Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 174 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 127 out of 174
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 174
  3. Negative: 16 out of 174

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  1. Connolius
    Dec 23, 2022
    7
    330 hours in, played throughout the early access phases as various kingdoms. Needless to say, Ive enjoyed playing.

    7/10 with a recommendation to buy the game, in fact I want you to buy the game. This isn't a deep kingdom management sim, don't expect intrigue as such. There are periods of peace and then war, that's the diplomatic extent. There is little in the way of character    330 hours in, played throughout the early access phases as various kingdoms. Needless to say, Ive enjoyed playing.

    7/10 with a recommendation to buy the game, in fact I want you to buy the game.

    This isn't a deep kingdom management sim, don't expect intrigue as such. There are periods of peace and then war, that's the diplomatic extent. There is little in the way of character development other than trying to get nobles too like you to join your armies, or you develop influence so it doesn't matter.

    What is most disappointing is the sheer potential if they were able to bring the combat and kingdom management together. Could be the best of this genre -ever- so may you lament that but then as your wading through pitch battles you forget all that too.

    Their family system has a ton of potential, and you feel they are on the cusp of something great here in a CKIII style. Hopefully there are mods for this, or DLC. If they do MB III and dont get this right then the devs have failed.

    Finally, there are some bugs. Only once did I have one break the game but id recommend keeping a few running saves going. Haven't had a problem since full release.

    Id 9/10 this if the above were addressed but Ill give it a 7 with a strong buy the game recommendation. So many hours and only a 7? Yeah, its been a really fun 7 and worth the time investment. You may buy a 9 and not find you play it as much, that is how fun this game can be so the financial investment is well worth it.

    One battle my infantry were getting pushed back hard and we were about to lose the fight and maybe the war so I brought back my remaining horse under my command had to make a quick choice to head hunt their leader who was in their rear with nearly unprotected archers or help our infantry, I shored up our inf and took a plunge into their flanks, they must have been wavering themselves despite their success it turned the tide in battle. Sure you say, sounds "fun" but we had been fighting in waves across the map for quite a long time, tide of victory going back and forth, bodies strewn about the landscape, my health was near zero and they had the numerical advantage. When the battle was over it was such a relief and buzz that other games of this genre just cant deliver, in fact its rare for any game to be honest.

    You can go archer heavy, play a defensive shell and in a massive battle watch your opponent drop while your archers arrows look like locusts descending upon your foe then smash their first wave with your infantry while you circle behind with the cavalry to stop enemy reinforcement.

    Maybe you decide to go Mongol hoard on horseback and nip the Roman-esque Empire like legions into pieces, till all they are doing is standing on a hill cowering under their shields with your horse archers wearing them out into a full rout.

    Its super cool and fun.

    If you want to experience major medieval style combat this would be the game for you, 9/10. It can be very rewarding and addictively fun. If you want a kingdom management sim, maybe still buy it as Id bet you'll have more fun than you expect.    … Expand
  2. Ratingss
    Mar 27, 2023
    4
    The original game was made by a couple and was the jewel in everyone eyes because we all saw the potential, but 14 years later and supposedly with a publisher and everything now, this isnt any better.
  3. tlupemirhan
    Mar 14, 2023
    0
    I have been waiting for years. The best game in its genre. You can play several times with different methods, The best "sword on the horse" wielding mechanic is undoubtedly in Bannerlord. They really improved the Warband
  4. Moazelbahy
    Nov 1, 2022
    10
    Great and exceptional combat massive battles and very addictive each playthrough
  5. Raegnir
    Feb 18, 2023
    0
    After 10 years how can someone make the game worse is there any explanation?
  6. Beegee84
    Nov 8, 2022
    9
    No better game in its genre. Glad I put it down after picking it up day 1 as early access and waited for the full release, most the bad stuff you hear was from when the game was unfinished. It's in a good state now but still slightly bare bones in places like the enormous effort they put into all the cites only for them to have nothing to actually do within them yet.

    Overall its the    No better game in its genre. Glad I put it down after picking it up day 1 as early access and waited for the full release, most the bad stuff you hear was from when the game was unfinished. It's in a good state now but still slightly bare bones in places like the enormous effort they put into all the cites only for them to have nothing to actually do within them yet.

    Overall its the medieval combat on huge scale that carries this game its truly epic to run someone down on horseback with an axe and 2 armies with over 1000 men    … Expand
  7. Art_919
    Feb 6, 2023
    4
    The game is extremely grindy. In order to make any progress it's a rinse and repeat cycle of constant annoying quests, and chasing bandits across the map. Early game is extremely important in hooking a consumer on to play more, and this game fails that drastically.

