Recent reviews by Hellbeholder

Before Season 5 dropped, I had unlocked every other cosmetic available in the game, including all other DLC packs.

Did I really need another set of armors?

Nah, not at all...

...

This game has been dead for years.
It's still better than OW2.

I never had a more complicated love-hate relationship with a game, than with For Honor.

For the record, I'm having much more actual playtime in this game than Steam shows. I have been playing it on and off since launch over at Ubisoft, on PC and console. Seen all the updates, all the heroes, how it was before the CCU and before the servers, yadayada. All combined, I'm probably around 1.2k hours. That being said, I finally decide to give it a thumbs down and warn anyone that still hasn't played this game – When you're a competitive person and value your psyche; stay away. This game will most likely make you mad, yell in frustration, stomp the ground and make you feel embarrassed for acting like an upset little boy.

To give this review somewhat of a game-play perspective – There's a fundamental design flaw in the combat system I'm simply not willing to tolerate anymore. The system is designed around 1v1 encounters. And at that, it actually works wonderfully. Duels feel great, to make it short. Yet, most of the popular game modes, including special events, and most of the quests you receive to grind currency want you to participate in those, are made for 4v4. Meaning you're often in a 1vX situation, that completely breaks the entire system. Buggy animations, wrong hit registrations, weird recoveries, etc. A great encounter with an enemy on the battlefield, that is a wonderful back and forth duel amid the chaos of soldiers fighting and catapults firing, can be ruined by a teammate rushing in, hitting the enemy's block like a maniac and letting them pop Revenge, basically letting them do whatever they want. So, you're forced to disengage before getting finished off, or both of you get downed. Great, thanks teammate. In SIX years of this game existing, the player-base has still not learned how to handle these situations. It has always been like this, it has always been frustrating, but everything revolving around the Revenge mechanic is just absolute nonsense, even after several iterations and reworks of it. It ruins the combat system, but they can't do anything about it because the 4v4s are the main focus of the game.

When you're into this type of hybrid fighting game, For Honor is one of the most beautiful prostitutes you have ever seen. Elegant, good looking, so much to enjoy. Her wardrobe is huge, she can put on whatever look you desire. If she lets you, she handles well and classy. And trust me, the beginning will be some really lovely hours of fun.
But sooner than later, you'll find out that she's a very, very harsh mistress. The gentle facade fades. And suddenly she will CBT you, even when you didn't ask for it. Usually, you're not into it. It hurts! Like, really bad. But for whatever reason, something that is hard to explain... You keep on coming back to her. She twists and turns you to her will, makes you addicted, you come back, over and over, and get your daily dose of painful “fun”, if you can call it that.
Because even if you're winning a match in For Honor, you're always losing anyway.
After every session you go “Why am I still doing this to myself?!” You don't know. She doesn't care.
One day, maybe you'll be able to set yourself free. “No more, For Honor!” you'll yell into her face. “I'm done! I won't take this from you anymore and leave this abusive relationship!” And she shrugs and you part ways. At first it feels liberating. But the memory lingers... She'll always be in the back of your head. After some time it'll make you think, man, maybe she has changed over the past months? Maybe I was doing something wrong? I don't know. So, out of curiosity, you go look at her again. And she has a lot of new toys. And new stuff in her wardrobe. And like a moth to the flame you get lulled into her BDSM sweatshop again and receive the same ballbusting treatment you always have.

You hate her so much. But you can't stop loving her.

This power has chosen a new bearer. One, that is now far more powerful than the One Who Waits. Nothing but a hollow husk, chained for an entire millenia, their mind and might has decayed like flesh in the woods of the old faith. Trapped by bishops that fell like pawns to my blade... Pathetic.

Their flocks gathering around me like the weak, mindless critters they are. But with their blind devotion, I nourished this power. With a single glance I break their will. They eat out of my hands as if they were blessed goblets. And gift their life to me when it is my wish.
In just a few weeks I have conquered these woods, have slayn hundreds of heretics, build a commune that towers above the ones that came before it. I do not need the gift of immortality anymore for I have forged it myself.

The One Who Waits believes me their sacrifical lamb, reaping the rewards for what I have sown. But I will make sure the prophecies will be fullfilled and a faith more cruel than a thousand years of imprisonment smites their feeble being.

The red crown cannot sit upon two brows.
And it. Belongs.
To me.

Oh, sorry. My brain simply spend the entire night high on dopamine, creating a super successful grocery store with happy customers and happy employees. It's growing numbers, man... They'll just get you, y'know?

