Every Mount & Blade game, ranked
All 4 Mount & Blade games we hold, spanning 2008 to 2020: 4 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 489,514 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Mount & Blade: Warband (GamingPickz Score 8.2), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Mount & Blade (2008) and follow the release-order timeline below.
- For the money: Mount & Blade gives the most score per dollar right now.
The Mount & Blade games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 4 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
4 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 4 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
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.
- Mobile
- 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.
4 best Mount & Blade games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
Mount & Blade: Warband
Best for: Players who trust other players over critics
8.2GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceMount & Blade: Warband at a glance Released 2010 Studio TaleWorlds Player sentiment 98% positive of 172,005 Critics 78/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 98% shrinks to 98.0 on 172,005 reviews, then blends with the 78 critic aggregate, giving 8.2.
What the data supports- 98% positive across 172,005 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 98 against 78. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
- 2
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
7.7GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceMount & Blade II: Bannerlord at a glance Released 2020 Studio TaleWorlds Player sentiment 88% positive of 296,754 Critics 77/100 Price $49.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 60 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 88% shrinks to 88.0 on 296,754 reviews, then blends with the 77 critic aggregate, giving 7.7.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 3
Mount & Blade
Best for: Players who trust other players over critics
7.6GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceMount & Blade at a glance Released 2008 Studio TaleWorlds Player sentiment 92% positive of 6,718 Critics 72/100 Price $9.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 92% shrinks to 91.5 on 6,718 reviews, then blends with the 72 critic aggregate, giving 7.6.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 92 against 72. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
- 4
Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword
Best for: Playing with other people
7.3GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceMount & Blade: With Fire & Sword at a glance Released 2011 Studio TaleWorlds Entertainment Player sentiment 88% positive of 14,037 Critics 68/100 Price $9.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 88% shrinks to 87.9 on 14,037 reviews, then blends with the 68 critic aggregate, giving 7.3.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 88 against 68. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Mount & Blade game we can score is Mount & Blade: Warband at 8.2. The lowest is Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword at 7.3, a 0.9-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
How the series scored over time
GamingPickz Score against release year, 2008 to 2020. The later entries score lower than the earlier ones: the series has been trending down.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Mount & Blade at $9.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Mount & Blade, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Mount & Blade entries on Steam:
- Playable: Mount & Blade, Mount & Blade: Warband, Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Platforms across the series
Where the 4 Mount & Blade games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 4 of 4 |
| PlayStation | 1 of 4 |
| Xbox | 1 of 4 |
| Mobile | 1 of 4 |
The Mount & Blade series, game by game
Every Mount & Blade game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2008
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. (Steam)
Reception
Reception Mount Blade received a score of 72 out of 100 based on 28 critic reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . Reviewers acknowledged the game's potential, but also said it suffers from poor production values. GameSpot concluded that the game "feels more underdeveloped than it does flat-out bad", and Eurogamer made a similar review, saying that Mount Blade has "foundations [... (Wikipedia)
- 2010
In a land torn asunder by incessant warfare, it is time to assemble your own band of hardened warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm, and claim the ultimate prize: the throne of Calradia! (Steam)
Reception
Reception The PC version of Warband received "generally favorable reviews", while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to Metacritic . Like its predecessor, Warband was praised as a low-cost game with greater replayability and longevity than most contemporary studio-published games. However, several felt that describing Warband as a sequel was overreaching and that the game is better described as a… (Wikipedia)
- 2011
The standalone expansion for Mount & Blade! With Fire & Sword builds and expands upon the highly regarded combat system from Mount & Blade: Warband. Firearms have been introduced to the battlefield. (Steam)
Reception
Reception With Fire Sword received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . GameZone said, " Mount Blade: With Fire and Sword is the right fit for anyone interested in sweeping historical epics as well as incredibly complex and realistic RPGs. A fantastic entry for fans of the genre. (Wikipedia)
- 2020
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. (Steam)
Plot
Setting Mount Blade II: Bannerlord is set on the fictional continent of Calradia, 173 years before Mount Blade: Warband , during the decline of the Calradic Empire and the formation of the predecessors of the factions that appear in Warband . The downfall of the Calradic Empire is analogous to the fall of the Roman Empire during the Migration Period and the formation of the Middle Eastern, North African, and European realms of the Early Middle Ages . The… (Wikipedia)
Reception
At the time of its early access release, Bannerlord became the largest launch of the year on Steam , achieving more than 170,000 concurrent players. Chris Bratt, writing for Eurogamer , gave the game's early access a largely positive review in an article entitled " Bannerlord is janky as hell, but I absolutely love it". He wrote: " Bannerlord may not be finished and I suspect it won't be finished for a long time to come. (Wikipedia)
Mount & Blade, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Mount & Blade vs other series
How Mount & Blade stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Mount & Blade vs DARK SOULS, Mount & Blade vs Dragon Age, Mount & Blade vs DRAGON BALL, Mount & Blade vs Mass Effect, Mount & Blade vs Monster Hunter, Mount & Blade vs Yakuza, Mount & Blade vs ARK, Mount & Blade vs Borderlands, Mount & Blade vs Deus Ex, Mount & Blade vs Risen, Mount & Blade vs State of Decay, Mount & Blade vs The Witcher, Mount & Blade vs Torchlight, Mount & Blade vs Watch, Mount & Blade vs ArcheAge, Mount & Blade vs Divinity, Mount & Blade vs Dragon's Dogma, Mount & Blade vs Dungeon Siege, Mount & Blade vs ELDEN RING, Mount & Blade vs EverQuest, Mount & Blade vs God of War, Mount & Blade vs Gothic, Mount & Blade vs Hades, Mount & Blade vs Heroes of Hammerwatch, Mount & Blade vs Kingdom Come, Mount & Blade vs Kingdoms of Amalur, Mount & Blade vs Marvel’s Spider-Man, Mount & Blade vs Middle-earth, Mount & Blade vs Might & Magic, Mount & Blade vs NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, Mount & Blade vs Pathfinder, Mount & Blade vs Prototype, Mount & Blade vs South Park, Mount & Blade vs Street Fighter, Mount & Blade vs The Lord of the Rings, Mount & Blade vs The Surge, Mount & Blade vs Tom Clancy’s The Division, Mount & Blade vs Two Worlds, Mount & Blade vs Wasteland
Common questions
How many Mount & Blade games are there?
We hold 4 Mount & Blade games in the catalogue, released between 2008 and 2020. 4 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Mount & Blade game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Mount & Blade: Warband rates highest at 8.2. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Mount & Blade games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2008 to 2020. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.