A hugely welcome update to a fabulous series
UPON its release some ten years ago, Mount & Blade: Warband was met with warm praise from critics and fans alike, despite its dated visuals and an often shoestring-budget-like quality to the gameplay outside of the battles. Fast forward ten years and the baying masses crying out for a new instalment in the series have been sated with the excellent Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.
The most immediately noticeable improvement over the decade-old cult classic is the hefty improvements made to the graphical side of things. Though still not quite up to par with current-generation visuals, Bannerlord is a marked improvement over the PS2-grade graphics of its decade old predecessor. The lighting, textures and environmental detail have all been touched up, making for some jaw-dropping vistas and immersive battles. Perhaps the most impressive graphical update is the ability to zoom out all the way from a mounted over-the-shoulder view to a strategic map of the entire continent of Calradia.
Further quality-of-life improvements have been made to the menu system, which is very much welcome after the slapdash interface of 2010’s Warband. Bannerlord’s menu system is now intuitive and visually pleasing, perhaps the two most important criteria of any menu system. Unfortunately, switching between tabs can introduce a great deal of lag, though this lack of polish is perhaps an inevitability for any early access title.
The biggest new systems on display in Bannerlord are arguably the Clan and Kingdom screens, which include your family and retainers. The depth and scope of the political intrigue and world-building on display in Bannerlord is extremely impressive and it is the interplay between the various systems in the game which allow this. One such system that is perhaps deserving of a little less praise is the vassal system, which generally involves tracking down petulant lords and picking the (hopefully) correct dialogue options that will have them agree to your tax changes and other such affairs. The dialogue options sometimes feel a tad random and unfair, which is at odds with political systems that feel like they are honed to a razor edge.
Overall, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is a hugely welcome update to the fabulous series. It is clearly a labour of love, though the general jankiness of the early release would contradict that somewhat. Nevertheless, Taleworlds will undoubtably iron out the wrinkles in future updates. A solid recommendation for any medieval combat and worldbuilding enthusiasts.