User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 193 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 193
  2. Negative: 66 out of 193

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  1. Jun 17, 2013
    4
    It could have been awesome but its riddled with exploits and game mechanics which do not seem to work as published. You will see players on every server that seem to defy explanations of game mechanics which suggests either they are willfully cheating or there are masses of exploits (the latter in my opinion). If you are new then basically, unless you exploit or use a speed or dmg mitigation hack you are in for months of being a crossbow spamming just to stay alive a short while.

    The best way to make a start is to join a guild as they have people that can explain the latest trending exploit to you.

    Could have been one of my favourite games of all time in fact. The problem is, the combat mechanics do not seem to apply evenly to everyone. Armour in particular seems worthless against some players. yet others surrounded by 5 enemies are immune to dmg with all unable to hit them (no block, or hit sound just like they arent there).

    But worst of all, lag spikes. It can be hard to find a slot on a decent server. You find one and have a decent ping. Doesnt matter, the server will have spikes and stuttering from time to time warping everyone about. I have no idea if this is due to the fact that there is only one server host choice on this game and it was the wrong one (Multiplay) or because the backend connection involved is flawed but either way, it doesnt work.
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  2. Jun 7, 2013
    3
    It's not a bad game. It's just that I've seen other games with the same genre that are way better than this one. Despite how funny it can be to slash some foes at multiplayer, we can see some clear symptoms of laziness in this title, as if it was just not finished.
  3. Jun 6, 2013
    1
    I played "War of the Roses" straight from the beginning, I even did preorder it. It started off as a fairly enjoyable game, not great but fun and enteraining for a while. Every single patch since then has made the game buggier. The balance is completely up since the early beta-days, because the Devs decided to listen to every single complaint about a weapon being over-powered. It has less than 300 players a day (according to steam), so I really have to hate myself because I bought this steaming pile of donkey instead of the much, much better Age of Chivalry (which has ofc its own problems, but WotR dwarfs them in comparison). Avoid this stinking pile of garbage at any cost. Again: Less than 300 players a day cant be wrong. Expand
  4. Jun 4, 2013
    6
    War of the Roses is a good concept. The novelty of wielding a sword instead of a shotgun is a refreshing change. Unfortunately, the game was incredibly buggy on release and while some steps have been made in fixing it, it might be too little, too late.
  5. Apr 16, 2013
    2
    As a veteran M&B player i was really interested of this, The idea of this game is great but not executed very well. Combat is clumsy and not working good and smooth like on Mount and blade series, graphics are nice but it doesn't matter when the gameplay is horribly bad It always feel like it would run on 20 fps or lagging like on 150 ping.
  6. Apr 10, 2013
    0
    After loving Mount and Blade Warband which is probably one of my favorite or my favorite game, this is the only game I've ever regretted buying, the multiplayer was completely god awful, so many holes with the gameplay, it just came down to how many friends the enemy had with him and how much more armor they had, truly truly disappointing. I could forgive some of it if it had some kind of singleplayer which it also doesn't include, unless you count this really frustrating tutorials. Just wow, and to think i was looking forward to this game. Expand
  7. Mar 18, 2013
    5
    The combat is certainly challenging and it takes a good deal of getting use to. The controls are basic and the fighting is typically, well, hack and slash. The gameplay is quite basic as well; you can either do team deathmatch or capture the flag. Overall, this game is really a "meh", I wouldn't pay for it if I were you.
  8. Mar 5, 2013
    3
    This game actually sucks. Horrible combat system, max 30 fps on quite modern computer, graphic glitches in the main menu. The only plus of this game is graphics it looks quite good. But, seriously that's nearly not enough.
  9. Mar 4, 2013
    2
    Nice graphics but awful gameplay and animations. Even though this was heavily discounted it still feels like a waste of money. Very much doubt I'll play again.
  10. Mar 4, 2013
    8
    not a bad game at all, definitely worth the price. People feel so entitled to a AAA standards in games. If every game was polished and made to AAA standards, they would all be 60 bucks. I picked this up for 5 bucks, and it is going to replace Battlefield 3 for me for a few weeks at least... Having a great time. Also you can't spawn on teammates if they are in combat, it's a pretty good system. All in all, I would pay 20 bucks for it, instead I got 4 copies for my friends for 20 bucks due to a sale, BONUS! Love the customization too! Expand
  11. Mar 3, 2013
    9
    Alright first off, this is not a simple point and click game. And the Skill reference on the trailers is 100% true. If you got zero patience to learn how to fight, instead of blindly click well your better off not trying to play or review a game that tries to simulate combat. This game attempts to simulate the historical War of the Roses battles, so the weapons, armor, even the battle areas are hand picked out of history and get quite a bit of effort put in to feel as close to real as they can.

