While engaging in firefights is all good and proper, there’s a certain lack of sportsmanship and sincerity to that of engaging face to face. Within nothing more than a few feet between you, melee combat multiplayer games have carved out a niche for themselves which is rarely filled. War of the Roses, Mount & Blade, Mordhau and Chivalry: Medieval Warfare arguably make up the Mount Rushmore of the genre, but how does the follow-up to one of the greats stand out from within its shadow?
Chivalry 2 has it all to do. Not only does it have to contend with the fanfare around the original, but also the quality of Mordhau. With those things in mind, Chivalry 2’s weekend preview event is already showing promising signs. The bread and butter of any entry into the genre is undoubtedly the combat. Chivalry 2’s approach instantly feels heavy, with weapon swings carrying the weight you’d expect. Light and heavy attacks form the core tools of aggression, with blocks and parries offering defensive options.
Between the basics lies a number of tricks to separate the careless from the skillful. Feints, direction changes, morphs and dodges open up a wealth of opportunities to leave a foe face down on the ground…head attachment is optional. Chivalry’s system is easy to get to grips with but doesn’t feel limiting, be it in a duel or a fight against multiple enemies. Visual and audio cues provide an edge for those of keener sense. Weapon types play a role in how the game is played, with early signs showing players are already finding their favourite tool of choice. Two hands hit harder, move slow and provide a threat to both friend and foe. Small arms provide quicker attacks, working well with a shield or whatever item you’ve chosen to pick from the ground, be it a stone, severed head or chicken. There’s an intense flow of action regardless of what you are wielding, or what you are facing. Smashing into the shield of defending foe results in a loud crunch, with each hit chipping away at their timid saviour. Steel on steel sings across the battlefield, serenading each and every fight to the death, elevating the combat higher than expected.
Chivalry 2 handles weapon choice by splitting them into classes. Each class has an unlock tree that opens up new weapons and tools that help fill a role. Knights can switch between a horn or banner that heals nearby allies or a fire pot that tickles the enemy with a lick of flame. The same principles are applied to the other classes, providing a little variation between simply picking your favoured weapon. As with any game offering multiple classes with a set of traits and weapons, the idea of ‘playing the Meta’ tends to be a hot topic. During the limited time in the beta, it was difficult to see a set way to play emerging beyond people simply picking a weapon they liked. Chivalry 2’s limited class structure could be a pro or a con depending where you sit at the table.
It’s a strange sort of dance that everyone has steps in, birthing a rhythm to each conflict. You can instantly tell veterans of the genre apart from the fresh meat. Flurries of attacks, mixed with dodges, parries and decapitation, it’s quite the show. It seems chivalry is not dead, with masters of the steel often seeking their equals for a good fight, even if that means butchering those wide-eyed spammers on the way. Chaos tends to be the default setting on the battlefield, but not without reason. Each of the maps featured in the closed-beta hung on a core ideal of either Team Death Match or Objective-based play. The former presents the player with a non-stop murder-fest set in a tournament arena. Objective-based maps tend to provide a better experience. Each objective demands attack and defence, with both parties having a number of items available to them. Rocks, spears, wagon wheels, catapults. If it’s not nailed to the ground, there’s a good chance it can be used as a weapon.
Intense pockets of fighting breaking out across the map, unified by the same goal of killing each other, is where Chivalry 2 shines. Those the preview offered a handful of maps, it managed to maintain a sense of unpredicted chaos. For every battle, there was a story to share. Coming out on top in a 3 v 1 situation, catapulting someone into the fray, throwing a severed head at the enemy. Little moments, larger moments, neatly baked into an experience.
Chivalry 2 is shaping up to be a good game, but these thoughts should be taken with a grain of salt. Deep diving into the balance between the weapons and classes is not achievable in such a short amount of time. What was clear is that there is work to be done before release. Kicks and shoves feel slightly too powerful, offering very little risk and plenty of gain when using them. Their speed and general lack of stamina use can often result in some fights being decided by whoever wishes to ignore the fight mechanics in order to spam a single button. Archer numbers could use some work too, with their high damage output not mixing well with the amount of them in a given match.
With everything considered as a ‘fun’ experience, for now, things look good. A promising glimpse at a possible titan of the genre that still has a few chinks in its armour to hammer out.