    Once you get past the tedious and annoying block of the early game you can start to enjoy the mid to late game which is    The game is extremely grindy. In order to make any progress it's a rinse and repeat cycle of constant annoying quests, and chasing bandits across the map. Early game is extremely important in hooking a consumer on to play more, and this game fails that drastically.

    Once you get past the tedious and annoying block of the early game you can start to enjoy the mid to late game which is where the game picks up. The combat is decent but nothing out of this world, the the ordering system is rather annoying to get used to.

    In conclusion, it is not worthy of a rating of 8, and it's a decent game at best.    … Expand
  8. z3th
    Nov 16, 2022
    7
    At this time, it offers less than its predecessors, but there's still a lot of good things here at play -- strategy, command, battles, RPG, and diplomacy from the world level all the way down to the individual level -- and they play fairly well for how little depth each part has. Most of the love went into the battles themselves, and they show, and they shine. You can enjoy the game forAt this time, it offers less than its predecessors, but there's still a lot of good things here at play -- strategy, command, battles, RPG, and diplomacy from the world level all the way down to the individual level -- and they play fairly well for how little depth each part has. Most of the love went into the battles themselves, and they show, and they shine. You can enjoy the game for the battles, skirmishes, and sieges alone; the Civilization-light tertiary gameplay is just light icing on the cake (though I wish there was way more icing).

    However, the combat remains leaning on the side of awful. It works enough to keep you playing, but it is riddled with clunkiness, unintuitive controls, and inaccessible mechanics. Coupled with "realistic" difficulty settings which really aren't all that realistic, and you're in for a bad time as you face off with enemy combat AI that has impeccable, perfect timing, aim, and cadence every time with no variation or humanization, and is rather player-centric -- you will somehow get singled out every time in the middle of a dense crowd, especially from archers, and especially when charging with cavalry from behind and suddenly everyone with their spidey senses turns to face you to spear you off your horse with perfect timing and distance. Even the lowliest of looters will destroy you if you're not cheesing in some way. The answer, of course, is to lower the difficulty, but the next level down is such a drop in challenge and difficulty you've little choice but to bear with realistic in hopes one day the evil bastard who handled the AI in the game will realize it is, indeed, extremely overtuned.

    Still, all that won't fix combat's fundamental design flaws though, but many veterans have sworn by it putting years into it to become unstoppable in multiplayer, so perhaps it has enough merits to attract loyal fans.

    Just don't expect any substantial content updates at this rate.    … Expand
  9. shemaforash
    Feb 13, 2023
    0
    The TaleWorlds team has deserted multiplayer development and left us with a barren and soulless experience. A game that has taken roughly 12 years to release as an "improvement" upon warband. This is pure lies and not true. Warband was leagues beyond bannerlord, it had better combat, better equipment selection and better gamemodes. In fact, the game is new and multiplayer is mostly dead.The TaleWorlds team has deserted multiplayer development and left us with a barren and soulless experience. A game that has taken roughly 12 years to release as an "improvement" upon warband. This is pure lies and not true. Warband was leagues beyond bannerlord, it had better combat, better equipment selection and better gamemodes. In fact, the game is new and multiplayer is mostly dead. The only content that exists is multiplayer mods, those are made by reverse engineering code that TaleWorlds hasn't released for public use. it took almost 3 years for us to get custom servers so we could host. This game is not "new", it just released but it's been in early access for better part of 3 years. We were invited to alpha test the game and the developers flat out told us that things were not changing and this is the direction upper management had chosen to go. I am deeply disappointed in this game.… Expand
  10. rocktherock
    Nov 2, 2022
    4
    It's 10 for the first 10 hours. Then it's just an annoying grindfest for hours and hours. You need to spend long hours to become something meaningful in the game, even if you succeed to complete this grinding, you will end up doing same thing over and over but in different shape. Nothing in this game feels anywhere near being finished. It feels like it pushes hard to be an RPG, but failsIt's 10 for the first 10 hours. Then it's just an annoying grindfest for hours and hours. You need to spend long hours to become something meaningful in the game, even if you succeed to complete this grinding, you will end up doing same thing over and over but in different shape. Nothing in this game feels anywhere near being finished. It feels like it pushes hard to be an RPG, but fails miserably. The game simply lack of any depth and everything in that fictional world is pretty much bland and uninteresting. For a text based RPG, even the story and dialogues are basic, as if it's written by a mod developer. And oh, mods. Without mods, this game would be a bigger disappointment than Cyberpunk 2077… Expand
  11. megafun89
    Nov 1, 2022
    10
    No other game offers such a stable alchemy between battle, command, strategy, and management.

