Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Review – Was it worth the wait?

Getting back into Mount & Blade

TaleWorlds Entertainment is back at it again after years of waiting for their next upcoming project, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. Having been announced back on Sep 27, 2012, the TaleWorlds community has been able to enjoy the Mount & Blade series since the start of the game series back in 2008. Getting into an action RPG game like Mount & Blade isn’t for everyone if you aren’t in the fictional or historical medieval field that it gives off. Starting in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord we’re presented with the same type of detailed story and laid out world Calradia for the community to enjoy for the next years to come before we’re met with some great DLC’s like Mount & Blade Warband had with it’s DLC’s: Napoleonic Wars & Viking Conquest.

The team over at TaleWorlds Entertainment brought us Bannerlord in the early access stages of the game. Still, as we saw with Warband, the modding community was able to come together to make a masterpiece series that has survived since 2008. If you played Mount & Blade or Mount & Blade Warband back in their peak days, then there’s a whole new story and strategy feel to experience in Bannerlord.

Forming your new army

Starting your journey into the world of Calradia in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, you’re met with eight new factions; Aserai, Battania, Khuzait Khanate, Northern Empire, Southern Empire, Western Empire, Sturgia, & Vlandia. Each of the eight factions has its perks to drive you through the game’s story to ensure you connect with your ancestors and continue the legacy as the leader of your army. After figuring out who you are and where you came from, Bannerlords combat system will get you back on track to becoming the next leader of men. With an improving tutorial mode and a remarkable NPC communication system that’s made to engage the gamer in almost everything that happens during your journey, it’s an easy and fun way to get the player more involved in their story.

If you’re getting back into the TaleWorlds series, then you’ll remember in Warband that making your first army required some charm and food. The key to forming your army is going around letting the peasants around the little towns and farms of Calradia are met with something that they can’t resist, cheese and bread. After forming your first army, you’re able to move on with your journey to achieve your faction’s expectations on whatever kind of leader you wish to become, a charming freedom fighter, or a faction leader that wants to take over the world!

Mount & Blade Visual Improvements

The graphics of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord comes at us with the same type of style the other games in the series have. Still, this time with Bannerlord, we’re able to push our graphics cards to the limit to have massive battles in different environments while also enjoying the view of the battlefield. With the world of Calradia being packed full of empire cities and little alley cities around every corner of the map, this allows the player to enjoy a different overall new world that TaleWorlds has been working on for so long.

Going first hand with their unique character creation system that uses an in-depth facial and body randomizer that allows the player to be free with the background of their character starting as a child, going to their adult life of finally being able to begin their army. Although this isn’t a significant difference to TaleWorlds last release Mount & Blade Warband, Bannerlord has enough on the visual side and the mechanic’s side of the game to keep above the battlefield for years to come.

Was it worth the wait?

So, was it worth the wait since 2010 of Mount & Blade Warband, and another 7+ years since the announcement of Bannerlord? If you’ve been a follower of the TaleWorlds Entertainment game series and enjoy the medieval sandbox feel that lets you be free in a game, then yes.  We’ll continue to follow the progression of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord while the updates keep coming out.