Chivalry: Medieval Warfare has very little chivalry involved. Between decapitating foes or murdering peasants and royalty (or contaminating a well), the dirty side of medieval warfare is the delicious, gritty essence of sword and arrow combat.
Like many excellent games out there, Chivalry: MW was originally a mod for the Half-Life Source Engine. It was an excellent mod, and Chivalry keeps very closely to that original game, even featuring some of the same maps from it. On the plus side, Chivalry adds in more class options and abilities lacking from the mod.
It's a very challenging game, and friendly fire is a common way to die. Who knew swinging a sword in a wide arc was going to lop off the heads of not only that enemy, but also the three friends of yours attacking him? Archers are a much hated class, regardless of the team they're on, as most are as likely to hit a friend as a foe.
On the plus side, combat isn't something you can just pick up and be an expert at. It takes experience and practice to learn the range of various weapons, where they move when swung, and the timing needed to keep your foe from blocking your swing. Shields are a wonderful tool, blocking a lot of the damage you take, but keep in mind, every strike blocked depletes your stamina, and when that's gone, your swings do less damage and your shield doesn't work. You also get to use "a variety of siege weapons ranging from catapults, boiling oil, ballista, battering rams and more."
The sheer variety of game modes and objectives provide lots of replay value. With everything from Free-for-all melees to Defend the King, each mode and map has it's own unique objectives and there will be something for everyone. Community servers provide some of the best options, with battles ranging up to 32 players on a side. According to Destructoid, "There are five game modes in total: Free-For-All, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Last Team Standing, and Team Objective. The latter is where I got most of my kicks. Objectives are simple things like killing villagers, besieging or defending castles, or assassinating people."
If you're looking for a sword-fighting game with good depth, humorous dialogue, chopped off limbs ('Tis just a flesh wound), and more, definitely check out Chivalry: Medieval Warfare on Steam. You can also get it for PS4 and Xbox One.