On a serious note tho, for how janky and low-budget the first impression might be, it just works. It works really, really well.
I haven't encountered any intrusive bugs, the UI is easy to learn, there's a huge amount of customisation, the mechanics are just deep enough to really dig in and activate your inner manager, but not too deep to be overwhelmed or frustrated.
It's extremely satisfying when everything clicks into place, more and more customers are rushing in and the registers are simply not stopping... (Sorry Kanerd, you can't have a lunch break anymore, there are too many people buying steaks and beans! I'll give you a raise, tho. Promise.)

It's a big back and forth between a growing flow of income and investing into your store or employees. Props to the devs, you really have something incredible here. And thanks to NL for showing this game to more people.

I need some sleep now...
Well. Maybe just one more day in retail...

I did it.

After 70 hours of playing, I beat Covenant 25.
It's honestly surprising, that I already spend so much time on it... It flew by like nothing.
This game is charming, polished, highly replayable, motivating and extremely addictive.

Do I want to stop playing now?
Tzk. Please.

"Many times, the wrong train took me to the right place."
- Paulo Coelho

Protect. The. Boneshaker.

I'll make this very quick. In the current state, there's no reason to play this over Warband, than maybe an active playerbase for multiplayer.

Waited 8 years to release in EA with terrible performance issues, several UI and game bugs, crashes, mediocre graphics and not a whole lot of new features added. Pretty sure you can make a similar game like Bannerlord just by modding Warband.

Of course it'll get patched. Of course it'll get better. But right now, I refuse to be another ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ beta tester.
Not for 50 bucks!!

Day 278. Radioactive Exclusion Zone. One mile under the broken crust of Hoxxes IV. Another day at the office.

Engineer Crickom emptied his mineral-container in one of Molly's hatches, the trusty robot-mule. As the last chunks of Morkite tumbled down into the insatiable maws, the dwarf emitted a deep sigh of relieve. No speck of dark-green glimmer was left to find. After dusting off his massive brown beard, he activated his headset.

“All Morkite collected, guys. Return button has been activated. Anyone found something left to collect?” Then, the voice of scout Jorig could be heard.
“Negative. I think we got everything.” he spoke with his clear voice. Shortly after, the next transmission came in.
“Nothing here either...” mumbled driller Ruhl. He couldn't be that far away. The engineer looked over to gunner Grohm, who was still searching the walls with his lamps. The cave they were in was illuminated by the green glow of the uranium pillars well enough. Flakes of white dust hovering in the air. Grohm grumbled into his black mustache, walking over to the mule as well, the silence of the past 10 minutes seemed to unsettle him.

“Do it.” he said in his usual rough tone. Crickom nodded to his team-mate and pressed the button. The voice of mission-control was transmitted.
“Good job. Drop pod is on the way. Hang in there.” Then the team heard the familiar rumbling above their heads. Drills eating their way through solid rock. A distant thud came next. The carriage home had arrived.

Some beeping came from Molly as she started to make her way towards the drop pod. A trail of green glowing flares left in her path.
“Follow the mule!” yelled Crickom, his auto-shotgun ready. He jogged after Molly, same as Grohm, leaving deep footprints in the dust under their feet. It didn't take long for Ruhl to catch up as well. His blond, braided beard covering his upper body.
“Where's Jorig?” he asked. Just a moment later, the dwarf in question flew over the three others with the help of his grappling gun.
“See ya', suckers!” His red mane and mustache floating in the wind. Crickom chuckled to that, while Grohm grumbled into his mustache as usual. It was a rare occasion when the gunner-dwarf smiled maybe once in a week.

Another mission-control transmission came in.
“Team! We've got a hell of a blip heading your way! By Karl... They're on a direct intercept course! You better start running!"
Grohm stood still and listened closely. The chatterings of the swarm could already be heard. He looked back into the valley of radiation dessert, and from tunnels and holes a horde of Glyphids started to come towards the three dwarves. Hundreds of them.
“I knew it...” the gunner muttered, taking the last grenade and chucking it down the slope. “Sticky out! Run! Run!!” The grenade landed right in the crowd. The loud boom shook the cave as at least 10 Glyphids were ripped apart. But the mass didn't seem to appear smaller.

The dwarves kept their nerves of steel. All they needed to do was following the mule. But just as they wanted to make their way into a turn, Jorig came back in panic, running into the arms of the engineer.
“Detonator!” the scout cried in shock. Crickom huffed, grabbing Jorig's shoulder.
“Detonator!! The path is blocked!” As the team gasped, the dwarves heard the proof for this claim. The deep, rumbling gurgle of a massive monster was echoing through the cavern. Approaching slowly on it's giant claws, a mutation of glowing blisters. All four checked the ammo count on their weapons. Not enough.

