Mount & Blade vs Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Mount & Blade is an action-RPG open-world game from TaleWorlds (2008) while Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is an action-RPG open-world game from TaleWorlds (2020).
What each one is
Steam files Mount & Blade under Action-RPG and Open-World. In contrast, it files Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord under Action-RPG and Open-World.
Calradia is a land at war, offering great riches and even greater dangers to adventurers and mercenaries that flock to shed their blood on its soil. With courage and a strong sword, an unknown stranger can make a name as a warrior. Free-form sand-box gameplay.
A strategy/action RPG. Create a character, engage in diplomacy, craft, trade and conquer new lands in a vast medieval sandbox. Raise armies to lead into battle and command and fight alongside your troops in massive real-time battles using a deep but intuitive skill-based combat system.
At a glance
| Mount & Blade | Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.6/10 | 7.7/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (92%, 6,718) | Very Positive (88%, 296,754) |
| Critic aggregate | 72/100 | 77/100 |
| Price | $9.99 | $49.99 |
| Install size | — | 60 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2008 | 2020 |
| Developer | TaleWorlds | TaleWorlds |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Mount & Blade vs Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Mount & BladeAction-RPG open-world gameMount & Blade II: BannerlordAction-RPG open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Mount & BladeRPG, Medieval, Open WorldMount & Blade II: BannerlordMedieval, Strategy, Open WorldThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Mount & BladeScore 7.6 · 92% on Steam · 72 criticMount & Blade II: Bannerlord ✓Score 7.7 · 88% on Steam · 77 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Mount & Blade6,718 reviewsMount & Blade II: Bannerlord296,754 reviews · 3 add-ons · 60 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Mount & Blade ✓$9.99Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord$49.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Mount & BladePlayableMount & Blade II: BannerlordPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueMount & Blade and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (GamingPickz Score 7.7)
- The cheaper right now: Mount & Blade ($9.99)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (296,754 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RPGMedievalOpen WorldStrategySandboxActionSingleplayerAdventure
Where they differ
IndieAction RPGReplay ValueFantasy
HorsesRealisticGreat SoundtrackEarly Access
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Mount & Blade is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Mount & Blade | Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Graphics card with at least 64 MB | Intel® UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 2GB / AMD Radeon™ HD 7850 2GB |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel® Core™ i3-8100 / AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200 / Snapdragon X Elite |
| Minimum RAM | 0.5 GB | 6 GB |
| Install size | — | 60 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Mount & Blade · Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Mount & Blade and 1 for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Mount & Blade and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord in scope?
Mount & Blade has drawn 6,718 Steam reviews. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has drawn 296,754 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 60 GB.
Is Mount & Blade or Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord rates higher (7.7 to 7.6). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Mount & Blade or Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord?
Mount & Blade is cheaper right now at $9.99, against $49.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.