I imagine that my reaction to the announcement trailer for Chivalry 2 was pretty much the same reaction Thor had in "Thor: Ragnarok" when he found out he was fighting the Hulk. The original Chivalry was perhaps best described by one of its developers when I spoke with them at E3 2019: They know that people play their game to have a blast in their medieval power fantasy — and at least half of them are drunk. Since a Chivalry sequel is on the horizon, I had more than a few questions about where the series was headed.

It was previously announced that Torn Banner is working with Tripwire on the sequel, which was described as a "creative partnership" to me. With the talent and history of both teams, the intent is that the vision for the first game will finally be achieved, resulting in a true sequel. The goal is to recapture what was loved about the first title, such as the weight of the combat, and expand upon it while keeping it fun.

The example was that they want the feel of the combat to be similar to the scale of Game of Thrones' "Battle of the Bastards." While the matches previously capped out at 24 players, the sequel will have up to 64 players, 32 on each team. This larger scale is going to primarily focus on the Team Objective mode. One such example was that a match would start with one side burning farms and slaying livestock, while the other side could play as little more than peasants with pitchforks.

The multi-stage map would escalate from there until a more balanced stage and finally to the assault of a keep that was deeper within the village, where the defenders have the advantage. Horses will also be included in the game, but I couldn't get any details short of that they want the horses to have the same depth as the combat does.

The combat has always been the main drawing point for Chivalry, so it is no surprise that the sequel will also focus on that. This was also an area where it was tough to get any real details about how things will change from the first game. It will still reward improvisation and will be "massively expanded" with a "larger tool set." There will still be a class system, but I couldn't even get confirmation about what those classes will be. Chivalry 2 has a release date in 2020, so I suspect we'll be learning a lot more about the game in the coming months.