    Comparing its content with Warband+mods, its strategy with Crusader Kings, or its graphics with The Witcher is really not fair. It is much more difficult to create a game engine and an entire game rather than "just" modding it. The hardest part is what you can't see (memory allocations, AI,    No other game offers such a stable alchemy between battle, command, strategy, and management.

    Comparing its content with Warband+mods, its strategy with Crusader Kings, or its graphics with The Witcher is really not fair.

    It is much more difficult to create a game engine and an entire game rather than "just" modding it. The hardest part is what you can't see (memory allocations, AI, stability...). And without this work of the developers the game and therefore its mods would simply not exist. You have to compare what is comparable, Warband 1.0 vs Bannerlord 1.0.

    And on this comparison Bannerlord is 1000 times more complete, clear, and catchy than what Warband offered when it was released. Obviously people haven't restarted a game of Warband 1.0 for a long time.... They forgot that the sieges were limited to a single scale, that child descent was not possible, the uninteresting endgames, that the maximum number of units was much lower, as was the size of the map or the number of quests...

    In Bannerlord everything is much bigger and clearer, giving the series the perfect foundation for a new era, thanks to a complete, enjoyable, and unique game.

    And for the few sound bugs or empty cities, the game is not entirely finished and the few patches will quickly correct these minor problems.    … Expand
  12. KoPLLIyH
    Oct 29, 2022
    9
    I've got almost 450 hours played, where most of it happened in the very early stages. I've seen this game evolve and improved significantly, addressing many issues in economy/balancing and sides.

    I'm very happy to see that it ended up with a really decent and polished game providing a unique game experience. You can be whatever you want and still, the world is living no matter if you    I've got almost 450 hours played, where most of it happened in the very early stages. I've seen this game evolve and improved significantly, addressing many issues in economy/balancing and sides.

    I'm very happy to see that it ended up with a really decent and polished game providing a unique game experience. You can be whatever you want and still, the world is living no matter if you participate or not. But if you do, you can truly influence it!

    Personally, I still dislike some of the core aspects of the game, which I take as my personal preferences rather than the game being bad. If you are curious, for me, I think the recruitment system that allow to keep the wars to go again and again and again with thousands of soldiers on both side, that's... far from realistic. I'm really missing a feeling that kingdoms and people need time to recover. This also bounds with the fact that there is very little of political/commercial influence. Sure, there is some, but to be - it's not enough.

    But other than that - come on.. it's AMAZING and I do tend to come back to play it even now after 450 hours :-)    … Expand
  13. GGEZNICETRY
    Oct 28, 2022
    10
    This game is amazing completely fleshed out systems all around good
    1000 hours will be put into this with mods at least
  14. Bluehydra
    Dec 11, 2022
    0
    Can't recommend this game, as the development team abandoned the game before it was ready for release, this means a lot of content and system implementation has not been developed for the game. leaving it missing over half the content its predecessor had.
  15. DickLucious
    Nov 12, 2022
    3
    Horribly menus and menu navigation. The learning curve is awful. Full cavalry charge into infantry and you do 1 damage and they just stand there instead of flying backwards. Played for an hour and just couldn’t stand it any longer. I want my money back.
  16. PenetratorGod
    Jan 16, 2023
    0
    As long as Warband exists, there will be no reason to play this garbage. The company that made this game is a joke.
  17. ulufarkas
    Nov 6, 2022
    10
    This game is a masterpiece and a perfect example for "Game Modding" history.
  18. Soullex
    Nov 29, 2022
    7
    İlk çıktığında bakmıştim bi benim beklentimi karşılamıştı. Yakın zamanda tekrar bakıcam ozaman güncellerim.
  19. bar0yka
    Jan 1, 2023
    9
    90 saatimi hiç ettiğim oyun aşırı eğlendim hem sakin hem de aksiyonlu hazırlık zamanlarında çok güzel geçirdi bana
  20. Multeciisavar
    Nov 9, 2022
    10
    Excellent game. Everyone should definitely play. Let the baby who says this game is bad, should play the tame.
  21. Mikey01
    Dec 30, 2022
    10
    I really liked this game, great gaming experience :)
    I recommend trying it to anyone who hasn't done it yet
  22. mennybolt
    Oct 28, 2022
    2
    Just empty, dull and same game as it was in early access. No depth in it. It rather lacks so many details and gameplay mechanics that we had in Warband. In mechanics and graphics wise it's a huge improvement but in gameplay wise it is a really bad downgrade and trust me on M&B if you lack diplomacy, good dialogues and variety in gameplay nobody will care if you have better graphics and visuals.
  23. apolid
    Oct 30, 2022
    10
    Mount & Blade is a one-of-a-kind series – an incredible blend of RPG, strategy and action set in a vast medieval setting that you can lose yourself in for hundreds of hours – and Bannerlord absolutely takes it to the next level.

