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Chivalry 2 review: a gore-soaked multiplayer battler with tons of humourLet slip the fish of war!
Let slip the fish of war!
It’s very straightforward. You’re a medieval soldier and you’re desperate to chop limbs off. Battles take place in three flavours: 64-player, 40-player, or a “free-for-all” mode (used to best effect in servers running duelling matches with their own etiquette). Team battles often see an attacking side storming across large maps to complete objectives, while defenders try to stop them. For example, one foggy map has the attackers pushing a caravan toward a distant castle. Along the way they must destroy barricades, capture a gatehouse, and storm walls. Finally, they must kill the duke, a player assigned (I think) at random, whom the defenders need to rally around in a last stand.
Chivalry 2 - Launch TrailerWatch on YouTube
Chivalry 2 - Launch Trailer
There are others with a more vanilla deathmatch goal, including one that takes place in a gladiatorial arena, a trap-filled toy box similar to the duelling arena of the firstChivalry. But the best battles are protracted assaults that offer chances for wild-eyed heroism and stupidity. They are full of last-minute rescues, reckless charges, bloodsoaked bottlenecks, and filthy flanks.
What’s most important to know is that successful hits grant initiative. In other words, if I slice your belly, it’s still my “turn”. Those who play fighting games know this as “frame advantage” but here it’s not so complex. Basically, if you’ve been hit, don’t try and hit back right away. Simple. You can do anything else. Dodge, block, crouch, counter, or jab. Along with the game theory trinity of block-beats-slice, kick-beats-block, and slice-beats-kick, it successfully boils fighting game rules down to its simplest principle: don’t mash.
Alas, poor Brendy. I knew him, Horace, a fellow of infinite jest
As a result, the barrier to entry is refreshingly low. I much prefer the combat here to that ofMordhau, for instance, where the sword clinking always felt hard to read. I like Mordhau but here things are much more lenient. Maybe there are more icons, maybe the clarity of the sound effects and little sparks make it feel more solid, more beginner-friendly. Or maybe it’s simply that everyone seems to have a bit more health, and strikes don’t demand so much precision. In Mordhau I would often swing and wonder “why did that miss?” as my head rolled ‘pon a carpet of mashed gore. But in Chivalry 2 even I, the village oaf, can riposte blows from several attackers and hold them off long enough to get one or two kills. Something about this war feels friendlier, more approachable and sympathetic, like a nice grandad. Yes, I realise I am talking about decapitating people.
Speaking of characters, there are multiple classes to choose, but I find they don’t alter the game as much as they might in a battle royale or a hero shooter. Some classes get health kits to dole out or healing horns to trumpet, firebombs to throw or spike traps to set. There are often small bonuses to damage. The Footman’s sprinting attack has a bit more oomph, for instance. The Ambusher does more damage if they strike from behind.
My favourite character class, however, is the Raider, who has two primary weapons. For me that means one war axe to throw and another to charge in and wail on my foe. Throwing weapons in general is an instant spike of dopamine, so much so that I will regularly throw all my weapons, at which point I have to rummage about on the floor for a new sword, a sight that must be funny to the enemy I have missed three times, now menacingly approaching. Of course, if you fail to find a sharp bit of steel, there are other options. Maps are filled with throwable detritus. Rocks, tools, barrels, planks. You can stick your hand in a well and find a fish to lob. You can pick dung off the floor and chuck that. An enemy knight once doinked me with a roast chicken. I cannot fault his valour.
It’s not all ragdoll fun, of course. Deathmatches lack the heroic (or disastrous) moments of the objective-based battles, and some are underwhelmingly short. Some matches have been laggy. And the current system for inviting friends on PC is more broken than a splintered shield, requiring lots of restarts and failed invites to get even one or two friends in the same party. It’s great to see your buddy’s name highlighted across the map, and rush into a brawl to save them from the vanguards slashing at their arms. But just getting invites to function is a pain.
