I had yet to touch a Mount & Blade game before my time here at Gamescom 2018, now though, I got the chance to try out the upcoming game from TaleWorlds Entertainment; Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. After a (very) concise introduction about the game, which has been in development since 2011, it was time for me to give it a go. I decided to go for a character who specialized in archery, as I felt this would allow me to gain more opportunities on the battlefield, unfortunately it turns out that I am terrible when it comes to bows and arrows… As well as when it comes to finding my way through a city (which you can see it the video below).
I was pleasantly surprised by how good the gameplay was. By all means, I kept messing up, but I kept thinking “I’ll just capture these thugs before I go back to the city”, plainly because of how rewarding it was to win an encounter. The game also featured lots of various armor, in addition to being able to customize your civilian clothes. Another thing I really liked was the fact that I could take prisoners and sell them in town, instead of just killing off every single bandit I came across.
Unfortunately, not everything was perfect, the game still has a way to go when it comes to making the world feel like a living place. Clearly, I don’t know how the game will be at launch, but so far, I felt like all of the NPC’s were merely waiting for me do come back to them, instead of moving on with their lives while I was out on adventure.
All in all however, I am optimistic about Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. I genuinely liked the gameplay, which is the most important in a game like this, and with just a bit more world/environmental work, the game can truly be up among the best in its genre.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC. The launch date is yet to be announced.
