Chivalry 2 is the perfect storm of chaos. There’s no way to describe it other than that. Looking in from the outside is a bizarre theatre show of slap-stick comedy and tragedy. Who knew witnessing the death by launched chicken could be accompanied by so many decapitations?
From the off, Chivalry 2 knows exactly what it is. Loud, proud, and cheeky, ever so cheeky. There are two sides to the game, both of which will offer varying experiences depending on what is being sought. The first face of the coin is a wild, crazy experience where anything goes. If you can pick it up, it can be used as a weapon. Fruit, poultry, scrolls, severed heads. Anything is a tool of death if you throw it hard enough. The flip side of the coin is a robust multiplayer melee skirmish where attention to detail is key.
Chivalry 2
Developer: Torn Banner Studios
Price: $40
Platform: PC (reviewed), PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
MonsterVine was supplied with Epic Games Store code for review
Chivalry 2 strikes a fine balance between accessible and engaging, a trait that deserves plenty of kudos. The combat system baked into the heart of the game rewards those with a sense of space, movement, and reaction. Holding down block and spamming attacks will get you to a point, but not to the top. Directional movements, reacting to enemy positioning, and weapon use are core principles to become a true threat on the battlefield. Leaving decimated corpses in your path, there’s certainly a sense of power that comes with mastering any of the given melee weapons. For everyone else, there’s an unwavering sense of silly fun and spamming warcries.
Peeling away all the madness and chaos expressed on the field of battle, Chivalry 2 has a fairly controlled class system. Divided into four classes, each with three subclasses, each playstyle is catered for. Knights are slower, strong and by far the most popular choice. Vanguards are fast, but have weak armour and lower HP than Knights. Footmen are the generic troop type that holds the middle of the road ground. Archers, archers are scum and you should always behead them.
There’s a good level of synergy between each class, giving them a place in the game that stands no lower or higher than each other. Weapon options are tied to a class, with further weapons locked into sub-classes. Unlocking each weapon is not a short process, nor is it long, falling pretty much in the sweet spot between the two points.
Every weapon has its own stats that break down into attack type, damage, reach and speed. As well as adding variety to the gameplay, it provides an axis upon which the core combat spins. In the heat of battle, the keener players will pick out which other players are showing signs of skill, noting their weapon and how they move. It’s not uncommon to view a select few players cutting a path to each other and engaging in an epic duel. For everything else, there’s the archer who does what you expect, shoots from afar.
Chivalry 2’s systems are good, but not perfect. Even though there’s a focus on movement and speed, Chivalry 2 includes the option to punch and kick your opponent. These attacks can falter a foe, leaving them open to attack. While they can be dodged and countered, it makes little sense that a Knight can kick at the same speed as an Archer, regardless of the fact that one is covered in metal armour and the other is not.
Hit detection is mostly on point, but when it goes wrong it stands out like a sore thumb. Every now and again, it’ll feel like your weapon has failed to connect, simply passing through the desired target. This tends to happen more with larger weapons more than anything else. It’s a niggle, but it doesn’t happen enough to be a major downer, hopefully, a patch can address this.
Production-wise, Chivalry 2 hits all notes you expect it to. The visuals are gritty, dirty and filled with detail. Running in 1080p with everything on ultra, the game is a looker with a mostly solid performance bar one or two spotty moments when scripted events happen within the map. Audio is particularly strong, with each weapon sounding like it’s truly biting into the surface it’s striking. Dismemberment, mud, screams, fire, steel, wood and the rattling of armour pings into the earholes giving a true sense of chaotic conflict.
With a simple, yet fairly deep, combat system at its heart, Chivalry 2 is a great piece of multiplayer mayhem that will surely capture the hearts of many. The lack of any true depth may deter veterans of other similar games, but most will find a hugely enjoyable medieval romp that has plenty of room to grow. The current crop of maps is limited to attack/defend objectives with two arenas thrown in for good measure. Duel servers offer a more honourable way to play, but lack that sense of ‘’anything goes’’ found in the main game modes.
The Final Word
Chivalry 2 is a good entry into the melee-focused multiplayer scene. Its only real challenges are ensuring content is kept flowing and its Epic store exclusivity. Bombastic, loud, brutal, silly, fun. It’s hard not to summon a smile on the meat chunk when slashing through one of this year’s most shamelessly fun releases.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