Crickom's mind started to race. His eyes darted towards Ruhl and the driller nodded full of resolve, taking the hand-drills of his back.
“No path is blocked for me!” he grumbled, running towards the wall, his drills gnawing at the granite.
“This way!” he yelled over his shoulder. The fuel had to be enough to get to the drop pod. It just had to. The other three dwarves followed him quickly.

Grohm was the last in line and started walking backwards. The barrel of his minigun staring down the hole they came from. The noises of the Glyphids drew closer.
“They won't get passed me.” he shouted. And just as the first ugly mug of one of the creatures was showing, his trusty firearm started to spin up before shooting. A stream of molten lead firing down the small tunnel, the roar of death echoing from the narrow walls. The insects were blown apart by the high-caliber rounds like paper. But no matter how many of these creatures were ripped to shreds, they just kept on coming. Crawling over the remains of their dead brethren.

Jorig supported by mounting his assault rifle on Grohm's shoulder, shooting down the hallway. His magazine was quickly emptied but as he reached out to reload – he had nothing left on his belt.
“I'm out!” he yelled. But he saw the number on the gunner's cannon dwindling as well. He changed positions with Crickom, who started unloading his auto-shotgun into the tunnel. They were killing dozens and dozens of Glyphids. A river of empty shells was tumbling down the slope of the tunnel. But there was no end to them.

Suddenly, the roars of the high-caliber ammunition were silenced. Grohm was out of ammo. He threw the minigun to his feet and pulled out his side-arm to continue shooting.
“Ruhl! Go faster! Faster, by Karl!” he screamed. But Ruhl couldn't hear him. He was concentrating on his task.
“Almost there...” Ruhl said to himself. The monsters closing in further and further.
“Alright, last shield going up!” Grohm huffed, pulling the shield generator from his back and placing it down. Quickly the field of crackling energy expanded from it, going through the dwarves. But as soon as the Glyphids were pressed against it, they screeched in terror. They couldn't get passed the barrier, and since more monsters were still swarming from behind, the ones in front were crushed to death. Now they had 8 seconds to get to the drop pod.

“Drop pod departing in one minute.” mission-control said through his mic. But just in that moment, the last layer of rock crumbled under the might of the driller's machines and the dwarves were blinded by the spotlights of the drop pod. The ramp going right towards them for the most welcoming invite they could've imagined right.
“We're through, go!” screamed Jorig over his team-mates, as the shield generator's energy dwindled and the creatures jump-started their assault.

Just as Grohm wanted to turn around, a ball of orange goo landed between his left shoulder and neck. The aggressive substance started to eat away at his armor, skin and most importantly... beard. An Acid Spitter had hit him. Screaming the dwarf fell on his back.
“I'm hit!” he grumbled loudly. The other dwarves already being several feet away.
“Just go!” Grohm screamed behind him. The first Glyphids were almost at his feet. This is it, he thought. A place in the honor hall.

Next, Grohm could feel the hands of his brethren on his shoulders, pulling him backwards onto the drop pod-ramp.

“Leave no dwarf behind.” said Crickom.
“Leave no dwarf behind...” mumbled Ruhl.
“Leave no dwarf behind!” yelled Jorig.

Strengthened by the loyalty of his team, Grohm regained his fighting spirit. The next grunt was greeted by a kick from his heavy boot, breaking it's jaw. The mass of insects started to spill from the small tunnel into the cavern, spreading out like a flood of water.

“Drop pod departing in 3... 2... 1... Heading for orbit.” Mission-control announced over the speakers. The massive steel doors sealing the drop pod shut. The contraption made it's way back where it came from. Leaving the darkness of Hoxxes IV behind. Guided back to Space Rig 17.

Grohm was laying on the ground, the light of the passenger cabin shining right into his face, as Crickom kneeled to his side, tending to his wounds. The gunner reached out to take a firm hold of his shoulder's friend, a gentle smile on his face.

“Rock and stone. Brother.”

I used to really enjoy this game some patches ago, put quite some time into it. Figuring out cool synergies between units, alliances and items that were really satisfying to pull off and watch. And thus – you were actually able to win games with some skill involved. “Just one more round!” as you could just relax and watch a video on the side or something.

