This is my first time with a Mount & Blade game, so it took me a minute to realize that Bannerlord's cardboard NPCs are just cheap action figures I'm meant to waggle around in the most elaborate game of medieval pretend ever conceived. I'm a cruel bandit with no allegiances except to my men, a ragtag bunch of low-lifers dedicated to eating well, living free, and harassing rich folks. I robbed a couple of his caravans and killed every witness. I hate Lord McTavish because he's a noble and my character hates nobles. It's not because anyone at TaleWorlds Entertainment wrote him as a villain or designed the guy to look like one. Stare into the dead eyes of its infinite stream of lords and bandits and traders, lacquer on a little imagination, and suddenly Lord McTavish with the stringy beard becomes my mortal enemy. Bannerlord is an RPG sandbox that demands players give as much as they take.
There's next to no facial animation here-I cheered the first time a guy furrowed his brow at me-but it's forgivable.
