Mount & Blade

You choose your path, mods or vanilla, choices are there and you are not getting chained by developers. For 12 years old game it does not look that bad. Game runs even on potato, GTX1080 fans don't spin up when playing this, yet game provides plenty of gameplay fun and you can create more gameplay yourself if you want more. I bought this at 2008, during the years I have lost my serial key, found original installer package on one old HDD though and works as a demo up until character level is 7. So after installing that old version and having a blast, bought this again to support developers and spend another 1000 hours roleplaying in all those numerous old mods I found from HDD too. These type of games where you create your adventure yourself are not for everyone though and game gets bit repeatitive, but in small dozes this is excellent time waster.

I got this game for free thanks to GOG generosity ( I would have pay if I knew). I don't play as much games a I used to but this one brought me back to the good old days of loosing sense of time (go to bed a 4:00AM.......... I am sure the last timw I checked, 10 min ago, it was 11:00PM). Anyway as many people already mentioned this is a sand box game and you do what you want, you REALLY do what you want. I haven't read any guide or forums and this is great as you learn/experience while you wander in the world of Calradia. Of course you die (especially at the begining) a lot for being careless, greedy, etc... And loose everything but you learn from it. I haven't look at the mod community but apparently it's great. I recommend to any player willing to spend a bit of time and effort in learning from it. To tell you how much I like Mount & Bade, this is my first review ever and I played a lot of games... Buy it! Play it! Enjoy it!

Bought - and played - this game (and Warband) many years ago, and really enjoyed it. But I quickly got distracted playing all the new stuff I bought, so my skills and quests didn't advance much. Very recently, I saw this title referenced somewhere, so I came back to see where I'd left off. And... well... I think I'll stay for a while. Having now played so many games with advanced graphics, interfaces, and story-lines (I finally built a sick, gaming PC), I've really come to appreciate the simpler, more straight-forward design, interface, and fighting dynamics of Mount & Blade (which now runs at 100+fps). In its day and time, M&B had some of the best sword-fighting and horse-riding dynamics of most games. I feel they still hold up very well, and provide some believable, challenging, and satisfying encounters and game-play. Pretty impressive for a game released in 2008!

I would be ashamed to admit how many hours of my life I’ve wasted on this game. And yet, theoretically, there’s nothing to recommend it: the graphics weren’t even considered good in their time, the RPG elements are thin (character development is somewhat simple; the number of quests is few, and their constant repetition is tiresome; the NPCs that join you are essentially just basic soldiers). Still, there are two factors that make it impossible for me to ever get bored with it. One is the combat: I’ve never enjoyed swordplay and archery as much in any other game, and while the controls are easy to learn, they are also versatile, and they demand (yes, demand!) that the player themselves become more skilled. The other is the battles and sieges, where you have to command armies made up of various troop types and emerge victorious, all while not observing from a bird’s-eye view but directing the action from the battlefield itself. In short: despite its flaws, the game always lurks on my computer, waiting for me to feel the urge to crack a few skulls again.

This game is amazing. It might not have a main story but the possibilities and playstyles will keep you hooked. Excellent gameplay and fighting mechanics, interesting rpg elements and well thought out relations system with the characters, towns and factions. It requires some getting used to but once you get the hang of it prepare to "lose" some days of your life. If you have to chose you can skip this one and play Warband instead which is the same game but improved in many aspects, I just had this one for free so I gave it a go and don't regret a thing! Also I recommend getting some tips before starting the game to have a better experience. If you like Medieval - RPG - Sandbox type games this is a must!