    The game's predecessor, Warband, is one of my all-time favourite games, and Bannerlord improves on it in almost every way. The graphics are fantastic, family,    Mount & Blade is a one-of-a-kind series – an incredible blend of RPG, strategy and action set in a vast medieval setting that you can lose yourself in for hundreds of hours – and Bannerlord absolutely takes it to the next level.

    The game's predecessor, Warband, is one of my all-time favourite games, and Bannerlord improves on it in almost every way. The graphics are fantastic, family, clan and kingdom management is far deeper, the roleplaying system now includes more skills and hundreds of perks, and alternative professions like trading and blacksmithing add much needed activities beyond battling.

    But it is the battles that are the clear highlight for me. There's something special about playing the role of a lone soldier (or Lord, or even King) on a huge battlefield with potentially hundreds of combatants on each side. The atmosphere is incredible, and there are so many memorable moments that have stuck with me – the first time I heard the distant rumble of enemy cavalry, watching helplessly as a trebuchet projectile arced its way towards me and my soldiers, flanking the enemy's charging infantry with a carefully placed and well timed cavalary charge, finding the enemy King in the middle of a battle and slicing him down, and so many more.

    There's just so much potential for emergent stories within each and every battle, and it's an experience completely unique to the Mount & Blade series.

    Finally, and perhaps most promisingly, is the modding scene. Bannerlord is already the 11th most popular game on Nexus Mods, and 150 mods have been added or updated in the first 5 days since release. Small features that people complain about being missing from Warband, like feasts, duelling and deeper companion back stories, have all already been added by modders.

    Like Warband (and Skyrim for that matter) before it, it's mods that will take Bannerlord from being a great game to an all-time favourite that I keep coming back to again and again for the next decade.    … Expand
  24. Maerhin
    Jan 30, 2023
    9
    Un jeu dans son genre, un équilibre entre combat, stratégie (politique et bataille), gestion et jeu de rôle.
    Le jeu est plus complet que Warband, les sièges, la forge, la politique, la vente, la culture des peuples amélioré ainsi que tout ce que cela apporte est vraiment un plus sachant que qu'il y a d'autres choses encore.
    Le jeu doit encore avoir des mises à jour je pense mais il est    Un jeu dans son genre, un équilibre entre combat, stratégie (politique et bataille), gestion et jeu de rôle.
    Le jeu est plus complet que Warband, les sièges, la forge, la politique, la vente, la culture des peuples amélioré ainsi que tout ce que cela apporte est vraiment un plus sachant que qu'il y a d'autres choses encore.
    Le jeu doit encore avoir des mises à jour je pense mais il est dans la bonne direction.
    Bonus : Les mods vont rendre le jeu meilleur    … Expand
  25. rezo_21
    Dec 15, 2022
    9
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 94 IIIIIIIIII====================
  26. MrDog3
    Jan 14, 2023
    9
    PROS:
    - Dynamic wheater, and changing battlemaps based on where you are
    - The economic and the political system is so much better and more immersive. - Nice graphics. - Living open world. - The strategy part of the battle gives us more freedom than in the previous games. CONS: - Bugs & crashes, the auto-resolve at sieges are a complete mess sometimes - It's missing some of the key    PROS:
    - Dynamic wheater, and changing battlemaps based on where you are
    - The economic and the political system is so much better and more immersive.
    - Nice graphics.
    - Living open world.
    - The strategy part of the battle gives us more freedom than in the previous games.
    CONS:
    - Bugs & crashes, the auto-resolve at sieges are a complete mess sometimes
    - It's missing some of the key features from Warband.    … Expand
  27. Mehmethan07
    Mar 30, 2023
    10
    360 saat oynamış biri olarak açıkcası kesinlikle 10/10 bir oyun değil ama bu kadar oynadığım başka bir oyun yok o yüzden daha aşağısı gönlüm el vermez.
  28. vova22379
    Dec 6, 2022
    6
    ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
  29. bkaramursel
    Feb 19, 2023
    10
    Warband'ın üzerine büyük eklemeler yapılmış. Oyunun kendi alanında tek örneği yok. benzersiz bir deneyim sunuyor.
  30. mn_music
    Aug 6, 2023
    10
    One of the best strategy games I have ever played, full of ambitious ideas, and with a good future, I really enjoyed it.
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Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 24, 2024
    80
    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]
  2. Multiplayer.it
    Jan 16, 2023
    80
    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.
    Read full review
  3. Riot Pixels
    Dec 31, 2022
    81
    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.
    Read full review
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