The early access of Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord, recently released on March 30th, 2020, throws players into a pre-modern world where mercenaries and warlords fight over the carcass of a decaying empire. This action/strategy RPG purports to recreate medieval-style combat, but how close does it come to this ideal? The answer to this question lies not just in the weapons and armor on display in Mount and Blade II, but the real historical parallels between the factions of the game and the real-life cultures that rose from the ashes of the western Roman Empire.
The first Mount and Blade game, Mount and Blade: Warband, was a pioneer in the field of historical warfare simulators, influencing games like Mordhau and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. This medieval, decidedly non-fantasy roleplaying sandbox game lets players recruit followers into a mercenary band, besiege cities, court the favor of monarchs, trade between villages, and wield a wide range of authentic medieval weapons on foot or on horseback.
As a prequel, Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord takes place 200 years prior to the first game, retelling the story of the wars that caused the fall of the mighty Calradic Empire. This fictional setting is inspired by the real-life Migration Period, a time where the old Roman Empire collapsed under the pressures of civil war and invading cultures. It was a time of conquerors and mercenaries with unique weapons, armor, and fighting methods that Mount and Blade II emulates with varying degrees of accuracy.
Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord's Weapons and Armor
In a setting without magic or monsters, a good chunk of character customization in the Mount and Blade series revolves around the weapons and armor players choose to equip – often a choice between heavy gear that protects well but is cumbersom and light gear that lets them move faster at the expense of less protection.
Despite the anachronism of crossbows and two-handed swords with cross-hilts, the arms and armor seen in Mount and Blade II are surprisingly authentic to the Migration Period/Dark Ages of real-world history. Rich lords and Cataphract cavalry riders have armor of chain and scales (and no medieval plate), while lower-class infantry are stuck with simple helmets and padded quilt jackets. There's even an historically accurate emphasis on javelins and darts as ranged weapons for heavy infantry.
Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord's Combat and Tactics
Most RPG games (titles like Dwarf Fortress being the rare exception) often have to simply the complicated mess that is real-life warfare: wounds are abstracted into "Hit Points" while sword swings are often over-exaggerated to give players the space to counter. Within these virtual limits, combat in Mount and Blade II is fairly realistic, giving players the ability to assume different weapon stances and do more damage when charging enemies on horseback. Furthermore, a player's success as a "Bannerlord" depends not just on tactics, but the morale of their followers, influenced by how well troops are paid and their victory/loss ratio.
Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord's Factions and Culture
The setting of Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord is fictional, but the various kingdoms in this game are heavily based on real historical civilizations. The factions of the West, South, and Northern Empires are essentially the Romans – both the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern "Byzantines" that endured centuries after the fall of Rome. Sturgia and Vlandia represent the Franks, Gauls, Vandals, and Goths that carved up the Western Roman Empire, while the Khuzaits represent steppe cultures like the Huns and Mongols (deadly horse archer units and all).
While heavily inspired by history, Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord differs from the real-life past in several ways... and that's a good thing. An excess of realism can often lead to unenjoyable gameplay; furthermore, the Mount and Blade series revolves around players deciding the fate of kingdoms. By showing up at the right place and the right time, gamers are able to change the course of history, deciding for themselves which civilizations will rise or fall.
Source: Tech Spot