.
And for now, Stronghold 4 gave me exactly that.
The Castle Is More Than Just a Military Base
One of the more interesting aspects of the new entry is how Firefly is trying to connect life inside the castle even more closely with its defenses. Weather and the environment now have a more direct impact on gameplay. Rain can reduce the range of archers, snow can affect crop growth, while different defensive structures can be used depending on the situation. These details might not sound revolutionary when you read about them, but they are exactly the kind of things that can make the difference between an ordinary RTS and a game that genuinely wants to simulate life inside a medieval castle. And Stronghold has always worked best when you felt like you were managing a living place, rather than simply building a military base.
The Graphics Are Modern, but the Identity Remains
Of course, Stronghold 4 looks much more modern than its predecessors. And that's completely expected. What I like, however, is that the modern presentation hasn't come at the expense of the series’ identity. The castle still looks like something you actually want to build. The settlement feels alive.
And the medieval world has enough character that it doesn't feel like a generic RTS with a different skin. Firefly has also put considerable attention into castle construction, offering more building elements and greater freedom in how they can be placed. And that's probably one of the things I'm looking forward to the most when we eventually get the full version.
First Impressions from Gamescom
Of course, this wasn't the complete game, so I don't want to make any final judgments yet. Stronghold 4 will enter Early Access as a work in progress, with Firefly planning to add additional content throughout development, including an economic campaign, co-op Skirmish Trail and multiplayer. But what I had the opportunity to play at Gamescom was enough to convince me of one thing:
Firefly has finally started listening to what Stronghold fans have wanted for years.
Economy Mode left the strongest impression on me because it doesn't try to complicate the formula for the sake of it. Instead, it puts the focus back on what made the original special – economy, population, production chains and the feeling that you're actually building and managing your own castle.
Will the full game manage to maintain that feeling? We'll have to wait and see. But after what I played at Gamescom, for the first time in a long while I have the feeling that Stronghold 4 isn't trying to run away from its past.
Quite the opposite – it looks like it's finally ready to return to it.
And honestly, I think that's exactly what this series needed.
