Recent reviews by Knight.Wiggles

Blinded by Nostalgia.
10 / 10..

2021
Brief Updated Review:

Player numbers are dwindling but, you will still find a game. Combat is still fun and rewarding. Class creation system is great and keeps me invested. No Micro-transactions. You will get curb stomped by some players who probably have not put the game down since release. I play purely for the chaos of frontline and invasion (Both objective games). 40 vs 40 games when the servers are somewhat full. If you have a poor internet connection, then you probably want to avoid this game as a spike in your ping can be fatal. This game will drop new players and old players together, but it is probably for the best (See full updated review for my reasoning). Finally, players have had a few server stability issues.

Overall, still fun if you do not care about your kill/death ratio. Come for the chaos and class creation system. You will get better and not fall for feints eventually, took me a lot of time. I really hope this game gets a spike in popularity as it is a great game.


Full updated review:

I reviewed this back in 2019 and some of my points still stand, but I thought I should update it since a fair bit has changed. I was level 22 when I first wrote the review and as of when I add this, I am sitting at level 80.

To start off this game is still great, I have been coming back to Mordhau through out the years and have seen the best of what the game has to offer and the worst of it. It is a difficult game to get back into as you will get that high level player that will wipe out the server. I am level 80 with 300+ hours but you can find players who are at level 200 and it is a slow levelling process.

New players and old players:

You may think it is bad for an experienced player and a new player to be thrown together and well… it is but the active player numbers are not exactly high.

How Chivalry (the game that Mordhau is based off) handle new players was it gave those level 1 – 15 their own server to learn. This was great but high-level players would just create a smurf accounts so they could join those games. Also, when you hit level 16 you were dropped with everyone else and at that point players had far more advanced techniques. Level 1 – 15 on Chivalry was a chaotic mess of luck. Whereas 16+ was a lot of feinting, avatar abuse, ect.
So, it is probably for the best that new players and old players are put together. As they will learn a lot faster.
(I welcome feedback on this topic as it is what discourages new players from enjoying themselves on Mordhau)

Closing thoughts:

Appreciate all feedback I have been giving never expected a review to do this well. I want Mordhau to stand the test of time as it is fun and great to comeback to. Probably gave the impression that the game is dying. I would love to be wrong, but I am finding myself using the server browser to find fuller games instead of pressing quickplay. I took a break around patch 18 – 19 and came back January of 2021 so it feels like a lot has happened in Mordhau in these past 3 months.

2019
For existing players:

Yes, it is rage inducing. Yes, that sword did hit you. "How?" very easily, you didn't block it. Player with maul wondering how they lost to a player with a training sword? All weapons are different. Each with their own speeds. Yes, some weapons hit harder than others. Some are longer than others and yes that guy on your team blind firing the catapult DOES deserve to die, no one will blame you if that player was to disappear.

You must accept that 80% of the time, you are the one who messed up. There is that 20% due to internet connectivity and sometimes lack of hit registration (Seen players complain but never happened to me).

If you ever struggle when playing, try out third person. You might find yourself surviving 3 vs 1 encounters. Also, try to create custom classes and look at the weapon stats. Also, there is an offline mode you can use to practise against AI.

For potential buyers:

If you anger easily or prone to rage quit, then this game isn't for you.

It is rage inducing and you will question half the hits you take/inflict. But in a 32 vs 32 match it is very chaotic. Allies and enemies charging into one another and then immediately stopping because they really want to protect their Kill Death ratio. That lute player somehow playing Metallica... There is a lot to take in. A load of unique classes as well as a class creation system. You want to have 3 lutes on your person at all time? Go for it.

Gameplay:

The weapon combat is great using your mouse and avatar to make swings hit faster or slower. The various strengths of each weapons. For example, spears are better at stabbing than for swinging. Weapons will collide with surfaces which will stop their momentum. Parry’s and feints are available allowing you to psyche out your opponent. Armour affects your movement and overall damage you can take. Armour is located on three areas: Head, Torso and Legs. There is chambering which I do not fully understand and most of the time I’m to mystified by it to realise I should strike back.
You can create your own class which is a ton of fun. The system works by having a limited amount of points and every item costing points dependant on strength of item. There is medical equipment you can carry that helps survivability of you or your team. There’s an engineer class that lets you build fortification (Only in specific areas) and ballistae. Engineer tools are available for create your own class. You also have access to perks when creating classes. Bows I do not personally use. Prefer to swing a sword in a hazardous environment than shoot from a safe distance. There’s probably a lot of information I’ve missed, feel free to fact check me.