    That being said, this is not some mindless FPS even though it may get put into its category some times by people who don't know where to put it. Armor makes you move slow, sprinting in it will have you hunched over unable to put up a fight after a min of stop and go sprints. In this type of armor with these weapons you move at a general pace. These are meant to be soldiers, so they are expected to not simply fight for 20 mins and call it a day, these men are expected to be at the read 15 hours or more out of the day. That seems to be the biggest hurdle for players, the realization the weight of the armor. A modern chain shirt using much lighter steel can weigh over 50 lbs. The default armor is a chain shirt, a coif which is about 1/4 the weight, with leather sleeves/pants, and a breast plate that weighs quite a bit. There is a big reason this armor went out of fashion after a gun was invented. It was physically demanding, expensive to make, and restricted movement.

    I personally wore a bit of modern armor made out of a garage metal shop for competition fighting. This armor was lighter and actually weighed in competition to scale with the real stuff for point purposes. Fighting in it required moving slowly and adjusting everything, the simple act of swinging a sword with metal or chain armor on changes dramatically because of the weight and the restrictions it places on you.

    They don't just tamper with melee combat making armor slow down sword strikes, or blocks, it messes up your reload with a ranged weapon as well. And unlike your standard FPS every time you aim your weapon it wobbles because that's how it is in real life, you either time the shot with the breath or hold it even when not looking down a scope.

    Now that I got that out of the way the games combat is brilliantly fun, or annoying to the new player who would just as easily be put off by head shots. It uses a 3 S system, slash, stab, smash. Each damage type has pros and cons, and the starter kit for level 0 shows it the best, the one handed swords slash has no chance at all of doing more then scratching the paint of a set of full plate, thrusting the point in which takes more skill and practice however can actually pierce the once unstoppable plate.

    It also has a very detailed hit box system, so that even in my full plate set, an archer can use painful arrows meant for soft targets by shooting me in the narrow slit in my helm, or the fave spot last night my arm pit which has cloth padding since metal there would make it impossible for me to move my arms. The catch to this is the neck is almost always got mail, cloth or nothing, and face covering helmets impar your vision enabling blind spots. A popular melee move is to use a 2 handed ax that can cut into chainmail to cut off a players head, or if your not that good at aiming like me I swing wildly at the helmet with a 2 handed sword if I see a visor up, hoping for that satisfying slash across my enemies face. With ranged shooting the neck is insane, so legs were shields cant reach or faces with no armor make tempting targets.

