Not even a month after its Early Access release on Steam, a slow-motion dismemberment mod is available for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. The original Mount & Blade and its standalone expansion – Mount & Blade: Warband – was no stranger to mods developed by its community of fans to enhance gameplay and enhance the game’s mechanics and cosmetics. Now, that tradition survives in this new prequel title which takes place roughly 200 years before the first games.
Despite a plethora of bugs and crash issues upon its glorified beta release – with a wealth of updates aimed at fixing those issues - Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has brought back veteran players from the original games and also expanded its audience. The game takes Medieval warfare and puts it in the hands of gamers looking to get as close as they can to the gritty, bloody battles so often portrayed in cinema and live-action roleplay.
According to PCGamer, a dedicated fan and modder created a mod for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord which allows for slow-motion dismemberment during combat. The key is players must aim for an enemy’s head and cause a fatal blow using a left or right swing to get the effect to trigger. If done correctly, the game will slow down and players will get to witness a gruesome decapitation that lacks a little bit of realism but maintains its entertainment value for those who unafraid of viewing virtual gore to add a smidgen of extra immersion to their gameplay. Check out this compilation video from YouTube user jedijosh420 to see how it looks:
Those interested in the mod should note that attempting to decapitate a horse will, apparently, cause their game to crash. Whether this is a glitch to be worked out later, or a statement by the creator that horse decapitation is unacceptable in their mod, is unclear. Like certain mods in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, players can adjust the slow-motion dismemberment mod’s settings to determine how often they would like a decapitation to occur.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has captivated its massive audience for the past couple of weeks. While the game’s bugs, repetitive content, and grindy nature are annoying and tedious, the gameplay is still entertaining and unlike any other game currently on the market. Players can issue commands to entire retinues on the battlefield and either watch as their troops engage enemy forces at their command or join in the carnage themselves. Given enough time and more consistent updates to work out the massive kinks, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord will shape up to be an even more engaging experience than it already is, and will solidify its position as having surpassed DOOM Eternal in Steam sales.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord released into Early Access on March 30, 2020 and is available on PC via Steam.
Sources: PCGamer, jedijosh420/YouTube