For Honor

For Honor has some dents in its shiny armor, such as the mediocre campaign, the frugal economy, and the snowballing victories in team modes. But it's hard to be mad too long when I consider that the melee combat system is second to none and a joy to learn, take your licks, and then learn some more. I could feel myself becoming a better warrior with this deep, flexible, and complete fighting system. The more I play For Honor, the more I want to play For Honor. I hope Ubisoft doubles-down on support, because it's something truly special.

For Honor is an incredibly entertaining fighter that's satisfying both in single and multiplayer, even despite the narrative flaws of its story mode.

Ubisoft's novel fighting game finally comes into focus.

A tense, tactical medieval brawler that will reward anyone with the patience and will to master it.

For Honor is worth the work you have to put into it

A deep and gratifying medieval swordfighting sim that risks putting off newcomers. Persevere and the rewards are well worth it.

For Honor is as close as most of us will get to our sword-and-shield fantasies, and it is amazing when it all works. Unfortunately, networking and interface issues are a chink in its armor

Ubisoft's multiplayer-focused fighting game is a single-minded simulation of melee battle, with an emphasis on epic physical confrontations

Overall, I don't know exactly how I feel about For Honor. It sometimes feels like a Ubisoft hired a bunch of scientists in white coats to observe Dark Souls PvP from behind reinforced perspex and experiment on it with Dota DNA in a mad attempt to recreate a tame monster in a safe environment for their own nefarious ends (profit). What they've made is an interesting chimera, something that is both more accessible but sometimes just as unforgiving.

As it is, this is a game with a disposable single-player campaign, multiplayer matches that crash or disconnect as often as they complete, and a slew of fantastic mechanics that only rise to the surface in a single game mode out of a half-dozen.