Somewhere in my 40-somethingth hour of Chivalry 2, my head was struck from my shoulders, and I watched as a superior force overran our defenses and danced on our corpses. But I wasn’t owned. I was laughing, actually. In fact, I have never been mad. Not once. Not for a second. And I’m dead serious. I was having a really good time.
Playing games online can make you feel bad. Even in games I love, I’ve hated my opponents, quietly cursed my teammates, and felt personally attacked by the developers.
64-player Medieval battlefield sim Chivalry 2 has all the ingredients of a bad time online, but somehow, it’s one of the least stressful multiplayer games I’ve ever played. Because for every pain point in modern online competitive gaming, the devs have crafted a perfectly silly or genius solution.
Check the video up top for my full breakdown of the what the game does right, and make sure you subscribe to Polygon’s YouTube channel for this and more videos.