Mount & Blade has come a long way since it's early alpha days when i first started playing it. I think I paid about $7 for access to the in-development version years ago, and that was well worth it. Have you ever wanted to play a grand scale medieval empire simulator while still getting covered in blood? Mount & Blade combines the complexities of ruling a kingdom, with some of the best down-and-dirty sword combat around. While critically acclaimed, it never quite achieved mainstream popularity.
Starting off as a lone adventurer, you are free to travel the open world and make your destiny. Want to raid villages and live off the plunder? Want to pledge allegiance to a lord and fight in battles that affect the balance of power? Want to peacefully trade between kingdoms? The choice is yours. Want to take the action online? There is multiplayer combat too!
Underneath the living world of Mount & Blade, lies its amazing combat system. When battles take place, you control your character as just one person amongst the opposing forces. You can issue commands to different sections of your army (infantry, archers, cavalry), but it's much more fun to strap on some heavy armor and a huge sword, and lay waste to large groups of soldiers. It's pretty satisfying to see you and your horse covered in the blood of your enemies at the end of a battle! Oh, did I mention that you get to conduct castle sieges as well?
Mount & Blade is available for PC, and just recently came out for PS4 and Xbox One. I'd suggest sticking to the Warband PC version...as you can usually find it in bargain bins for about $10.