Mount & Blade: Warband

Map of Calradia, the setting of the game

As with the first game, Mount & Blade: Warband is a sandbox role-playing game that takes place in the medieval land of Calradia. At the start of the game, the player customizes the character and is spawned into the world. Traveling around the overworld map is done by pointing and clicking on the desired location. If the player encounters other parties, combat may occur, at which point the game switches to real time. If the player wins the battle, their level of renown increases. With enough renown, the player can work for lords, set up their own fiefs, attack towns, and hire more soldiers. The player can also encounter companions across the map to add abilities to their warband. The game is non-linear and has no set objectives, but a common goal is to conquer the entirety of Calradia.

The main changes to the game were the inclusion of multiplayer capability, the introduction of a sixth faction, the Sarranid Sultanate, and the reorganisation of the overworld map.[9] The introduction of political options allows players to influence lords and marry ladies, and it is possible for an unaligned player to capture a town or castle and start their own faction.[9] The game contains slightly improved graphics, along with new or altered animations in combat.[10]

A console port was announced in 2016 for a 16 September 2016 release, to be published in Europe by Ravenscourt.[3] The port was to have no major upgrades on the original, and lack the Viking Conquest and Napoleonic Wars expansions. Modding is not supported in the ported versions. A digital version was released in North America on September 16, 2016.[16]

The PC version of Warband received "generally favorable reviews", while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to Metacritic.[17][18][19] Like its predecessor, Warband was praised as a low-cost game with greater replayability and longevity than most contemporary studio-published games.[11] However, several felt that describing Warband as a sequel was overreaching and that the game is better described as a "stand-alone expansion" or an improved version of the original Mount & Blade.[9][30]

The feature most praised was the inclusion of multiplayer, with ComputerGames.ro describing it as "exactly what its predecessor was missing",[10] while Nick Kolan of IGN stating that the feature is "arguably the main reason for the expansion's existence."[11] Mod DB awarded it the "Editor's Choice: Best Multiplayer Indie Game of 2010" award.[31] Reviewers noted the small number of multiplayer maps and modes, and the imbalance present in several of these, although the ComputerGames.ro review suggested that the producers' acceptive stance towards modding would see these problems rectified.[10][11] Kolan emphasized the friendlier community attitude compared to other multiplayer games, although Alex Yue of Gamer Limit and Christopher Rick of Gamers Daily News found that there would only be a small number of servers running at any time, and these would not always be fully populated with the possible 64 players.[11][30][32] Yue also believed that people who owned the original Mount & Blade and were uninterested in the multiplayer feature would be better not purchasing Warband, as it was the only new addition of worth.[30]

Several reviews found that the graphics, while an improvement over the original, did not compare well with other games.[7] The IGN review claims "it looks like [Warband] was released a decade ago".[11] Brett Todd of GameSpot commented that there were some "picturesque" scenes amongst all the generally "dated visuals",[7] while Rick dismissed the need for high-quality graphics, as he felt the quality of gameplay was more important.[32]

Todd commented negatively on the lack of development for the single-player mode, claiming that although the new faction and political quests were added to the original, the game lacks the depth and background of other role-playing video games, and the open world and steep learning curve may intimidate some players.[7]

• Warband on TaleWorlds' website
• Mount & Blade: Warband at MobyGames
• Mount & Blade: Warband - Napoleonic Wars at MobyGames
• Mount & Blade: Warband - Viking Conquest at MobyGames