The slash, stab, and overhead strike attacks aren't rigid animations. The casual atmosphere somewhat belies Chivalry 2's complex and challenging melee combat system.

It's possible to win a one-on-three, and it feels like being Henry Cavill's Geralt in the scene where he gets the 'butcher' moniker.

It was my platform for a while, and I want it back. One map features a central platform surrounded by a pit, and for no reason other than that it's there, players love standing on it and defending it like an American Gladiator. I prefer the slightly calmer 40-player servers for team deathmatch, and free-for-all is always a mess, but I was surprised to find that it works. (Image credit: Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Entertainment)Ĭooperation in team deathmatch is even looser, and obviously doesn't exist in free-for-all. Instead, it's a low-pressure game in which you can casually focus on individual performance (yeah, yeah, it's about the objectives, but we all hit Tab to look at our K/D ratios after every death). Games with smaller teams, such as Rocket League or Rainbow Six Siege, are the best gaming experiences I've had with friends, whereas I don't feel like pulling friends in would improve Chivalry 2, except maybe if we organized dueling parties on empty servers. Like Battlefield games, though, most teamwork in Chivalry 2 is incidental-you're all just trying to do the same objective, or kill the same guys, though now and then you have the opportunity to revive someone or intervene when they're outnumbered. Even when my team and I are just screaming and rushing toward an objective as the clock ticks down, though, I feel a kinship that I don't get from the Battlefield games.

Most directly, you can hit a key to send a commendation to the player who just killed you if you think they got you good, and I enjoy giving those out sparingly. I usually keep text chat off (it does attract some annoying players), but each match feels like a conversation anyway, or a bunch of little ones. Like Rocket League, which has also spawned some idiosyncratic player behavior (look up 'Rule 1'), Chivalry 2 is about a love for the game as much as winning it.

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