Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord
Best Early Access Games of 2021
Developer Talewords’ Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has been a long, long time in the making having first been announced way back in 2013, and it’s still not finished! Still, the Early Access launch in 2020 has been a major triumph, and I’m certain it’s on track to becoming an absolute masterpiece and one of the best early access games of 2021.
Bannerlord expands on everything that made its predecessor, Warband, so beloved, with its engaging combination of huge, sprawling real-time combat played from third-person and an empire-building strategy loop managed from an overhead campaign map.
It’s a sandbox experience through and through, tasking you simply with building up your clan’s reputation and either pledging to a kingdom or creating your own. That said, there’s also a light story to follow along as you go which helps to focus your adventure.
Since launching in Early Access, Talewords has worked at a breakneck pace to deliver plentiful updates and support, and their content-plan moving forward is ambitious.
Even now it’s good for literally hundreds of hours of entertainment, but otherwise, keep it on your radar as it makes a transition to a full release this year.
You can read a full preview of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord’s Early Access build here.
