So I finally got to play the game I was waiting for eight years and honestly I think its one step forward two steps back from Warband.
Firstly I want to get out of the way that I'm experiencing massive performance issues.
My computer is a potatoe I'm well aware of that. But It can run Witcher3 on highest settings and even Kingdom Come Deliverance runs
reasonably on medium. I didn't expect it to be able to do 200+ size battles in Bannerlord but instead it gets already curbstomped when
more then five people are in a scene.
I will have to buy a new computer anyways but optimization as of now is horrible with this game.
I wanted to get that out of the way first because some of the below may be partially caused by my bad performance.
The combat feels odd. Not odd in just different as I played six hours now and couldn't get used to it but just odd.
Fighting with a lance from horseback in Warband was (rightfully) the easiest thing ever. Now peasants with their
clubs will outreach my lance and hit me or my horse. Hitting anything with that lance is more difficult then ever too.
One cheese I found to counter this was to gitter the mouse a bit while stabbing. But that can't be seriously the solution
to that. Also I can't seem to get used to the new shield blocking. I have an easier time doing directional blocks with the
weapon than the shield. Often that leads to me ending up as a pincushion for all the archers around. Timing is also odd.
Maybe some of that has to do with my low level character or low framerate though.
And last but probably most importantly:
The game feels like a chore to play.
M&B has always been a slow game but Bannerlord pushes this to the limit of my patience.
-You start more underleveled than ever. -Combat Leveling is slower than in Warband. -Map movement speed is slower than in Warband.
-The Map is bigger and full of Mountains and Lakes you have to circumnavigate and Forests you have to crawl through.
-Bandits are outrunning your party as you reach party sizes large enough to fight them properly.
-Shops in towns are pretty much empty. Finding items you need is extremely difficult.
-You are locked out from entering lords halls even if you are a noble.
-Loading times are long and menus are unnecessarily cumbersome.
I simply couldn't bring myself to have fun with this. And I don't think I would have had much fun even if the performance was good.
Combat and overall gameplay feels like a downgrade from Warband (At least in terms of fun). And alot of the highly anticipated new features seem tacked on and
not well thought through.
If this was three years into development and the devs decided to go EA because of money restraints then I wouldn't be worried.
But it has been eight years and not even the basic features that made Warband good are satisfyingly done?
I don't know where this game is headed.
What do you think about gameplay? I seem to be the minority since 80% of reviews on Steam are positive.
Firstly I want to get out of the way that I'm experiencing massive performance issues.
My computer is a potatoe I'm well aware of that. But It can run Witcher3 on highest settings and even Kingdom Come Deliverance runs
reasonably on medium. I didn't expect it to be able to do 200+ size battles in Bannerlord but instead it gets already curbstomped when
more then five people are in a scene.
I will have to buy a new computer anyways but optimization as of now is horrible with this game.
I wanted to get that out of the way first because some of the below may be partially caused by my bad performance.
The combat feels odd. Not odd in just different as I played six hours now and couldn't get used to it but just odd.
Fighting with a lance from horseback in Warband was (rightfully) the easiest thing ever. Now peasants with their
clubs will outreach my lance and hit me or my horse. Hitting anything with that lance is more difficult then ever too.
One cheese I found to counter this was to gitter the mouse a bit while stabbing. But that can't be seriously the solution
to that. Also I can't seem to get used to the new shield blocking. I have an easier time doing directional blocks with the
weapon than the shield. Often that leads to me ending up as a pincushion for all the archers around. Timing is also odd.
Maybe some of that has to do with my low level character or low framerate though.
And last but probably most importantly:
The game feels like a chore to play.
M&B has always been a slow game but Bannerlord pushes this to the limit of my patience.
-You start more underleveled than ever. -Combat Leveling is slower than in Warband. -Map movement speed is slower than in Warband.
-The Map is bigger and full of Mountains and Lakes you have to circumnavigate and Forests you have to crawl through.
-Bandits are outrunning your party as you reach party sizes large enough to fight them properly.
-Shops in towns are pretty much empty. Finding items you need is extremely difficult.
-You are locked out from entering lords halls even if you are a noble.
-Loading times are long and menus are unnecessarily cumbersome.
I simply couldn't bring myself to have fun with this. And I don't think I would have had much fun even if the performance was good.
Combat and overall gameplay feels like a downgrade from Warband (At least in terms of fun). And alot of the highly anticipated new features seem tacked on and
not well thought through.
If this was three years into development and the devs decided to go EA because of money restraints then I wouldn't be worried.
But it has been eight years and not even the basic features that made Warband good are satisfyingly done?
I don't know where this game is headed.
What do you think about gameplay? I seem to be the minority since 80% of reviews on Steam are positive.