MORDHAU (Xbox) Review

After surveying some of the user reviews on the Xbox store for MORDHAU it was a little bit of a mixed bag as some players reported issues with freezing and lag. However, I am happy to report these have been fixed very quickly and during my review, I experienced very little issue-wise. Other users have reported low player counts across the game and while servers don’t seem rammed to the brim, during the day in the UK I have had no trouble finding populated matches. Many will draw direct comparisons to the Chivalry games and after the success of Chivalry 2 on consoles, it is extremely difficult not to stack the two side by side since they bear so many similarities. It isn’t until you get the game in your hands though that you’ll find a vast difference between the two.

MORDHAU has been on PC for over four years now. However, as someone who doesn’t really play games on PC, I was totally unaware of the existence of the game until it landed on Xbox this week. With over 88,000 reviews averaging a very positive rating on Steam I was very keen to check this one out as I love anything with medieval vibes, especially when it comes to competitive multiplayer action. I don’t want to keep drawing direct comparisons to Chivalry 2 during this review but what I will say is that this game caters to the more serious player whereas Chivalry 2 is far more suited to the more casual out there. That isn’t to say casual players won’t have fun here, I actually prefer the experience here and as I lead into the gameplay elements you’ll see why.

Gameplay

I fully recommend that you force yourself to play MORDHAU‘s tutorial first. This will take approximately 20 minutes of your time But here you’ll learn how to attack, parry, and kick along with combination attacks and different ways of slaying your enemies. You’ll also learn how to use a bow and arrow, engage in horse combat, how to destroy and build along with firing catapults at enemy lines. You’ll quickly realise that MORDHAU is easily the most serious game in the genre and requires patience, precision and planning to get right. I will mention Chivalry 2 one more time in this instance because in that game you can get by running head first into battle swinging whichever weapon you choose and still get results. Doing this here though will result in instant death if you’re not careful.

Combat & Weapons

There are of course different classes to choose from, all with their own unique weaponry such as single-handed and two-handed swords, maces, axes and more. If you prefer going at it from a distance, of course, you can blend into the background with a bow and arrow. What I really liked about MORDHAU is that players are far more cautious in their approach and mindset. You don’t have 64 players all in one cluster waving swords about in an attempt to get a lucky strike. Attacking is all about timing and striking with purpose.

You can feign horizontal and vertical slashes and go for a stab or the conventional parry and attack. It was a struggle to grasp at first against more experienced players but by god, the combat was super satisfying when it landed right. You do have to be mindful of your personal health and stamina. Run out of energy and you’re going to succumb to death pretty quickly, so learning when to back off a bit was also fun.

Levelling System & Stats

I am a statistics junkie when it comes to gaming, especially with online multiplayer games. I like to know how many kills, deaths, captures and my entire history on a game. I was delighted to see that there is a section on the menus solely dedicated to all of this information. Levelling is very straightforward and is experience-based but the fact that there are 200 levels to work through will give the most dedicated players plenty to work through.

Lots of Modes

If you’re fed up with playing against real enemies online, there is the option to set up local matches. While I didn’t test this feature it is cool that it’s there. There are region-based servers which you can filter through. If you’re a night owl, like me, then you may be pushed towards the American side of the pond to find players. However, the server browser takes that work away and you can flick through whatever games are running at the time.

When it comes to modes, there seem to be plenty, Frontline was one of my personal favourites. This was like a mini conquest/domination style mode where you fight to capture certain areas of each map. Invasion was very simplistic with the task of one team attacking and the other defending. There is also a horde mode which caters as a PvE mode and you can have 1-6 players fighting co-operatively against waves of AI enemies. If you die during combat, you have to sit and spectate for a minute before your friends can revive you back into the fight. There are lots of weapons and strategies here to help you try and plough through 25 waves.

Graphics & Audio

There is a variance of maps and arenas that will rotate through the modes and I’d estimate there to be about 12-16 overall. There is enough variety filtering through to play around different environments and each is really well-designed with high vantage points and lower platforms. Feitoria was probably one of my favourite maps with different choke points if you wanted to get stuck into scuffles with groups. Visually everything is really well presented and while it doesn’t push the Series X to its limits, the performance I experienced was pretty smooth which was surprising given those early user reviews. Graphics may come across as a little dated to some since the port across is four years old, we were still in the Xbox One era then so it is acceptable to expect nothing more.

When it comes to audio it appeared very minimal in my opinion. There doesn’t appear to be any in-game music across the menus or gameplay sections. The sound effects were OK but I would have loved to have seen a little more work done on footsteps as I was caught off guard from behind in some quieter areas. As a whole though, everything in the sound department does the job, but could be better in areas and doesn’t hamper the gameplay much.

Overall, MORDHAU is well worth picking up if you’re into the genre and enjoyed other similar medieval-based combat games. The basic edition of the game will set you back £31.99 which in all honesty is a reasonable price and it isn’t much cheaper currently on PC. If you decide to stump for the Gold edition, which is a whopping £49.99, you’ll access some fancy cosmetic outfits and voice packs. While the visuals are perhaps a little dated now as it’s a four-year-old game at heart, it is still a visually pleasing experience with plenty of gore and hours of fun to be had if you want to get into the deep levelling system that comes with the adventure.

Longevity Is The Only Concern

My only concern for the game on consoles is the longevity given there’s no crossplay implemented. The reliance is solely on how many Xbox gamers are on the servers at once and depending on the time zone the player base could spread quite thinly the further down the road the game goes. The server browser will help with this as you’ll always be able to at least locate servers with players, but I do feel Triternion would benefit from seeing if they could bring crossplay between consoles and PC to the board even if it may be a logistical challenge. That said though, I’ll mention Chivalry 2 one final time and state that I had far more fun with MORDHAU even if it doesn’t have as many bells and whistles. The gameplay loop is far more satisfactory and I’d love to see more additions and support to MORDHAU in future.