There are manyhigh-quality medievalfighting simulators that give you plenty of opportunities to take part in wild bloodbaths, frantic sword fights, and spectacularly chaotic battles. Luckily, there are two fantastic titles to choose between —Chivalry 2andMordhau. They are similar in many ways, but actually offer quite distinct experiences when looked at more closely.
Related:Games To Play If You Like Chivalry 2
Triternion’s Mordhau is one of the best games to take on the ever-popular genre and seemed to seize the sword-bashing crown from Chivalry, until the release of Torn Banner Studio’s sizable sequel. Each offers a fantastic time playing, but when all is said and done there is one game that offers just that much more to take the lead.
Combat Mechanics - Chivalry 2
Though both games offer brutal and visceral fist-person combat and have their learning curves, they differ in quite distinct ways. Chivalry 2 aims for a more casual and approachable experience, while Mordhau has further layers of complexity. Both have directional blocking, but Mordhau’s blocking system is more unforgiving and requires tighter timing to pull off effectively.
Mordhau has a very high skill ceiling, which will funnel you into specific playstyles and movement exploits to adhere to the meta laid out by the community. Although its increased difficulty can lead to higher rewards, it’s quite a bitharder for the newer players among youto feel like you have a fair chance.
Chivalry 2 is more forgiving, as it allows you to hold down the block button, and is more focused on preserving your stamina meter. Because of this, you can more likely take on multiple enemies and come out the victor, which is much harder to pull off in Mordhau. Its simpler and more arcadey approach to combat results in a smaller skill gap between its players, and is therefore more beginner-friendly.
The better combat experience is a subjective choice and is dependent on what you’re looking for specifically. In regard to having a more accessible appeal and being able to immediately grab a wider variety of players, Chivalry 2 just takes the edge over Mordhau here, though it is down to your preference.
Customisation - Mordhau
For some, being able to kit out your bloodthirsty medieval avatars in whichever way you see fit is half the fun. Luckily both games offer extensive armour, weapon, and character customisation to satisfy the Middle Ages cosplayer within us all.
Chivalry 2 opts for a class-based system, where perks and weapon types are locked to a specific loadout depending on the class and subclass you’re playing as. There is a degree of choice when picking your starting arsenal, as there are multiple primary and secondary weapons of the same type within each class to try out. This allows for more balance in multiplayer and prevents people from spamming the same weapons and gear over and over — though it can feel a little limiting.
Related:Mordhau: Best Swords, Ranked
On the other hand, Mordhau opts for a much more flexible approach to its customisation, allowing you to freely pick and choose any armour, weapons or gear for your character. You are only limited by how you choose to spend the points you have earned through playing the game. This allows you to create more unique builds that fit your playstyle, without any limits to the weapons and armour you would like to take with you out on the battlefield. you’re able to be the knight in shining armour you always wanted to be.
Both games offer cosmetic customisation options for weapons and armour, allowing you to experiment with different colour combinations, sigils and armour pieces to make your character your own. Mordhau goes the extra mile in this regard, with a fully-fledged character creator and a much wider variety of armour pieces to try out. In regards to class, gear, and cosmetics customisation options, Mordhau clearly wins here.
Game Modes - Mordhau
When it comes to multiplayer game modes, there’s quite a lot of overlap between Mordhau and Chivalry 2. They both contain 64 and 40-player team objective modes, and also include team deathmatch, free-for-all, duels, and last team standing game modes. Mordhau has more options for competitive play, offering a ranked version of its flagship modes, whereas Chivalry 2 does not.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is Mordhau’s interestingPvE horde mode. Here you’re able to team up with friends and practice your hand-to-hand combat skills against waves of increasingly difficult bot enemies. Mordhau also has the advantage of extensive support from the modding community, which has contributed to its lasting longevity and success.
Chivalry 2’s Torn Banner Studios have promised more modding support down the line, but currently have a bit less to offer regarding modes and content. Despite giving a much more in-depth and detailed look at its lore and the battle between the game’s two warring factions, Mordhau simply has more depth to its content and modes.
Maps - Chivalry 2
Regarding scale, both games have large maps that offer huge 64-player battles and smaller objective-based skirmishes, but they go about it in different ways. Mordhau’s launch maps show their age compared to its more streamlined additions later on. It has taken a more open-ended approach to its map design, meaning that you need to be a lot more thoughtful about how you tackle your objectives. You are meant to pick your battles wisely and look for smaller skirmishes on the sidelines to stay alive for longer.
Related:Chivalry 2: All Maps, Ranked
Chivalry 2 does a much better job of conveying a huge sense of scale in the game’s gorgeously realised and diverse set of battlefields, castles and overrun towns. It’s a bit more linear than what you would find in Mordhau, but it does a better job of funnelling your team to the objective and makes things feel a lot more chaotic and fun. It all looks absolutely stunning too, with beautiful textures, fantastic lighting and inspired art design that brings thisfantasy medieval setting to life. Chivalry 2’s map designs are more fun than Mordhau’s and offer more gameplay variety and better visual flair.
Support From Developers - Chivalry 2
Inspired by the first Chivalry’schaotic sword-slashing multiplayer, Triternion created a small team of developers for Mordhau, to satisfy their desire for more skill-based first-person sword combat. They ultimately achieved their vision to great success, but as a fairly small and inexperienced development studio, support and updates for the game have been very few and far between since launch.
Torn Banner Studios have been consistently updating Chivalry 2 with large content drops periodically since its launch. Each expansion has brought a plethora of new maps, modes, weapons and factions, with the promise of more to come in the future.
Winner - Chivalry 2
Both games are fantastic first-person medieval slashers, offering large objective-based maps, satisfyingly visceral combat mechanics and endless hours of chaotic entertainment. There is something to love about both titles, but when push comes to shove, the better overall package is Chivalry 2. Despite Mordhau’s superior customisation and more refined combat mechanics, the higher skill ceiling creates a larger gap in the player base, which can be off-putting for beginners.
Chivalry 2 simply has more polish in every other area. It’s a joy to sprint into battle against the backdrop of its gorgeously realised blood-soaked battlefields. The more forgiving approach to its combat empowers newcomers to pile into the fray without too much hesitance. It all makes for giant battles full of real players all screaming blood-curdling war cries at the top of their lungs as they wack the nearest cowardly archer with a stray fish. It is a stupendously silly bloodbath, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
