Chivalry 2

There are two sides to any battle and they will either be Agatha Knights in light blue and white uniforms or the Mason Order in vibrant red and black. The two are always at loggerheads and once you have picked a side, it is very easy to tell who is on your side and who is not!

During the game, make sure you look out for weapons’ caches on the map so you can restock your arms or upgrade them. Combat is quite simple, consisting of three basic moves: a horizontal slash, a vertical slash, and a stab, which can be combined to interesting effect. As well as this, enemy moves can be parried and if you get the timing right it can be a beautiful sight.

Even more beautiful (well… for a given value of ‘beauty’, that is…) is the ability to pick up your enemy’s severed arm and give him a thrashing with it. In an emergency, your melee weapons can be thrown too, but do make sure you do not leave yourself unarmed!

The massive siege weapons are great fun to try out, especially with the clash and uproar of battle all around you, offering you an authentic glimpse into these most bloodthirsty of battles.

The Nitty Gritty

The back story is soap-operatically comedic and this adds tremendously to the fun of the game, so do make sure you enjoy the banter and moments of high drama even as you brace for the next incoming attack.

Combat is satisfyingly textured, and you can interrupt enemy attacks with well-timed attacks of your own, the above-mentioned parries, using your attack moves.

There is quite detailed customisation of your character, including playing as a woman, although the women’s choices are not quite as detailed as the men’s – hopefully something that will be worked on with future content.

However, you will not really see yourself in the default first-person perspective, so if seeing yourself in beautiful action is important to you, you will want to switch early to the optional third-person perspective mode.

There are two ways to play the game, which consists of six objective maps, two deathmatch maps, and the developers promise yet more to come with future releases: skill-based finesse if that’s what you like, or you can opt for slash and hack fun.

What Do I Do?

While you are waiting for attackers to give you a definitive mission, you will be tasked with one of several activities. It is during these relatively quiet times that the game’s highly comedic banter will present itself, so don’t try to rush through the mundane – enjoy it instead.

Burn the tents – those belonging to the enemy, obviously!

Man (or destroy) the trebuchets, again, depending on whose they are!

Push the siege engines into place, ready to get on with the exciting bits once again