I’ve been watching my son play Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord for a while now. It’s not that it never appealed to me personally, it’s just that it seemed such an intricate, complex beast of a game that it made for perfect Twitch fodder. Only instead of Twitch, I just watched my teenaged son mount campaigns of conquest across vast foreign lands. I felt quite proud. But it wasn’t until I got into it myself that I realised how addictive it all is. Fast forward to the release of Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord – War Sails, a new DLC that introduces sailing and naval warfare, and we’re both launching campaigns together. Nothing forms familial bonds like deposing rival kings.
Jumping into the new version was initially a bit odd though. The entire map feels like it’s been reworked, mostly to make way for the aforementioned seafaring and ship-to-ship combat. I’ve been waiting for a good naval combat sim since Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, and while War Sails is not quite that, it does a damn good job – as always – of emulating large-scale mediaeval war.
Despite the shifting of certain countries (which takes a little getting used to for seasoned players), Calradia is still very much a world riven by conflict and bloodshed. The introduction of a new faction, the Nords, adds yet another nation to either trade with, ally with, or declare war on. They’re not all that different from the existing Sturgians, which is why the latter have been tweaked a little. It’s a bit of a weird choice (why not just make something entirely new?), but it works in the confines of the game world.
Anyone expecting, or even worrying, that the naval aspect would completely dominate the game and it would become a game set primarily at sea can relax a little. While sea warfare is a thing, what the ships bring to the game more than anything is the opportunity to trade and travel in different ways. You can now have a friendly or hostile neighbour across a body of water, introducing new trade routes or opportunities to raid and plunder.
For this reason, a lot of the economics have been reworked. I haven’t delved into every facet of it, but having spent some time dealing with Chaikand, including exploring their busy, immersive seaport, I can confidently say that what War Sails brings to Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord is far more than just a smattering of new gameplay gimmicks.
In fact, it brings the world to life in different ways. Being able to explore towns and take in the scenery were always great ways to immerse yourself, but there’s a tremendous sense of scale to being able to jump on a ship, sail across a channel, and then disembark in a foreign land for trade or diplomacy.
Elsewhere, a graphical overhaul has given everything a fairly major glow-up. Watching an enemy battle-line charge towards you is impressive on its own, but the enhancements to lighting, environment design, and detailing take it to another level. The voice work is still incredibly hit-and-miss, sadly, and the unintentionally hilarious cries of “Die, you bastards!” that punctuate the discordant song of battle now and then are never not entertaining.
But what really gets me with Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord – War Sails is the attention to little details that you probably wouldn’t miss if they were absent. Having to furl and unfurl your sails rather than just magically decelerate your ship is a nice touch, and the vast array of vessels, all of which can be upgraded and customised, is impressive. Ship-to-ship combat, particularly boarding actions, are mad, with heaving piles of bodies squeezed into tight spaces, creating a sense of desperation not always felt in the pitched battles. It plays hell with the physics engine, unsurprisingly, but as an expression of sheer mediaeval power fantasy it’s pretty cool.
It’s safe to say that established fans of this game will find a hell of a lot to like in War Sails. It doesn’t feel like just an expansion; it’s more like getting a semi-sequel, that not only expands the world and content, but improves quality of life to quite a staggering degree in a lot of small and large ways. It looks incredible, and while all the siege gear, cavalry charges, political skullduggery, and courtly manoeuverings are still here, there’s also a larger, grander, deeper world to go and explore when you’re not hell-bent on conquering for a little while.
Dodging pirates, ferrying spices, blockading ports, and standing at the prow of your ship as the sea wind whips your hair about your face are now within your grasp. The cost, of course, is a little more jank in the tank than usual – and I have suffered a couple of crashes and some bizarre physics episodes. But that’s kind of par for the course with Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, and War Sails doesn’t seem to have made anything noticeably worse.
If you’re into Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, then War Sails is a no-brainer purchase. The free update is a huge boon, but War Sails adds so much to the overall experience that it’s worth overlooking a few bugs and glitches to experience the world of Caldria with a fresh perspective and a whole new range of options for trade and conquest.
