Mount & Blade II.
Let's recall the basics. Since 2008, a Mount & Blade is played on two levels: first on a world map, where you move a warlord over hills and valleys to recruit troops, manage strongholds, accomplish small quests and tattoo enemy lords. And then in third-person view battles, where we direct our troops with summary orders ("riders follow me", "archers hold this position", etc.) but also our hero, who remains our most efficient soldier. It is both a long term management, which sees us go from leader of three beggars to king or emperor, and a series of adrenaline shots where we have to constantly adapt to the tactics of the opposing army while shooting at opponents with arrows or in thorny duels, in battles that sometimes gather more than a thousand units.
Before we go to work ourselves, we tell our troops where to station themselves.
New with better. In March 2020, after a very, very long wait, Bannerlord's early access revisited this formula with upgraded graphics and a whole host of small improvements. The lighting effects and the rather realistic scenery of the graphics engine have replaced the washed-out and rough-hewn landscapes of the old Warband (released in 2010), and you can now manage the player's clan and its members, appointing companions to lead their own army. A new resource, influence, also allows you to play a role in kingdom decisions.
If you haven't played since the very first early access version of Bannerlord, you've also missed out on new features like short cinematics, reduced loading times and the integration of the Steam workshop to manage mods. Now each city and castle also has its own unique 3D model for battles, which adds a lot of variety to sieges. Most recently, the update to 1.0 brought standards to take into battle, partial dubbing and more control over clan armies. Mount & Blade has never been so beautiful, so deep, so accomplished.
Mount & Blade can be tricky to get used to, so here are some tips:
- - It's a good idea to pledge allegiance to a kingdom as early as possible and go into your enemies' territory to farm for renown, the resource that allows your clan to advance.
- - A good strategy for building your army is to hire lots of very strong archers and make their use and protection your top priority.
- - Don't hesitate to visit the city arenas to practice your fighting skills and participate in lucrative tournaments.
- - Controls: Holding the Alt key during battles displays the enemy's location. Holding F1 will command a unit type to move to the location you are targeting. Locking items in your inventory allows you to click on the "sell all" button and still keep the items you choose, which saves a lot of tedious clicking.
Even if the seats aren't always thrilling, hitting the walls in the middle of 250 men always gives a little thrill.
Beware of your strongholds. But that doesn't mean that everything is rosy. Crucial problems still haven't been solved in the last two years, like the sometimes annoying French translation, the overall lack of information (you have to guess how most of the mechanics work) or the siege defenders that become unintelligible by getting stuck in a wall, forcing you to abandon the battle despite winning. I also find it ridiculous that half of the battles still take place in an unbearable inky night and that the economy is still so screwed up (it never takes long to get rich). After ten years of development and in a game that sells for €50, it's just not up to par. And one could also be annoyed that such obvious mods as the one that adds dismemberments or Freelancer, which allows you to make a career as a simple soldier in the army of a lord, have not been integrated into the base game for all this time.
The art and the banner. Of course, for a game with all these flaws to deserve the excellent score of 8/10, its qualities must be incredible. They are. Bannerlord is a hyper immersive, captivating game, where I kept telling myself "come on, just one more battle and I'll stop" over and over again until two in the morning. I can't get enough of the dawn battles flooded with golden light, the killing power of a line of archers on a ridge, the satisfaction of a cavalry charge into the back of the enemy infantry. Even better, the progression on four levels - that of the character who improves, of the army soldiers who rise in rank, of the clan that grows, of the kingdom that nibbles on its neighbors - constantly gives the feeling of growing in power.
Perfect weather for a picnic, but it also works for an abominable massacre.
There's something addictive about running down a dune to attack routed spearmen, spending two days chasing a caravan at full speed, or storming ramparts alongside 600 soldiers. But it's also because, despite the game's repetitiveness and its fourteen-year-old formula, it remains insanely original. I've played everything that comes along in terms of medieval role-playing games and strategy games, but nothing comes close to the pace, depth and freedom of Bannerlord. The bad guys will say that nothing can match its shortcomings either, but oh what a shame, I can't hear them from my steed crossing a river alongside forty galloping riders.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is a fascinating UFO that makes up for its flaws and shortcomings with an ironclad formula, improved in small ways and backed up with much more attractive graphics than before. It's not a revolution, but it's the best Mount & Blade ever released, and that's already huge.
What do you think?
