The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 is a life simulator set during the early renaissance, where you can lead your dynasty to fame and fortune through shrewd management.
The Guild is one of those long running series that, given my penchant for strategy games, I should realistically already be quite familiar with. I remember, back when I was working in shops selling games, eyeing up the cases of games series like The Guild, Patrician, Tropico and Anno and never really taking the time to dive into them. Some of those I did get around to, but not The Guild, until now.
First things first, its incredibly important to note that The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 is apparently both a spiritual remake and spiritual sequel to the original (2002) release, and that it’s in Early Access. That’s an odd cluster of things that might not necessarily inspire hope, although the developers have been incredibly clear with their roadmap and push toward 1.0. What it does mean is that it is currently missing some features that will be pretty central to the final product, such as being able to pivot to crime, play multiplayer and experience a more dynamic economy.
At its core, The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 is a simulator. It simulates a specific era in history, the early renaissance, and covers traders through to nobility. In this way it emulates the emergences of the middle class and the fluidity that allowed merchants to become influential players in politics, such as moving from merchant to mayor.
How this plays out is perhaps closer to something like Crusader Kings meets The Sims than it is to modern simulation (or, Simulator) games. You take charge of a dynastic, family head who runs a business and oversees the wealth and development of both the family efforts and operations. At present you’ll likely start as a blacksmith, with a workshop in the centre of the city and a homestead not far from there, but technically there are 8 professions that can be played out through any of the included 6 cities.
Most of your early days, each of which represents a season of the year, will be spent moving raw materials from the marketplace, or other resource supply points, and then completed goods from your warehouse to the market. After a while you might upgrade your warehouse so that you can sell more effectively, direct from your warehouse – which then saves you money on hiring guards for your carts. On the other hand, if you’re happy to spend on guards then why not send those protected carts to the source to get a better deal?
There are more than a few ways to save money, such as skimping on salaries and the previously mentioned supply-line fixes, and it is important that you consider them because everything in The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 costs. It costs to buy resources, it costs to pay people to refine them, it costs to repair your workshop, it costs to guard your carts and it costs to repair them and then, at the end of the day, you pay taxes on your earnings. As such, saving money becomes important, especially as dynastic standing is directly tied to your family’s wealth.
But, it’s not all about running a business and growing your family wealth, because you can also dive into politics and city development, effectively mimicking the great trading houses of the city states of the era with their mayors and patricians. Once you get into politics you can elevate and weaken other houses and districts through policy, policing and more, all while lining the pockets of those who you choose.
However, development is early and it feels it. At time of writing, in mid-October 2026, the UI is confusing (with terms kept generic rather than specific), graphic stability is low and the economy feels as though it has no real depth and could instead be running on a randomiser. I do enjoy the depth of the world, but more visibility on certainties (material supply and demand, candidates for upcoming votes and the time the carts will return) and cleaner building interaction points would do well to ease players into its world.
The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 is available, in Early Access, on PC.
