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4
Great

Chivalry 2 - Review

Medieval Mayhem has never been so fun
Score: 4/5
Reviewed by B.J. Bunneh3000 Brown on Xbox Series X/S - October 06, 2022   

Chivalry 2 expands upon the success of its predecessor by doubling down on what made it great...multiplayer chaos! As a first person melee multiplayer fighter, Chivalry 2 does away with the need for much of a story and drops you into a battlefield. With a battlecry and a sprint towards battle, you are instantly thrust into the heart of bloody battle. Surprisingly, as visceral as that sounds, the experience is equal parts vicious and hilarious thanks to developer Torn Banner Studios. 
 


Chivalry 2 leans into the trend of offering a multiplayer only game with the intent of combining scale with great presentation. The clang of steel rings true and often alongside a wealth of guttural and at times funny battle cries. Tons of voice acted lines play out in epic 64 player PvP battles that are just as fun to watch as they are to play. 

Comical moments play out with the rag doll physics at times alongside the brutal ones. One moment a soldier can be seen fighting with one arm and then the next seen flying across the field due to a well placed ballista shot. Players will pick up fish, pots, chickens, rocks, and whatever they can find to gain even the slightest advantage in battle. In fact, it is quite common to see people loading themselves onto catapults and flinging themselves into battle! Chivalry 2 is a sandbox of melee chaos that welcomes all skill levels. 
 

Approachable Combat
 

Everyone enters a deathmatch game wanting to get kills. Since melee multiplayer combat games are few, it is important for the combat in games like Chivalry 2 to have an easy entry point but enough skill to keep a player base. Newbies will get a quick intro into how to slash, overhead swing, jab, and kick to get them going. After a quick runthru of using parries, riposte, and dodge, you are reminded that the only thing that limits you in the midst of these maneuvers is your stamina bar. Each action you perform drains your stamina which can lead to slower attacks or even you dropping your weapon or shield. 
 

 

The figuring out how to break your opponent’s block with all of these various maneuvers sounds difficult. There are plenty of moments where you outnumber the your enemy. The tide changes quickly however as others are rushing into battle or trying to peg you with arrows, or chickens, from a distance. There is even a charging tackle that each soldier can use to initiate the battle! Torn Banner Studios did a great job of crafting the AI for bots as well in case the player count drops. This allows for players of all skill levels to hop in and bash their way to glory whenever they choose. Thankfully, you’ll probably be laughing all the way.

The comical moments play out thanks to the ‘sandbox’ nature of the environments. Littered throughout every battle are all kinds of weapons both conventional and unconventional! Brooms, fish, pitchforks, rocks, chopped off limbs, barrels, and so much more can be picked up and thrown if not used as a weapon. There is nothing more embarrassing and funny than to be killed by a thrown fish or skillet! Chandeliers drop on unsuspecting foes. Unaware soldiers can be backed into well placed wooden spikes. There are so many ways to get that satisfying kill! 
 

Progression
 

As with other online multiplayer games, Chivalry 2 hangs their replayability on unlockables. You begin the game with 4 distinct classes to play as. These standard classes are the archer, the footsoldier, the knight, and the vanguard. Each of these classes play a bit different and come equipped with a secondary weapon and a score charged skill. 

The Archer is the master of ranged weapons. As you level them up, you gain access to the crossbow and the javelin. They also give you access skills such as flame arrows, a banner to heal those nearby, and throwing axes. 

The Footman is the basic support class. There are a number of weapons that the footman can eventually wield but more importantly is their access to providing first aid to teammates (by tossing bandages), setting traps, and using agility and speed. While they aren’t heavily armored, they do fill out the battlefield and provide the best all around skillset.

The Knight is the frontline soldier. With the highest health of all the classes, the knight is probably the backbone of every battle. A great class for newbs, the knight can do a lot of damage while being able to take the most hits. Their skills are also helpful as well. The war horn heals all within range as does the banner. Another subclass provides an oil pot as a skill as well that is basically a molotov that burns friend and foe alike!

The Vanguard is the damage dealer. Both strong and fast, the Vanguard is oftentimes the top choice for vets. Typically wielding two handed weapons, the Vanguard deals the most damage the quickest of all of the classes. Not only that, they typically are equipped with two ‘primary’ weapons rather than having a smaller weapon as their secondary weapon. Using the same skills as the Knight class, the Vanguard basically differs from the Knight by having less health, more speed, and no shield. 

Each of these classes have subclasses that provide different weapons to use. There are various mauls, maces, halberds, spears, axes, katars, and swords that all have different swing speeds and do different damage. Thankfully, anyone can throw their weapon so no one is truly without a ranged weapon even if they do not choose the archer!

As of the 'Reinforced' update in October of 2022, there's even mounted combat on some maps. This further enhances the chaos on matches that can fit 64 players and/or bots on the map at the same time!


Presentation


Chivalry 2 looks amazing. Seeing players race around swinging wildly at each other plays out like a movie battle. The blocks and parries play out in pretty cool sequences whether you do them in first person or third person. As you play the game and learn to use different weapons, you also gain ingame currency. This allows for the purchase of weapon and armor skins. Looking different from your everyday squire is also a high point that may retain players in multiplayer games as well.

To round out how the battles progress, Chivalry 2 pays particular attention to the sound design. Battlecries and screams ring out alongside weapons clashing. Some are bass rumbling roars while others are hilarious yelps. Surprisingly, each fit into the mood of how the chaos in this game presents itself. The delightful rag doll physics keeps the game high on the list as one of the more 'clippable' highlight reel games there is on the market today. 
 


Chivalry 2 is a frantic and fun medieval combat game that is great to play when you want to bash some virtual skulls online. The skill curve isn’t as high as it is in For Honor allowing casual players to come in without pressure. Skilled players will get a rush out of being able to take down multiple players when outnumbered by themselves. It will be interesting to see how this game continues to evolve as developer Torn Banner Studios works its magic to add more maps, modes, and content!
 

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