For Honor: Review

Knights and Vikings and Samurai… oh my!
In a gaming world of rehashes and sequels, it’s not every day you get a brand new, never before seen IP. I know we get a lot of unique indie titles that have questionable concepts but for AAA titles, we never get anything that is a game changer… until now. For Honor comes in with a unique concept, taking 3 terrifying factions from across time and place them in a world where they have no idea where they are or what’s going on. Then throw in a fight for resources and you have the dangerous recipe for war.

Story
In For Honor, you play across 3 chapters (chapter 1: Knights, chapter 2: Vikings & chapter 3: Samurai) in an expansive campaign that takes place 1,000 years after their placement in their new surroundings. As you begin the campaign, you are a Warden defending your castle from the Blackstone Legion, where you first meet Apollyon, a bloodthirsty warlord looking to create an army to help rid the world of the Vikings and the Samurai in a bid to take control. As you progress through their chapter, you begin to learn that all is not as it should be. You continue through the campaign into the Viking and Samurai chapters, you learn that the effects of the beginning influence the end to have it come full circle. For Honor’s story is an interesting concept in a world full of hero vs villain scenarios to bring a new outlook on what can happen to 3 factions that are all just trying to survive. The story for For Honor also gives us an exact concept on what can happen when you break free of stereotype stories and take a chance on something.
I give the story: 9 out of 10.

Gameplay
For Honor decided to did away with the hack-n-slash model of most games (ref. Dynasty Warriors) and went with a system that to some seems like a new concept. But what is it? In For Honor, you can run around and hack-n-slash if you wish however it should be noted that they use stamina which if you run out it leaves you as vulnerable as a baby chick being circled by a hawk. Another interesting factor to For Honor that gives it a unique twist is its Duel system, which allows you to enter a 1 on 1 battle with an opponent to see who reigns supreme on the battlefield. All this would make it an amazing game sundae and its cherry, executions. The executions in For Honor give a satisfying end to any battle. But with all this, what could possibly be the issues? Well, for starters there are some issues with the game balancing (*cough* Conqueror *cough*) with some of the characters and sometimes hit detection can be an issue when you are engaged with another enemy, they can sidestep you the same direction your swinging (rather than the opposite direction). But this is hardly a huge issue, more so an annoyance that should be addressed before too long.

Graphics
Graphics is always a hard thing to cover for the simple fact that some games can have a great story and gameplay but bad graphics. However, this is not the case. For Honor and the crew at Ubisoft Montreal did an amazing job from the elaborate set pieces that capture the essence of the Knights, Vikings and Samurai cultures but display them in a way that makes it appealing to any fan. Even the characters and weapons invoke something straight out of history. Also, Ubisoft Montreal took a step forward with realistic damage and wounds. So much so, that during a duel match (1v1 multiplayer mode); a Raider was slashed with a horizontal cut and was left a gash across the gut. The only downside that I found is some clipping issues within tight corridors that can cause issues. But with all this, For Honor has taken steps towards greatness as long as they can fix a few issues.
I give the graphics: 9.2 out of 10

Multiplayer
Normally, multiplayer doesn’t affect the overall score of a game but it was worth mentioning. In For Honor, your main multiplayer mode is called “Faction Wars” in which you choose a side to play as and you compete for your faction to take control of the map. It doesn’t matter what character you play as because the developers didn’t want players to be held back so if you play for the Vikings and want to be a Shugoki, go for it. The other thing about the Faction War is that it is broken up into different modes which a turn can last a day but the season lasts 10 weeks, which is an interesting concept which the developers look to have solved the greatest issue with online multiplayer… player interest.

For Honor is an amazing leap of faith for a new concept that to some would be considered a gamble but it payed off in a big way with a compelling story, solid gameplay mechanics and a truly original multiplayer mode, For Honor is a great AAA title that broke the mold on what can be accomplished when you open up the possibilities.
With that, I give For Honor a 9.2 out of 10.

A game that can be truly labeled “a sexy game”.