Extra (Just things):


There are 3 stages you will go through when fighting larger skirmishes with your allies in MORDHAU.

Stage 1: "I'll just use stabs and therefore, won't hurt my allies!"

Stage 2: "Whoops sorry! Didn't mean to hit you there!"

Stage 3: "Why are you standing within axe-swinging distance?!?! Do you have a death wish?!?"

If you see a lute player on the opposite team. Let them pass, they’re likely late for their gathering and deserve the right of way.

Now the player base is divided personality wise. You have the tryhards which every game must be a win otherwise the game is ♥♥♥♥. The casual players who will emote and are more likely to be friendly. You will have the new players who can often be found wondering to parts unknown and endangering the wild life (Other players with their dam catapults). You also get the team killing for horses or siege equipment. I like horse as much as anyone, but I’ll dismount for class with a longer weapon than mine and of course if they… ASK! Yea, no one ask for anything and just expects you to know better? Players complain when they’re killed by anything. I had a guy complain after I killed him with his own throwing axe. Not all players are like this, but you only notice the annoying ones who team kill, disrupt funny moments, etc…

The community… Most are ok… But holy crap do players get mad. Either I didn’t notice it before or Crossroads has unleashed MORDHAU players inner demons. I’m no angel, I get mad too. Holy crap though, Toxic as all hell some days. However, there are a few funny players that make it worthwhile. On Grad me and an opponent took turns firing the ballista, it was surprisingly civil. I would fire, step away then he would fire and ect.

Also, lute players are still alive and well. I’m disappointed in the backstabbing ones though…

Feel free to correct me on any points.

Appreciate you reading this version.

(Disclaimer I’ve played Borderlands on the Xbox 360 so some knowledge is from that. On PC I played only one-character Mordecai because of sniper and revolver proficiencies boost)

Borderlands story had so much potential. All you are told is that a vault exists for you to open and you must make your way to it, that’s it. The ending is a disappointment (funny enough they mention that in the intro to Borderlands 2). I know people might question this and its mainly due to pacing. Through the story I was doing all optional quests and I only remember being told by the angel at Fyrestone I need to open the vault and get better equipped "For the journey ahead" and after all the gun play I remember going to a character called "Tannis" who knew of the vault's key and finally the ending where I was opening a vault. I imagine this is what most players can recall too.

However, I enjoyed looting weapons and finding better gear. I enjoyed doing the challenges, levelling up weapon proficiencies. Also found turning in multiple objectives at once to be satisfying (maybe I’m just weird). Enemies felt unique and was never bored fighting them. Bosses were fun to fight, most memorable was Sledge and Krom. There was never a class ability I hated, and levelling got addictive.
This game is better in bursts don’t try to complete it in a day as you will burn yourself out.
Playing with friends is fun. However, the game works by “First come first serve” and will often test your willingness to give up information on what guns you got.
Most likely scenario:/ Person 1 “Anything good in that loot box?” / Me “Nope all crap.” / Also Me *Turning into Gollum after finding a 461-damage revolver at level 29* /
As this is a looter/shooter, the shooting mechanics haven’t aged well. Not sure if it is due to me playing modern-day shooters. But I find that most headshots would miss 50% of the time because of hit boxes. Found myself shoving a sniper barrel down an enemy’s throat before it did any damage. It is an old game, so I just accepted it and moved on.

Overall, there was little to no story apart from the small pockets you were given on logs and quest acceptance or completion. Also, it does get tedious when you do a mission in an area then find out you got a new one to do there but that’s to be expected (This is when I found myself experience burnout). However, the looting is addictive and going through the game once you got a good weapon was fun. Given the games age I would still recommend getting this even for a solo experience.

(For those who don't like reading)

Story poor but fun.
Looting is amazing.
Guns look good and act unique.
Gun-play felt poor (Its an older game so I let it slide)
Great art style.
Some interesting characters and encounters.
Will test your friendships and your greed.
Can feel repetitive on objectives.
The game likes to throw enemy gauntlets at you.

Easily recommend if you can forgive the games age.

It's okay I guess...