Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is one of my most played games of all time. The first-person knight simulator introduced a refined, skill-based form of combat to me that was as addictive as it was engaging and visceral. I made it a habit to play a few hours of the game every single night in the summer of 2014, mixing it up with visits to low gravity and other modded servers on my potato laptop, having the time of my life. While I moved on to other titles, I’m thrilled to return to the series now that it finally has its second entry available.

While I would have been more than happy with a graphical overhaul and a bevy of new maps, Chivalry 2 is much more than just that. The already complex combat has gotten several additions to make it even more varied and to offer tons more unique encounters. Included are fakeouts, wider hitboxes based on the swing of the mouse, ripostes, counter-hits, and more to make the fights that much more intense and to raise the skill ceiling as high as the sky will allot. The balance between the agile-but-frail footman, the beefy-but-slow knight, and the rounded vanguard creates a strengths-vs.-weaknesses dynamic essential for replayability.

All of this is provided to the player in the tutorial, which is narrated by “Tom Banner” in a knight-ly voice. I particularly love that in the latter part of the learning, it’s made a point that the roleplaying in this series is essential, as it teaches you how to navigate the chat options. Thanks to dedicated voice actors, tons of laughs will be had as the c key gets pressed to make my cowardly archer shout in desperation, knowing he’s likely at the last few minutes of his lifespan in the presence of devastating Mason knights.

There’s a lot to unlock within Chivalry 2, and none of it is locked behind a paywall. There are tons of hairstyles, facial hair, nicknames, and more to acquire so you can make every possible configuration for both Agatha and Mason to make your own. Having the original voice actors from the first game come back as the highest tier for voice actors will ensure longtime fans like me will happily work towards getting that esteemed reward.

While the server browser wasn’t present in the betas, it has made its return to the full release of the game. In the future, custom games will be my bread and butter within Chivalry 2, as the original’s bent the rules of gameplay with things like low gravity and other modifications to create pure chaos. It’s a bit disappointing to be restricted to just a handful of game types, but the ever-changing gameplay will still keep players invested.

There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be playing Chivalry 2 for ages to come. I typically don’t frequent multiplayer-only games, but this is a different breed where things aren’t taken so seriously and the Agatha vs. Mason fights are filled with laughs, anguish, and plenty of dismemberment. Here’s hoping a fellow Phenixx writer picks up Chivalry 2 down the line and we can get back into the fray like we did more than half a decade ago!

A PC review copy of Chivalry 2 was provided by Tripwire Interactive for this review.

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Chivalry 2

$39.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• High Fun Factor
• Deep Progression
• Large Skill Ceiling

Cons

• Steep Pricetag for Newcomers
• No Custom Games Just Yet