Chivalry: Medieval Warfare made its name on Steam as a unique melee-focused take on multiplayer with an offbeat sense of humor. It fit well alongside games like Team Fortress 2 and garnered a huge fanbase thanks to its similarities, capitalizing on those associations with its own innovations and points of interest. Chivalry developer Torn Banner Studios would try to replicate that success with follow-up Mirage: Arcane Warfare, but it couldn't quite live up to the standard of the original first-person slasher. In 2021, the team is back with Chivalry 2, an updated take on its original hit with plenty of graphical improvements and gameplay additions.

For all of Chivalry 2's changes, the developers wisely preserved the original's core combat. Players pick from knights, soldiers, and other medieval warriors, each with unique weapon preferences and abilities. Armies of up to 32 players charge into battle and either taste victory or end up missing a limb or three. Wielding everything from a sword to a turkey leg is as simple as "slashing" the mouse (or right stick) in a direction alongside one of three attack buttons. The controls are intuitive, allowing novices to easily aim where it hurts the most while skilled players fend off multiple attackers with graceful-yet-brutal movements.

Related: First-Person Melee Games To Play While Waiting For Chivalry 2

The familiar melee combat of the original Chivalry gains new life thanks to the sequel's improved animations. Soldiers rarely swing their swords without purpose in Chivalry 2. Every move has a logical counter and players have options in how they want to approach each situation. Heavy attacks are devastating but slow and easy to avoid. Quick slashes can easily overwhelm a foe or succumb to well-timed blocks. At the best of times, duels reach the same highs as an intense Street Fighter matchup, though obviously in a much different setting.

Chivalry 2 Brutality Posing Throne Room

Chivalry 2's improved combat system is complex, but it's also as chaotic as the original. In addition to a wide arsenal of traditional melee weapons, knights on both sides of the conflict can pick up anything that isn't nailed down to assist them. Players can pick up bread, branding irons, and boulders for use as makeshift weapons, and some of them can be surprisingly effective. When swordplay gets boring, trying to score kills with the least effective tools imaginable is downright hilarious fun.

Outside of team deathmatch and free-for-all, Chivalry 2 sports a Team Objective mode that feels like a historical take on Conquest from EA's Battlefield series. Attackers take on different objectives, including claiming control points and pushing Siege Towers towards castle walls. These giant wooden staircases provide some of the most unique and exciting combat scenarios in all of Chivalry 2. From battling in tight quarters on the spiral steps or pushing opponents from the top of the structure, they're a hotbed of activity that really makes the mode shine.

Chivalry 2 Battlefield Combat

Adding to the sense of over-the-top, wild experiences is Chivalry 2's voice line system. Touted by Torn Banner Studios as its attempt to make deathmatch more social, it's a natural evolution to the guttural yells soldiers unleashed in the first game. The team wants players to roleplay as they fight, giving them many voice lines to choose from for any given opportunity.  The vocal performances themselves are appropriately cartoonish. It's hard not to laugh at a well-placed cry for help or a mistimed victory party. On the flip side, it can be difficult to focus on getting in the right voice lines in the game's more frantic modes.

After sampling two of Chivalry 2's eight launch maps and many of its different weapons, it's hard not to anticipate the full game. Torn Banner Studios has done everything possible to enhance the original without changing what made it great back in 2012. Time will tell if a purely multiplayer experience will draw players away from free-to-play offerings like Apex Legends and other medieval-themed combat games like For Honor. However, those who remember the original and just want more in a spruced-up package will delight at what's in store.

Next: 10 Best Medieval-Themed Video Games Of All Time, Ranked

Chivalry 2 will release on June 8 on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Screen Rant participated in a press event for the purposes of this preview.