    To conclude this game is the most fun I have had in a multiplayer only game in ages, and I own all the latest shooters, and a few other team deathmatch games. The thrill of slapping players in the face when their visors are up, or landing that lucky blow on a plate wearer's flesh or padding is far greater then any other deathmatch experience I have had to date. Even if I die to an arrow to the back of my knee, or armpit every now and then.
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  12. Mar 2, 2013
    6
    War of the Roses is a third person game where you play in medieval times and compete against other players. It is multiplayer only and has no story of any kind. At first, you start off with a default class which is really hard to play with as you are constantly being killed by more advanced players. But over time you gain experience so you can level up and buy better weapons, armor, perks, etc. The graphics are good, not spectacular, but good. It is a step above the one-button combat, which I like. But fighting with another player can be awkward. After you kill someone, they fall down and you can preform an execution move which is pretty cool, but after you see the same move over and over, it gets pretty boring. Progression can take a while so most of the time you will be stuck on the bottom of the scoreboard because everyone else is better equipped that you. There aren't a whole lot of multiplayer modes which is unfortunate. Character customization is also pretty weak with only 4 heads to choose from, including only one female head. It isn't a great game, but it gets such a good score because it is only 20 dollars. Expand
  13. Mar 2, 2013
    7
    I bought this game for $5.00 on Steam during a sale, and I have to say, it's one of the better games I've played. The game play is fun and fast-paced, and the class customization is very in-depth, going so far as to letting you choose your fighting style and how your blade is sharpened. There are a few downsides however. When you start, you'll probably get frustrated because of the players with full plate armor and two-hit swords, but when you unlock some good armor and a good weapon, it's really not a problem. Then there's the matter of nothing cheaper than 1,000 coins. What the developers did was put high prices on things that you unlock at level 5 so you'll buy in game coins for real money, on top of buying the game. I can understand doing that if it was a free-to-play game, but seeing as how it's regularly $30, I think it's ridiculous. On the upside, the coins aren't that much, so if you're having trouble with fully armored foes, there's a way past it. Honestly, the option of being able to buy coins made me want to unlock everything manually, and that feeling you get when you save up enough hard-earned coins to buy an armored horse or a perfectly balanced sword is exhilarating and it makes all the time you spent, winning or losing, well worth it. This game also rewards you for playing as a team and helping out your buddies. You get 200 points for an execution on a fallen teammate, but you get 250 points for bandaging your friends wounds, and 300 points for helping up a downed teammate. It encourages people to work together and travel in groups, and punishes those that walk around by themselves with a group of enemies around the corner or an arrow in the face. Overall, I think is a good buy for anyone that enjoyed Mount Blade or Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, and in the end, buying coins can be easily avoided if you're willing to put the time into the game. Expand
  14. Mar 2, 2013
    2
    Complete disgrace of medieval games, broken combat system, not even good tutorial to help you, this is probably the worst game experiences ive yet had. Buy Chivarly rather than this broken piece of garbage.
  15. Mar 1, 2013
    5
    I regret buying this game. It lacks in balance. The lance/horse combo needs to get taken down a notch, and the combat system is so silly. Let's show people what direction to block! It defeats the whole point of the system, if you show what direction to block. Also, the whole server system is a bunch of individually owned servers it looks like because I got kicked from a game for "not dueling". I'm sorry, but when there are people shooting arrows at you, then it's on. All in all, this game isn't even worth the 5 bucks I paid on Steam for it. Go play Chivalry if this is your thing. Expand
  16. Feb 10, 2013
    1
    To put it in a Nutshell, if u think u are going to take place in the game for just a few minutes. u gonna have a bad time. Because you don`t have a chance to do anything in the game except of keep falling to death. It really sucks if your are new to the game. If you want to play it and don`t want to spend a bit of time in it, you can forget it. But the Graphics are fine
  17. Feb 5, 2013
    0
    Great idea, absolutely pathetic execution. One of the worst games I have played EVER. Terrible combat mechanics, poor system performance on a high-end gaming system, terrible game all around.

    Incredibly disappointed to have wasted the money on this steaming pile of garbage.

