Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Critic Reviews (2024)

76 69%

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is ranked in the 67th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.

View Review Charts

DefaultMost Popular

Score: Highest to LowestScore: Lowest to HighestNewest FirstOldest First

Next

Jon Bolding

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.

Read full review

Fraser Brown

PC Gamer

Top Critic

80 / 100

Oct 28, 2022

Despite some shallow ancillary systems, Bannerlord is the master of medieval warfare

Read full review

Jim Hargreaves

TheSixthAxis

Top Critic

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.

Read full review

Sin Vega

Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Top Critic

Unscored

Nov 1, 2022

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

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0

Oct 27, 2022

Grind and jank aside, there is nothing else like a Mount and Blade game, and Bannerlord is undisputably the best one yet. Its uniqueness alone makes it worth playing. To talk about it that way is to do it a disservice though; the true marvel of Bannerlord is that it actually delivers on what is an astonishingly ambitious concept. The two halves of the game complement each other perfectly. It may be on a slow boil, but once it gets up a head of steam, you won't be able to put it down.

Read full review

Khayl Adam

Push Square

Top Critic

8 / 10

Nov 17, 2022

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord combines RPG mechanics with grand strategy and features battles so epic they can be overwhelming at times. It has some rough edges, and the interface can be unwieldy, but at its core lies a roleplaying experience that is virtually unrivalled in scope - especially on console.

Read full review

Terrence Johnson

ZTGD

Top Critic

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.

Read full review

Martynas Klimas

PC Invasion

Top Critic

8 / 10

Oct 28, 2022

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord comes back with improvements to everything we liked about the previous games and some new systems as well. However, it's not a perfectly polished game, so you'll have to navigate a few edges on your path to restore/destroy the Empire.

Read full review

John-Paul Jones

PlayStation Universe

Top Critic

9 / 10.0

Oct 24, 2022

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord roundly excels because it lets players be whatever they want to be and rather than penalise those choices, instead makes players own those decisions and provide a peerless theatre for them to thrive. Though technically not perfect, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord invites players to weave their own tapestry of ambition and be whomever they like in their own Game of Thrones, letting them wage war, engage in diplomacy, fight in the arenas, trade illicit goods, be a town alderman and absolutely everything in between in one of the most ambitious PS5 games to date. If you'll let it, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord II will become your new obsession. And you should.

Read full review

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

Hubert Śledziewski

GRYOnline.pl

Top Critic

8 / 10.0

Oct 25, 2022

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is a game that can swallow you whole and make you forget about everything else – including its own flaws. That’s the beauty of this series – the gameplay, and particularly the large-scale, real-time combat, makes us shrug off ugly face models, underdeveloped diplomacy, or dumb AI.

Review in Polish | Read full review

Derek Johnson

Jump Dash Roll

Top Critic

9 / 10

Dec 1, 2022

Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord is, in spite of some missing features, a must-play experience for anyone who's remotely interested in kingdoms, claymores and combat.

Read full review

Neil Bolt

GameWatcher

Top Critic

8.5 / 10.0

Nov 23, 2022

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is very much a superior sequel in so many ways. It's still a bit of a brick wall to get past in terms of understanding its finer points, but keep hammering away and you will find them.

Read full review

Marino Puntorieri

Spaziogames

Top Critic

7.6 / 10.0

Nov 9, 2022

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

Review in Italian | Read full review

Pezh J.

GameGrin

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.

Read full review

Branislav Kohút

SECTOR.sk

Top Critic

8 / 10.0

Nov 11, 2022

Ten long years have passed since the announcement of the latest installment of Mount & Blade. Then the game was in early access, and now it's finally finished and fully battle-ready. Not all fans are thrilled with the result, as not everything is as it could have been, but it's still a trip worth taking part in.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

Matt Sainsbury

Digitally Downloaded

Top Critic

Nov 11, 2022

For everyone else, there is nothing quite like Mount & Blade. This expansive, massive, deeply immersive blend of open world, open-ended RPG and medieval strategy might be the biggest time sink on the PlayStation 5, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. The stories of heroics and failures that you can write for yourself while playing this game are positively Shakesperean, and this is one of those rare times where failure is as entertaining as success, because there’s an excellent, emergent story in that.

Read full review

Chris McMullen

GameSpew

Top Critic

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.

Read full review

Alex Varankou

New Game Network

Top Critic

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.

Read full review

Blaine Smith

Gamers Heroes

Top Critic

85 / 100

Oct 31, 2022

There is no other game like Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. It's a fantastic experience, one unique in the gaming space. The constant grind to manage and progress with your kingdom is hard work - really hard work - but the payoff is spectacular. This is not a game for everyone but if this is your kind of thing, you're going to love every blood-stained minute of it.

