Published and developed by TaleWorlds Entertainment, the Mount & Blade series has been putting players in charge of their own armies set during the middle ages to either attack or defend against opposing factions. The latest game in the franchise, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord looks to bring even more of the strategic sword-wielding, axe-swinging, and shield-bashing action, now available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4|5.

It’s set in Calradia, 210 years before the previous game, Mount & Blade: Warband, during the decline of the Calradic Empire. Calradia is a fictional continent with locations based on Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa during the Early Middle Ages, each with their own factions. Players have a selection of different factions amongst those regions and beyond, from Vikings, Mongols, Rus, Romans, and more. Armours, clothes, weapons, and architecture of each faction are inspired by their real-world counterparts from years 600 AD to 1100 AD.

What sets Mount & Blade apart from other medieval-themed games is not just playing as a single character, but also having to command an entire army of NPCs. For players who are looking for a casual hack-and-slash game, this is not it. While it is possible to run into the battlefield solo, it is ill-advised, because the game emphasises strategic warfare more than anything. Commanding an army is similar to playing a game like Age of Empires, except the players will actually be on the battlefield with their army at their command, and you will be able to lead your army into battle and fight alongside them, or send them in and watch them from afar.

There is a wide variety of strategies and tactics for players to use at their disposal. The armies have soldiers fighting on foot, on horseback, and archers. The armies can be kept together or split up into their respective groups to cover more ground. For example, soldiers on foot can set up a shield wall for defence, mounted soldiers can charge head-on, and archers can cover them all by shooting arrows over a long distance.

The various location where the battles take place will also play a big factor in coming up with the right strategy to take down the opposing army. Trees, hills, fences, walls, buildings, and more will affect how players approach each battle. Fighting amongst the trees is good to protect against arrows shot by the archers, the hills will provide a good vantage point to see your surroundings and for archers to shoot further, and walls and fenced areas can help contain battles in a smaller area while their small openings can bottleneck large groups of soldiers making them easier to eliminate.

The single-player campaign will have players creating their own character with a wide selection of customisation options. From there, they’ll then choose different character traits such as the kind of parents they had, what their childhood was like, and what job they had, which will factor into what attributes they’ll have when they start leading an army. They’ll then begin their adventure and start recruiting for their army, which is where the RPG element comes into play.

The RPG side of things is certainly the least exciting part of the game. Players will encounter and interact with villagers, thieves, guards, and more, with a choice of different dialogues which affect your reputation and even help attract potential soldiers for your army. The dialogue itself is quite generic and repetitive, which will have players finding themselves just skimming through to get to the more exciting parts of the game.

In terms of graphics, the series has come a long way since the original game in 2008. From afar, the environments look great, especially seeing epic battles taking place. Up close, however, the environments and soldiers don’t look quite as impressive, feeling like they’re more from the PS3/Xbox 360 era. Overall, it’s a game that’s all about large armies colliding on an epic scale and players actually leading them into battle, which the Mount & Blade series is best known for. The game’s soundtrack has a nice mix of orchestral and folk music that can be heard during the menus and single-player campaign, really immersing players in the medieval setting.

The gameplay style of Mount & Blade is something the series does really well. Unlike games such as Dynasty Warriors, where players can take on huge armies as a lone warrior, Mount & Blade is all about leading your army into battle and coming up with strategies that will vary depending on your surroundings and environments. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is the best game of the series to date and leads the way when it comes to epic medieval battle-themed games.

Written by: Sammy Hanson