Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

People that play and love Mount & Blade probably don't care as much about politics or the economy. For most, it will be all about being a knight on a horse that matters, and Bannerlord comes through once again. Any shortcomings or features that weren't thought of by the developers will no doubt be modded by fans. In fact, mods are already appearing and that will only add to the longevity of the game. Even though there are still some minor bugs such as an underperforming AI, I still can't recommend Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord enough. Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is a highly addictive game that has me wanting to ride around Calradia upon my trusty steed until I become king of the medieval land.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is very much a superior sequel in so many ways. It’s still a bit of a brick wall to get past in terms of understanding its finer points, but keep hammering away and you will find them.

Grind and jank aside, there is nothing else like a Mount and Blade game, and Bannerlord is undisputably the best one yet. Its uniqueness alone makes it worth playing. To talk about it that way is to do it a disservice though; the true marvel of Bannerlord is that it actually delivers on what is an astonishingly ambitious concept. The two halves of the game complement each other perfectly. It may be on a slow boil, but once it gets up a head of steam, you won't be able to put it down.

Mount & Blade 2 transports us into an endless chaotic world full of events, battles and amazing adventures. At times it feels like a victim of its own complexity — some of the game's intricate systems don’t mesh together or never work as advertised, the economy is flawed, there’s a frightening dearth of conventions… Yet this elaborate medieval world will eat up at least a hundred hours out of your life.

The game offers an incredible amount of options, and if you don't enjoy the campaign, you can have a blast in the elaborate battle mode, where you'll command up to hundreds of warriors and work together to destroy enemies, protect villages or conquer castles. [Issue#324]

Mount & Blade II Bannerlord is not an easy game to get into, and several of its mechanics are not introduced very clearly. There is also a lot of repetition, at multiple levels of the game, between side quests and repeated events. At the same time, however, it gives us access to a large sandbox that immerses us in an all-too-believable medieval world and allows us to transform from a simple country mercenary to a lord, enjoying large-scale battles and watching our kingdom grow.

A truly unique game in which you play as a warrior, a strategist, a trader, a mercenary, a husband, a king, a criminal… The medieval world will let you do as you please - mainly to lead huge armies into epic battles. But it’s obvious how much better everything could have been if the game fulfilled its true potential.

Ten long years have passed since the announcement of the latest installment of Mount & Blade. Then the game was in early access, and now it's finally finished and fully battle-ready. Not all fans are thrilled with the result, as not everything is as it could have been, but it's still a trip worth taking part in.

This extremely motivating medieval role-playing game relies on sandbox freedom instead of atmosphere and story.

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is a game that can swallow you whole and make you forget about everything else - including its own flaws. That's the beauty of this series - the gameplay, and particularly the large-scale, real-time combat, makes us shrug off ugly face models, underdeveloped diplomacy, or dumb AI.

Mount & Blade II Bannerlord is a perfected version of a medieval sandbox game concept where you alternate between territory conquest, large-scale battles and the progression of your character and your kingdom. The few AI wanderings and the repetitiveness of the quests and dialogues do not detract from this exhilarating sandbox where your story is written as you make decisions and take actions.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord comes back with improvements to everything we liked about the previous games and some new systems as well. However, it's not a perfectly polished game, so you'll have to navigate a few edges on your path to restore/destroy the Empire.

Slightly or greatly improved in most areas, still lacking in a few others when compared to Warband and its essential mods, Bannerlord is an altogether updated version of the Mount & Blade series' addictive gameplay and the undisputed king of Sandbox RPGs.

Despite some shallow ancillary systems, Bannerlord is the master of medieval warfare

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord takes you to the Calradia and then makes you drink wine from someone's skull. Good game but still has the potential to be better. I can't wait to see it.

This is a great medieval experience that combines RPG, strategy and action and gives us a lot of freedom to do whatever we want. Some mechanics are not very deep, but other than that, it’s a solid title.

I’ve never been a big fan of games that require you to invest huge amounts of time before they get good. Our time is valuable and while Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord does eventually get good, the uninteresting grind along the way and lifeless world didn’t do much to pull me back. Fans of the series will still have a great time and if you are willing to invest your time you’ll definitely be rewarded for it, but its frustrating to see so much potential for an even better game left unrealized.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord continues to offer a unique mix of grand strategy and large scale 3D battles. The strategy aspect could have used more depth and variety, as well as a better designed campaign and a lot more tutorials. But it's the battles that steal the spotlight, with thrilling large scale encounters. While the developers couldn't deliver on all their ambitions, the distinctiveness of the gameplay still helps the sequel stand out.

A shallow grind of an overworld strategy game threatens to ruin enjoyment of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord's unique and sublimely gritty tactical action.