    DON'T BOTHER WITH IT!!!
  18. Jan 31, 2013
    2
    Hardly any servers up, only 32 player support (I haven't seen one 64 player game), coupled with shoddy controls and the most frustrating tutorial I've ever played, which is saying a lot. There is also NO single player content besides that awful tutorial, and there's only 7 maps with 2 game modes... I'm very glad I only bought it at paradox's half-price sale, because I truly regret buying this game, it's a joke as far as I'm concerned Expand
  19. Jan 19, 2013
    0
    Had great potential but when it actually released it turned out to be worse than a beta test as far as being able to play the thing. Rather than fixing the enormous amount of problems with this game, the developers would rather make it more fun for the few hundred or so who can play it as apposed to the thousands who bought it.
  20. Jan 6, 2013
    4
    This game shows promise but fails horribly. The melee combat is almost completely broken. Most of the time you get someone attacking you over and over with the same basic attack and can randomly kill you even if you have a shield. So very little skill is involved in this game. Other players say you need skill but don't listen to them. Very little skill is really needed since there is no stamina or negative draw back from spam attacking someone. Since the game is meant to be a melee combat game, having it so broken seems like a total failure on behalf of the developer. However, the graphics are good. Gore is alright. If you need gore to sell you a game you should probably get your head examined anyway. Archery is pretty fun and always great feeling getting a headshot. Maps are decent but only a few are actually fun. Overall, pass on this title. Don't bother wasting your money. Although there is fun aspects to the game, most of the time you'll be pulling your hair out when your spam attacked or when you hit an opponent but it fails to register. However, if the developer fixes the basic mistakes they made then this title might be worth checking out. But in it's current state, don't bother. Expand
  21. Jan 5, 2013
    4
    War of the Roses on paper looks very interesting, and very polished. The truth is a whole other story. When you get into the game you will however start to realize this is not the perfect medieval game you wanted. The game lets you level up, and give you gold so you can unlock newa armor and better weapons and such. This means that you will in the first couple of levels (where you are forced to used their default classes, since you cannot create your own) you will get slaughtered by higher leveled people. Sure skill is somewhat part of the game. Until some huge knight with a two handed sword comes running with full plate armor. I have trying almost everything, and I am not exaggerating, to bring a person in full plate down. I even had a friend of mine just stand still while I began to chop at him, and there was only one place he could get harmed. We then duelled and my friend just kept blocking that spot so I couldn't even hurt him.
    The good: good graphics, polished. The bad: Higher leveled people have access to better weapons, armor, etc. Most of the time people will just form a huge mass in middle of map, lack of game modes.

    Buy mount and blade instead it's cheaper and way more fun.
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  22. Jan 4, 2013
    6
    This game is really one missed opportunity after another, and also another example to add to the list of failed attempts at it's genre. You'd think with so many "almost their" examples SOMEONE would be able to get this right, but it hasn't happened yet that I've seen. It's a shame because the "melee shooter" for lack of a better term has so much potential, but no one can seem to nail the formula. Either they make it so realistic it's unappealing to the majority or so arcade that all skill is lost and it just feels like a shooter with longer range knives... (See Chivalry Medieval Warfare for an example of this) War of the Roses was close... SO close to striking a middle ground of complexity and fun that really could have made it the first out and out "good" example I've seen, but it just couldn't get there. It ends up being mediocre, but frustratingly so because sometimes when playing you can catch glimmers of what could have been a really fun diversion from the flood of shooters on the market. The core problem with the game pretty much boils down to its combat system. To sum it up: -The aiming system is clunky the mouse option throws off aim and the keyboard option forces unwanted movement. They should have just assigned the attacks (overhand, thrust, slash) to bindable keys. -Compounding the poor aiming system the hit boxes and windows on the weapons are far too small for their own good and you Expand
  23. EmX
    Dec 16, 2012
    8
    Overall it's a really fun combat game. The action is fantastic and there are a lot of fun classes and perks. There are 4 maps, all different and challenging, and demand specific tactics for each one. The developers are also really generous with content, releasing a free weapon update within the past month. The biggest rub with this game, which I feel would make it a 9.5 is the connectivity/latency issues. They can be quite severe and also maddeningly consistent, so there are times where you just have to wait it out until things get corrected again. Of course, this is an issue the developers are working on getting fixed, and it's not so pervasive where it is a deal breaker if you're deciding on getting it. I would recommend buying this game, there is a steep learning curve but it is worth it-very enjoyable once you get the tactics down. Expand
  24. Dec 8, 2012
    8
    A fun combat game for the casual gamer. The combat system forces you to be more tactical in how you approach each engagement, not just a hack and slash free-for-all. Some may like this for a quick 20 minute battle, others will enjoy the long term customisation as you progress with your character. Overall a good attempt at on-line medieval combat, but still a long way to go to be great.
  25. Dec 6, 2012
    5
    War of the Roses has some beautiful graphics and awesome customization, both of equipment and cosmetics. The process of unlocking both is also quite interesting. Unfortunately, this is the best that I can say for this game. While I found archery to be satisfying in this medieval game, melee feels incredibly floaty and I oftentimes do not know why I insta-kill somebody even after hours of playing; things just do not connect sometimes and I have found that that attack spammers with heavy armor often win the melee field. For a medieval game focused on melee combat, you are going to be frustrated when fully charged attacks to an opponents head do no damage when it appears perfectly aimed and timed. Once you learn the power of heavy armor, not wearing it is more of a challenge than a trade-off. Then there is the fact that not that many people play this now. On top of this, the number of play modes are limited. Conquest and Team DM are basically what you are looking at, plus a DM with no respawns even fewer people play. In short: it is a limited experience and everything that it does, I feel other games have done better: Chivalry, in melee, and Mount & Blade, in horse and game modes. It's a 5, in my opinion, because it is average and Mount & Blade -- an older game -- outperforms it, even though WOR looks nice. Expand
  26. Nov 30, 2012
    3
    This game is horrible, it says that it was made by the makers of mount and blade, but thats just a lie. They took the mount and blade combat system and violated it, worse than you can imagine. The game tries to appeal to the masses with its "customization" but all that leads to is the perks getting in the way of actual game play. The spammers are also unstoppable, the swords are overpowered and everything else either wont penetrate armor or has the worst hit detection. And for the execution system, its dull and annoying to watch in a first person view someone do a stale execution on you, its aggravating and gets in the way of gameplay. The game is full of lag, has a poor development team which just fix's one or two things every month, and occasionally gives a few of the same weapons out. The graphics are the only redeeming thing about this game, besides that, the game has 0 love or actual effort put into it. Expand
  27. Nov 29, 2012
    7
    A solid medieval fighter with enjoyable combat and lovely environment to play in. Lacks a little bit of depth in certain areas and can be hard for new players against people with higher levels and better gear.
  28. Nov 21, 2012
    0
    This game was made with the lead and gold engine, any melee game should be built from the ground up and not use a FPS engine modified a little. Due to it using the lead and gold engine it is clunky, glitchy, and extremely awkward feeling. I have played mount & blade for 2 years and this game was marketed to me, I even got a discount. Fatshark are trying to appeal to the casual gamers on this one. DO NOT BUY THIS! One thing that is funny is that when using a horse you can either A) move extremely fast and uncontrollable, or B) move extremely slow and trot. Expand
  29. Nov 20, 2012
    9
    This game has a steep learning curve and will not appeal to those who like to be good at a game without putting in any effort. However if you are able to self-coach and enjoy a challenge, the depth of the gameplay soon becomes apparent. There is a lot of customization available and all choices have involve a risk/reward balance which will depend on your own gameplay style.

