Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Reviews

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is ranked in the 67th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7.6 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2022

Bannerlord is a layered experience, even played on console, despite some flaws with its controls.

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XGN.nl
Top Critic
7.5 / 10.0
Nov 13, 2022

Bannerlord doesn't excel graphically or in storyline, but makes that up in flexibility and scale. The vibrant world evolves even without the gamer and offers both opportunities and threads that can be exploited. This is a true mediieval sandbox where the player can act as he wishes, but always has to face the consequences. While much great effort is put into making this game playable on consoles, the sheer number of options, menus and controls make this better suited for PC.

Review in Dutch | Read full review

7 / 10
Nov 22, 2022

My return to Calradia wasn't entirely jubilant, though Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord is a game I'll likely stick with, simply due to my love of the original. A wealth of new systems and activities help this sandbox strategy sim feel more alive than ever, though the busywork required to get anywhere can feel like a grind. Overall, existing fans will rejoice while newcomers may look on unimpressed, unsure what all the fuss is about.

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Gameblog
Top Critic
7 / 10
Nov 3, 2022

Mount and Blade 2 : Bannerlord is an ambitious game ready to make players lose sleep for months, although not everything is perfect. To give it a chance is to enjoy a deep and intelligent RPG.

Review in French | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Nov 8, 2022

Should you buy Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord? If you’ve got the slightest taste for big battles or an interest in medieval conquest, absolutely. Don’t expect the depth of, say, Crusader Kings III, but for fans of medieval warfare this is a real winner.

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3.5 / 5.0
Nov 18, 2022

I’ve never been a big fan of games that require you to invest huge amounts of time before they get good. Our time is valuable and while Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord does eventually get good, the uninteresting grind along the way and lifeless world didn’t do much to pull me back. Fans of the series will still have a great time and if you are willing to invest your time you’ll definitely be rewarded for it, but its frustrating to see so much potential for an even better game left unrealized.

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67 / 100
Nov 2, 2022

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord continues to offer a unique mix of grand strategy and large scale 3D battles. The strategy aspect could have used more depth and variety, as well as a better designed campaign and a lot more tutorials. But it's the battles that steal the spotlight, with thrilling large scale encounters. While the developers couldn't deliver on all their ambitions, the distinctiveness of the gameplay still helps the sequel stand out.

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6.7 / 10.0
Nov 2, 2022

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is a well-crafted, but too shallow blend of genres. While the 3D combat is realistic and immersive, the strategic aspects of the title lack detail, making the campaign monotonous and leading the player to repeat the same actions almost mechanically. You will have hours of fun if you like to take part in first-person shoot-outs, otherwise you might get bored quickly. In any case, I recommend playing the title in the PC version and not on consoles.

Review in Italian | Read full review

IGN
Top Critic
6 / 10.0
Oct 31, 2022

A shallow grind of an overworld strategy game threatens to ruin enjoyment of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord's unique and sublimely gritty tactical action.

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5.5 / 10.0
Nov 15, 2022

Like Total War, when the players massive armies clash in battle it is a sight to behold, luckily the game offers the option to simulate battles and watch the AI troops clash. This, to me was massively more enjoyable than trying to struggle through the games clunky combat. While I loved the depth offered in the RPG elements of the world, I came away disappointed enough by the combat that is just made the whole experience feel like a chore to play; combine that with the lack of a real story and I Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord just didn’t turn out to be the total medieval simulator game I was hoping for.

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GameGrin
Pezh J.
Top Critic
5.5 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2022

Though Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord provides a fun outlet with its battles and the strategies you can employ within them, everything else is lacking in comparison. You might get a solid 5-10 hours of enjoyment out of the campaign before you it dawns on you that there's not much else to discover but a disappointing realisation.

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Recommended
Nov 25, 2022

A unique experience that finally comes to consoles in its final version.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

Unscored
Nov 1, 2022

The exact same old battles sewn onto a perfunctory, shallow RPG and an elaborate but undramatic and robotic feudalism sim

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