Pirates Vikings & Knights II
Last updated: 2025-08-13
- Enduring fun, high quality team-based combat
- Deep, skill-based melee combat system
- Varied modes, classes, and diverse maps
- Completely free-to-play with ongoing development
- Suffers from low player count, dead servers
- Outdated graphics and design issues
Emotions
Players feel satisfied due to the game's overall high quality, engaging and unique combat system, and diverse gameplay modes and maps. The game's free-to-play model, lack of aggressive monetization, and active community also contribute significantly to player contentment.
Disappointment primarily stems from the game's low player count and empty servers, which prevent players from fully experiencing its potential. Unfulfilled potential, slow updates, and specific balance issues with certain classes or mechanics also contribute to this feeling.
Joy is experienced through the game's fun and humorous elements, engaging gameplay mechanics, and the ability to play with friends. The unique characters, dismemberment mechanics, and a generally positive community also enhance the joyful experience.
Frustration arises from low player counts leading to empty servers, problematic bot behavior, and various technical issues like bugs, lag, and bad hitboxes. Imbalanced gameplay, a small and sometimes toxic community, and the presence of cheaters further exacerbate this emotion.
Players enjoy the game for its overall fun, simplicity, and unique vibe, particularly highlighting the engaging sword/axe combat. The game's humor, lighthearted style, and the fun of playing with friends or facing other teams contribute to a positive experience.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 76% · Negative 24%. Score: 24 / 100
Positives:
- Players consistently praise the game for its enduring fun, high replayability, and overall quality, often noting its nostalgic appeal and how well it has aged. Many consider it a standout free-to-play title on the Source engine.
- The combat system is frequently highlighted for its surprising depth, strategic elements, and engaging melee mechanics. Players appreciate the balance and the unique blend of melee and ranged options.
- The game offers a wide variety of game modes, diverse classes, and varied maps, contributing to a rich and dynamic multiplayer experience. This variety keeps gameplay fresh and engaging.
- The game benefits from a dedicated and active community, along with a passionate development team that continues to support the game with updates, fostering a positive and engaging environment.
- A significant aspect of the game's appeal is its unique and often absurd humor, drawing comparisons to Monty Python. This lighthearted tone contributes to a fun and memorable experience.
Negatives:
- A significant number of players report that the game has a very small and declining player base, leading to empty servers and a lack of engaging online matches. This severely impacts the game's entertainment and competitive potential.
- Many players feel the game's graphics and overall design are outdated, making it less appealing compared to modern titles. Some also find the core gameplay boring or janky, contributing to a frustrating experience.
- Specific classes within the Knight, Pirate, and Viking factions are noted for being underpowered, difficult to play effectively, or having problematic weapon mechanics. This contributes to overall balance issues.
- New players face a steep learning curve and are often discouraged by veteran players who 'pub stomp' them or vote to kick them without reason. This hostile environment makes it difficult for new players to adapt and enjoy the game.
- The game's combat often devolves into chaotic brawls where randomness, such as bunny hopping and inaccurate weapon spread, plays a larger role than player skill in determining outcomes.
Gameplay:
- The game is a team-based multiplayer experience centered around three distinct factions: Pirates, Vikings, and Knights. Each faction offers unique classes and playstyles, contributing to diverse gameplay scenarios across various modes.
- The game features a deep and challenging first-person melee combat system, often compared to titles like Chivalry or Mount & Blade. It emphasizes directional attacks, blocking, and parrying, requiring significant practice to master.
- The game features a robust class system with multiple unique classes per faction, each having distinct weapons, abilities, and ultimate skills. These classes significantly impact gameplay and require practice to master.
- Combat incorporates a variety of weapons, including traditional medieval melee and ranged options like bows and crossbows, alongside unique gunpowder weapons and even throwable parrots. Each class has distinct weapon sets and ultimate abilities.
- The game includes multiple game modes, with a prominent objective being a three-way capture-the-flag style mode where teams collect and secure treasure chests.
Performance:
- Players consistently praise the game's low system requirements, noting it runs smoothly even on older or less powerful computers. This accessibility is a significant positive for a broad player base.
- Feedback on graphics is mixed but generally positive, with players finding them visually acceptable and not distracting, though some note they aren't exceptionally pretty. The overall sentiment is that they are functional and do not detract from the experience.
- Audio quality, including sound effects and background music, is generally considered satisfactory by players. While not outstanding, it is not problematic and contributes adequately to the game's atmosphere.
- Players report that the game's servers are functioning correctly, indicating a stable online experience. This is a fundamental positive for multiplayer engagement.
- Controls are rated positively by players, suggesting they are intuitive and responsive. This contributes to a smooth gameplay experience.
Recommendations:
- Many players highly recommend this game, often citing its unique medieval setting, free-to-play nature, and engaging melee system. They encourage new players to try it, especially with friends, and note its accessibility on various systems.
- Players offer specific advice for new players, such as trying different factions, utilizing bots for practice, and specific character abilities like the Knight's 'Guard' super ability.
- A recurring sentiment is the desire for the game's community to grow. Players hope more attention will lead to fuller servers and a more active player base.
- One piece of feedback suggests that players should try to overlook any negative aspects of the game to enjoy the experience.
Miscellaneous:
- Players highly appreciate that the game is completely free, with no microtransactions, DLC, or any form of monetization. This is a significant draw, especially for a Source engine mod.
- Despite being an older game (over a decade old), it continues to receive updates, albeit infrequently due to a small development team. This ongoing support keeps the game feeling alive and evolving.
- The game is clearly a 'labor of love' for its small, dedicated development team. Players recognize the care, attention to detail, and passion that goes into its creation, even if updates are slow.
- While the game has a small, dedicated core player base, it struggles with overall player count. There's a desire for more players, but the existing community is stable and welcoming to newcomers.
- The game originated as a Half-Life 2 mod built on the Source engine and later became a standalone multiplayer FPS. Its roots as a mod are a defining characteristic.