    The maps ar
    e beautiful and so big that battles are very different depending on which area of the map the players go for. The two available modes (TDM and conquest) are a lot of fun but the real prize is the pitched battle mode which is currently in open beta. Join a clan, learn to play and have fun! Expand
  30. Nov 11, 2012
    9
    If you read through all the reviews, you'll notice stark contrasts between what people think. This is, mostly, I feel because of the skill level required to truly play this game well. On the surface it looks simple but it is, actually quite complex.
    Many different weapons all which have a different feel along with armor types. That, along with different customization, allows one to create
    custom classes that fit ones style. That along with a very interesting attack and parry system, make for a really great combination.
    All in all, I really am enjoying this game.
    However, there are two issues I have a problem with. One is the fact that the game servers were sold out to only one company, Multiplay, with no way of setting up one's own server. This has made renting servers very expensive and some areas where no servers are located. The other is a squad spawning system that doesn't suite this game. However, this latter problem, like other issues this game has had, will probably be handled by the developers (they've already begun to change it).
    I'd highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a fun and complex medieval FPS. However, it won't appeal to the masses due to the high learning curve required to actually get good at this game.
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Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 28
  2. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Dec 2, 2012
    60
    The foundation for a sophisticated swordplayer is here, but War of the Roses misses the jugular by forgetting to include the rest. [Dec 2012, p.74]
  2. Nov 29, 2012
    80
    An interesting medieval action game with a very good combat system (except for a rather primitive mounted combat) which is more refined than its counterpart in Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. [CD-Action 13/2012, p.62]
  3. Nov 29, 2012
    70
    A complicated game mechanics title that's obviously suited for gamers in love with medieval battles. If it is your love, you will clench your teeth and the gameplay will reward you with a fantastic atmosphere and a rich experience. The game's variations are few, so it is basically two groups of fighters slitting each others throats. Nonetheless, expanding the gameplay experience is a likelihood.