But now it has become a total crap-shoot. A lot of interesting perks or items have been removed or reworked so that they're only meh. Same go's for the alliances, which all have been nerfed, to not be more than nice side effects instead of game changers. The rng feels way heavier than in the beginning, so that even when you play the same exact powerful build you figured out for yourself, you can still be knocked out almost last. Because not only the items and units are randomized, the fights feel rng as well. Your most powerful unit could attack an important target to win the round... Or they simply won't.

Since that one reworking patch some time ago I've been dropping from Lieutenant lvl4 to Lieutenant lvl1 and been stuck there ever since, simply because I keep on getting knocked out almost last for a lot of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ reasons. It's simply really unfun when you have a complete team of quite competent units with a 'good' set of alliances and still get steam-rolled for seemingly random reasons.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should recommend this game for a very long time. I struggled A LOT to really understand what was going on with the advanced mechanics in this game. But at this point I have over 140 hours in it and I can finally say that I'm probably out of the rookie stage. Don't get me wrong, there are still moments where I see a very skilled enemy and I simply don't understand how they're able to pull the stuff off they're doing, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

Let me just say right off the bat – No, this game is not as bad as Chivalry in the combat department. I've seen a lot of people saying something like that but it really isn't. Mordhau has limits to your swings, so that you can't turn around in full speed and do reversed overheads. Yes, some accels and drags still look a little wonky but not nearly as bad as in Chiv.

This game is still hard, though. Very, very hard. And not only because there are a lot of players who are able to outplay you of course, but also because there are a lot of mechanics to constantly keep in mind while doing combat in Mordhau. You need to learn, practice and push these mechanics into your muscle memory to perform something that could be described as “good.”

And because there are so many little things to keep track off, it makes the combat so interesting. The angle of your attack, morphs, feints, chambers, accels, drags, parry timing, combos, ducking, positioning and movement are the main things you have to keep in mind for yourself, and your enemy, at all times while fighting in this game. The initial basics are not that big of a deal, but getting deeper and deeper into it and mastering these aspects, is what takes a lot of time but makes it rewarding in the end.

What's also very rewarding and fun is the progression system. For your performance on the battlefield you're awarded with gold, which you can spend on new weapons or armors, creating custom loadouts to build the knight of your dreams. It's also balanced quite well, you never get too much or too less gold. The main bulk of the weapons is also balanced well enough, there are more which are under-powered than over-powered right now. But the devs keep track, seem very dedicated to their project and do their best to adjust and patch.

The presented game-modes are totally fine, imo. Frontline is a objective-based, huge clusterfrick where hordes of players can clash against each other. TDM is what you expect. Skirmish is last-man-standing in teams. Deathmatch is ffa, but there are a lot of duel-servers where you can do 1v1. The Hordemode can be fun with friends and for some reason there's even a Battle Royale mode... Those modes are more than enough for a fighting game like Mordhau. Although, I would enjoy real 1v1 arenas for competitive play in the future.

So the combat is fun, progression is nice, price is low... What's not to like?

For example, the maps. Some of them are just so badly designed, it hurts every time they get voted. Some are unbalanced towards teams, so that red has an advantage over blue, or vise versa. Some are simply too small for the amount of players on them, so everything is totally cramped. Some are way too large, even for the most amount of players, so that you have to run endlessly to get to the next fight. In addition, they suffer quite a lot from bad geometry so that your knight can get stuck on the smallest of ledges. Oh, and you can clip into terrain here and there, which can be exploited by trolls to shoot you with a mounted crossbow from within a wall. Not cool.

On some maps you can ride horses. Horses are not fun to deal with since the player riding them gets an extreme damage boost to all their attacks, even when they just go slowly. Getting them off the horse is also pretty hard. Something else, on a personal note, I don't enjoy the ability to spam emotes via keybindings. Constant screaming and mad giggling around me can be very distracting and annoying. You can aim at a player and mute them manually, but there's no way in the options to do that generally yet. I hope they add this soon...

Oh, and of course there's the whole argument and controversy about toxicity going on. Yes, some players can be trolls, very toxic, spam the n-word in chat and so on... But you can mute or votekick them if it gets too extreme. And to be honest, a single match of LoL is more toxic than what I've experienced in Mordhau yet.



So, all in all I do recommend Mordhau as a medieval fighting game. It's a project of passion with active devs for a small price which can entertain and motivate you for a long time. However, I will say it's probably better picking it up to try sooner than later. As it is natural for most games, the playerbase is slowly declining... And with not enough new players coming in, late newcomers will have a hard time playing against advanced fighters.