Read full review

Next

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Critic Reviews (2024)

FAQs

Is Mount & Blade II Bannerlord any good? ›

Bannerlord is must-play if you're a fan of medieval strategy and action RPGs. A great game, make you feel like you are actually in the battlefield and have a lot of mods to add in.

Is there an end to Bannerlord? ›

The game's campaign is open world and open ended, but that doesn't mean there aren't quests and story missions to go on and complete. Here's how the story, and quests, work in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord.

Is Warband better then Bannerlord? ›

I consider warband broadly superior on every front, in some cases narrowly, and in many important ones (combat, progression, unit stats, warfare) far superior. The expanded management system of bannerlord is so sidelined as to basically not be there and it's equivalent to what mods like diplomacy give you anyway.

Why is Bannerlord so good? ›

One thing I do appreciate about Bannerlord is the aesthetics, something that Warband was lacking in. Towns are huge spawling mazes of streets to wander around in and castles actually feel like castles and not just a room inside the castle. The minigames were a nice addition as they are both simple, yet challenging.

How long does the Bannerlord campaign last? ›

Powered by IGN Wiki Guides
Single-PlayerPolledAverage
Main Story2351h 27m
Main + Extras1566h 29m
Completionist8133h 41m
All PlayStyles4670h 40m

What is the richest city in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord? ›

With the highest starting prosperity of all settlements in the game at 5600, Ortysia is one of the busiest trading towns in all of Calradia.

Can you marry in Bannerlord 2? ›

One of the best ways to get a powerful companion in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is through marriage. Nobles are usually high-level characters with unique personalities, and they can help you grow your clan and take different roles, from leading parties to governing your towns and cities.

Can you take over cities in Bannerlord? ›

How to get a settlement in Bannerlord. Settlements come in multiple forms. These are towns and castles which you can take over control of. The surrounding villages contribute to your town or castle's overall wealth and prosperity, but are also vulnerable to being raided for supplies by enemy nobles or bandits.

What is the weakest faction in Mount and Blade Warband? ›

Khergits. The Khergits are swift, but individually extremely weak compared to the top tier units of the other factions. Most of their Units excel in horse archery.

Why is Calradia different in Bannerlord? ›

Bannerlord's Calradia is somewhat similar to the general layout from Warband, but takes place 173 years earlier. It covers a larger area and has more mountains to create choke points. The new map has a much greater number of lakes and bays as well as a (at times) radically different coastline from that of Warband.

How many years before Warband is Bannerlord? ›

Setting. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is set on the fictional continent of Calradia, 173 years before Mount & Blade: Warband, during the decline of the Calradic Empire and the formation of the predecessors of the factions that appear in Warband.

What makes the most money in Bannerlord? ›

You'll find plenty of bandits on your journey through Bannerlord, and it's always worth killing them. They provide a lot of loot you can later sell for denar, and all for very little effort. Another way to get your mitts on some loot is by looting villages, which churn up all sorts of valuable items and gold.

Are workshops in Bannerlord worth it? ›

There are different types of workshops you can purchase in cities, and they tend not to be as risky as Bannerlord caravans, and they are a steady form of income. They are, however, quite pricey to purchase. A workshop will cost you 15,000 denar but are worth it for long-term income.

Is Mount and Blade Bannerlord worth getting? ›

If you want an open sandbox RPG where you can command an empire and armies while still controlling your character on the battlefield, then Bannerlords is worth the cost of a night at a cheap bar. If you want stunning art, then you might better enjoy an art museum.

Is Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord fun? ›

Is it fun? Yes, definitely. But you're missing out a ton by not modding it. And if you are modding, then M&B Warband is much, much, much more fun.

Is Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord good on console? ›

Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord has been long awaited by fans with a solid 4.2 out of 5 stars on the Microsoft Store almost two weeks after launch it is safe to say the people are pleased. With glowing reviews such as: “This is a great strategy sandbox RPG, a game worthy of praise. Warband was good, this is great.”

What can you do in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord? ›

From there, the world is yours for the taking in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. You can declare yourself the ruler of an independent kingdom, get married and have children, amass wealth through caravans or workshops, oversee the continued growth of your settlements, or forge your own path any way you see fit.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Otha Schamberger

Last Updated:

Views: 5295

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (75 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Otha Schamberger

Birthday: 1999-08-15

Address: Suite 490 606 Hammes Ferry, Carterhaven, IL 62290

Phone: +8557035444877

Job: Forward IT Agent

Hobby: Fishing, Flying, Jewelry making, Digital arts, Sand art, Parkour, tabletop games

Introduction: My name is Otha Schamberger, I am a vast, good, healthy, cheerful, energetic, gorgeous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.