Why don't more people know about Mount and Blade?

Mount and Blade: Warband is the kingdom building sandbox experience of a lifetime. I can put this franchise in the 'god-tier' category with confidence. Which is why it's genuinely surprising that it doesn't have more of an audience. In Mount&Blade you can grow from a peasant to a commander, and eventually even a king. What's more, it's got fantastic combat that pits you on the battlefield alongside your troops, allowing you to command your ranks while in the center of the fray. You can tell you're playing something truly amazing when a game has irritating bugs, a distinct lack of polish, and awfully optimized graphics; but you can't bring yourself to stop playing it.

You start out alone in the world. Eventually you can wield an army of hundreds.

There are currently 3 Mount & Blade titles on the market, with the 4th in development. Each game runs on the same engine, with the only changes being various adjustments to improve the quality of play. If you haven't heard of this franchise yet, either do a little digging or just buy Warband. The original Mount and Blade is a little outdated, and the newest edition Fire and Sword has a few unsightly design changes that make it less fun. Warband is the one to buy.

Although the original campaign can easily soak up a good 30+ hours of your time and still leave you with stuff to conquer and finish, what makes Mount and Blade a timeless game of outstanding quality is the gigantic modding community. The base game is a mod enthusiasts paradise. There are so many complete overhaul packs that you're essentially buying a dozen games in one. I've racked up over 200 hours on Warband so far, and I only spent a couple of hours playing it without mods.

The world map is gigantic, and you can conquer all of it.

If you're looking for one of those games that you will never regret buying, look into Mount and Blade: Warband. More specifically, do some research into the mods you can get for it. It's essentially free DLC. Take a look at Prophecy of Pendor and Floris, both are gameplay overhauls that introduce around a gigabyte of awesome changes. If you're interested in multiplayer, you can also try out CRPG. My point is, if you want it; there's a mod for it on Warband. The goal of this article is to raise awareness of an under appreciated franchise. If you haven't heard of Mount & Blade, then take a look and try it out. It's cheap!