Nowadays, new towns are established by local councils through what can only be described as a drawn-out process. Plans are drawn up, and the surrounding population instantly objects, citing pollution and traffic concerns. Plans are then revised to create a self-contained eco town instead. The surrounding areas object for a second time, yet the plan goes ahead regardless. This is the modern way towns come to be. Bellwright teaches us that in medieval times, towns were established simply because a bunch of peasants had nothing better to do.
This settlement builder/survival RPG hybrid has a storyline, but in the twenty hours I put in before committing to this review, it didn’t progress much beyond establishing the foundations. We’re looking at a 100+ hour playtime – possibly even 150+ hours – to complete the main quest, so I was only able to learn of a rebellion that took place years ago, leaving people scattered and forced to rebuild their lives. There’s also a mysterious sigil found on old coins, which appears to be connected to our protagonist in some way, as they too bear this symbol. That’s about as much as I was able to garner in twenty hours of play. Well, that and the fact that this is an incredibly slow burner that requires commitment. I’m talking weeks of playing, if not months.
After customising a character, and adjusting toggles to offset the difficulty, this adventure begins amongst hilltop ruins which you’re able to explore. A small town lies before you, the elder of which welcomes you in. He seems to know something about your sigil and suggests talking to townsfolk to take on simple fetch quests to boost your reputation. It’s here you’ll also notice that Bellwright uses a text-to-speech program; one that’s not robotic, but still noticeable. Eventually, your path collides with a skilled loner. Together, you begin to create the foundations of a settlement – huts, a campfire, a workbench, an outhouse, etc – by strip mining the vicinity of resources, from wood to stone. Once your reputation swells from completing quests in the town, the humble townsfolk can be asked to join your motley crew, fuelled by the promise of a better life. This, essentially, means food, shelter and protection. Provide this, and they’ll gladly toil and fend off attackers in your name.
Establishing the settlement takes a few hours and isn’t without a few hurdles to overcome. The assumption is clearly made that anyone going into Bellwright will have familiarity with the survival RPG genre, as there’s very little in the way of tutorials outside of the occasional text box. The controls in this new console version (Bellwright has been available on PC since 2024) are intuitive, though, and the menus are easy enough to navigate, with the purpose of each tab eventually coming to light. Small text lets the package down, however, and on Xbox Series it does have a tendency to crash when loading a save. On that note, it’s wise to save progress before attacking bandit camps – a regular quest requirement – as things can quickly go awry.
There’s no combat tutorial either, which led to mild confusion and several instant death scenarios before I eventually mastered the fundamentals through trial and error. Simply put, the idea is to block attacks and then swing your weapon – with axes and spears amongst the first available – when an opening occurs. There’s no lock-on function, and nothing fancy like a roll or dodge. You can, however, research shields, arrows, and dozens of pieces of improved armour to improve your chances of success, along with improving general skills by reading books – which take 30 minutes, real time, to digest. Your followers can be kitted out with new weapons and armour too, and given simple commands. Should they fall in battle, they’ll respawn back at your settlement after five minutes or so. This is something I’m rather thankful for, as having to replace workers would slow down progress to a snail’s crawl.
Your workers are what makes Bellwright…work. They are the glue holding this package together, and it doesn’t take long to realise how much is going on behind the scenes when it comes to their AI routines. They can be set to guard – with your settlement at risk of a bandit raid every couple of hours – or to accompany you on quests to clear out wolf dens, bandit camps, and eventually free entire towns from tyranny. Alternatively, they can be assigned to various stations, such as foraging, mining, and logging. They are generally proficient at their jobs, filling your chests with resources and even constructing new buildings. There’s certainly a bit of magic to all this. My first brush came after placing animal traps, and upon returning to fill them with bait, I found a worker had beaten me to it. Another time, I needed copious resources to create five wooden shields for quest companions. Between them, the workers were able not only to gather everything needed but also to assemble them. It’s unquestionably neat seeing things such as this work effortlessly.
With every completed piece of research, more opportunities become available, with some unlocking multiple items. Building a loom, for instance, allows not only for new protective clothing but also rope for construction. There’s plenty of scope to go out and explore too, coming across wandering peddlers, fishing cabins, remote taverns and more. Fishing involves a mini-game and has bait to experiment with, making it possible to lose even more time. The map, meanwhile, is huge and has areas of interest marked by default, while the mini-map highlights enemies so you can decide whether to attack or avoid them. Every town has its own quirks; to visit them all will take yonks, and they all have their own quests. Objectives aren’t too imaginative, however, usually following a formula of gathering or constructing items, talking to key NPCs, or clearing out enemy camps. If you have the requested items on you, some quests can be completed instantly. Most, however, require a trip back to the settlement, or a trek to a nearby village.
A day here lasts around an hour, with your workers hitting the hay come nightfall. You’re free to keep toiling, although visibility is poorer and most quest-oriented NPCs will be sleeping. Winter commences every few hours, turning the idyllic countryside into a snowy wonderland where food is scarcer. You’re also given a heads-up when a raid is due, making it possible to return to the settlement, set workers to guard duty, and perhaps ensure they have a weapon in their inventory. A two-player online mode would have made light work of most duties – and this seems like the perfect experience for co-op – but for whatever reason, this feature is absent from this console release. Presumably, it’ll be added in the future.
What’s here, though, is enough, especially considering the modest £24.99 price tag. Visually, it’s comparable to something like The Witcher III, while its settlement management offers a more complex and richer experience than Medieval Dynasty. While it doesn’t do a good job of explaining the ropes, there’s still plenty of intrigue during the opening to lure you in, and once the fundamentals have been mastered, you’ll likely be consumed by questing, micromanaging workers, and exploring the super-sized research tree. If you’re fine with playing something where an hour of playtime may only result in a modicum of progress, and don’t mind a spot of trial and error, then Bellwright may very well become your next obsession.
Bellwright is developed by Donkey Crew and Snail Games USA, and available now on PS5 and Xbox Series. The PC version launched in 2024.