Here is my review of this game after 45 hours.
I highly recommend this game, and i believe it to be one of the best medieval combat games ever. The devs are actively adding content, and the game even now has plenty of content to justify its price. If you're still not sure about it you can try what the game has to offer within the 2 hours steam gives you to try games. I beat the progression mode within 10 hours. but have kept coming back for another 35 hours to continue playing because of how addicting it is. The AI is intelligent, They don't feel like they're too defensive or offensive. and when you get into the more armored ranks you have to start thinking about what will work to take someone down. which is also why some people dislike it. Overall this game is a solid 8/10.
None of this is organized from least to most important but its all valid criticism[look at bottom] and suggestion.
• Matches close to your rank are all the way down at the bottom when talking to the Jester. It's kind of annoying, and I wish it were the opposite, since I feel most players do play at their rank. This is something that's only mildly annoying, mainly because I've already put 40 hours into the game, and most of that has been at Lord Tier.
• I can't tell if this is already done, at least it hasn't been noticeable, but I really wish that with the riots, the average armor level would go up. At Lord Tier, they're still fighting you with regular shirts, so if you have anything even mildly sharp, you can kind of just flail around and kill all of them. It would be nice if they at least had something like a gambasone, foulds, or standart. I do like that there's usually one guy who has some armor, but I do wish that as your rank went up, the enemies didn't stay the same. Not enough that they're actual dangers, but enough that I have to take a second to think about where I actually want to slash them. Or maybe just enough of a threat that I don't want to get completely surrounded, so that I have to think about movement.
• I do wish that the weaponsmith could edit your weapons once he's created them. I think it's kind of dumb that you're completely locked out of editing a weapon once it's made.
For the armorer, I believe the game says "Craft Armor" so I assume that in the future you're going to add the ability to make armor. However, I really hope that you all don't also make that cost only coins. This might just be me, but I wouldn't mind having to scavenge from the battlefield, stealing armor and weapons and taking them to the armorer so he can melt them down. Then, you could get a material out of them to make armor with. Or you could have some other way to do it, such as looting ingots from chests.
I just feel like if the only currency in this game is coins, it kind of gets repetitive. I also really hope that in the future, different armor colors correspond to actual metals. For example, iron would actually be iron and give the respective protective properties, while something like blue steel would be steel and cost accordingly.
• I saw on a Steam post that the Baron's armor is made out of something called Fire Steel, and that's why it's so lightweight. I don't know if that's actually true at all, but I would like it if it were. I would love it if, after you beat the Baron, you had the ability to use that Firesteel, but of course you'd have to kill the Baron over and over to get enough armor to melt down and obtain enough material. Also, having the ability to craft armor would actually show you the differences between each piece. It's taken me about 40 hours to realize that there are significantly more protective pauldrons that I had just not noticed.
• One other thing, and I think this is a glitch. some armor pieces, when being customized, don't actually change. For example, certain cuisses have buckles that do not change color. I also wish that we had more color changing parts rather than it just being the base color and the attachment colors. Since the knee guards are built into the cuisses, you can't change their color.
• About the Abyss: I do like the zombies. I think they are hard enough but also weak enough. They are a different enough challenge from the normal gameplay that you actually have to learn how to fight them. However, I do think they survive dismemberment way too easily. There have been many times when I have cut off their head but included their collarbone section, and they were still alive. There are minor things like that which I feel as if should kill them but don't. I like the loot in the Abyss. I think it rewards exploring it.
• Moving on to the merchant: in the lower ranks, it feels like a complete waste of money to buy anything from him. The only times that he does have good stuff are usually by the time you've already gotten it. I do wish that I had the ability to actually buy a helmet from him in the lower ranks, but of course at a cost. the number of times I have bought from the merchant in the lower ranks I can count on two hands. I feel like his loot needs to be buffed in the lower ranks, just so that if you want actual armor, you can get it from somewhere in the Tavern. But of course, if your intention is to make armor craftable, then this doesn't apply.
• I would really like to be able to sheath my greatsword on the back of my chest plate. I see the buckle on the back of some chest plates, and I just really hope that in the future, that ends up being where you can slot a weapon.
• I really wish that enemies in the higher ranks had more dangerous weapons. It's a well known fact that custom weapons are significantly stronger than the ones you'll find, and I wish that your enemies, as you got higher in the ranks, also got more custom weapons. That way, when they hit you, it actually does damage, meaning you would need to learn how to block or parry them, rather than just putting on as much plate as you can and running at them. The only real enemy that has a more dangerous weapon is the Baron, but I wish that champions had that as well.
• I love that when you die and create another character, the stuff left in the chest stays there. I have seen a lot of complaints about that and about ensuring that things carry over even when you die with the armor on. However, PLEASE keep that. I think it's important that players who struggle with this game won't always have to start from 0.
• It would also be nice to have a replay mode, so that when I get a good slice, I can go back and watch it from another angle rather than just from my POV.
• Now for my largest complaint: None of the controls are actually listed or taught to you.
The ability to loot enemies is never explained. The ability to halfsword your greatsword is never explained. The ability to mordhau is also never mentioned. There is so much about this game that, if I had never gone on YouTube and searched it up, I would not know.
I understand if it may be your vision for the player to learn this stuff on their own, but that's kind of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ annoying. I spent 30 hours in this game before I realized I could do a Mordhau. I spent 20 hours in this game before I realized I could halfsword. I'm only just now learning about the more technical aspects of being able to switch your guard.
This is stuff that, as developers, you have failed to inform your players about. I am certain that there are many bad reviews because people do not realize they are able to do these things.
For the love of God, all you need to include is just a tiny little booklet that the player can read that explains all of the different sword techniques. If a player has to go to YouTube to find out how to play the game, YOU HAVE FAILED AS A DEVELOPER.
I apologize for how heated this part of my review has been, and it does not reflect my overall opinion of the game. However, had I known those controls from the start, I would have significantly enjoyed this game more, and it is unfortunate that I was not able to.
