Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Thanks to Warhorse Studios and PLAION we have been lucky enough to play Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (KCD2) early and I’m here today to share with you my first impressions. After about 5 hours of playtime and having barely scratched the surface I have plenty of thoughts good and bad to share with you all.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 takes place quite literally after the events of the first so if you’re holding out to finish the original look away now, though it's been 7 years so get a move on.
A bit of backstory for those not familiar with the original. You once again play as Henry of Skalitz, a blacksmith's son who after the death of his parents at the hands of King Sigismund's mercenaries, rose through the ranks to become a powerful figure in the service of Sir Radzig and personal bodyguard of mouthy noble but friend Sir Hans Capon.
This time Henry is to accompany Sir Hans as he travels to Trosky Castle a letter in tow outlining their want to become allies with the local Lord, Otto von Bergow. A chance encounter and decision to stop for their last night before arriving at the castle sets the start for your playthrough. The initial couple of hours I liken to that of Red Dead Redemption 2, they are very slow paced as KCD2 goes about teaching those new to the game the multitude of extremely intricate game mechanics that really set it apart from others in the genre. You will need to pay close attention to these moments as they are integral to you understanding core mechanics going forward, mechanics that will quickly bring you undone if you do not understand them. I highlight this as someone who didn’t, thinking to myself, I know RPG’s, I played the original back on release I’ll figure it out. That blase attitude coupled with the in-built difficulty only made my initial time borderline unbearable, that is until I went back over my footage and watched some key moments to better understand what it is I was doing.
A common problem with sequels is how your character brings their skill over from the original title. Thankfully KCD2 delivers a rather unique way of bringing you back to earth while also listening to the criticisms from some players around early difficulty in the original, after all you’re not starting back at square one as a lowly blacksmith, you have a significant amount of skill inherited from your first campaign. While you are starting a fresh character you have been given a bit of a helping hand to start your build off on the right foot.
Once the initial moments taper off, KCD2 slows down and shifts into its own story, beginning you on your own direction to speak with von Bergow and deliver the message as required by your Lord. The world really starts to come alive around you. Interactions with NPC’s can give you options to help you on your quest, they can also give you ways to advance yourself through more nefarious means. Every decision you make has consequences though. If you’re caught stealing you could find yourself on the wrong end of the blade, steal too much and the locals start to arm themselves and don’t take kindly to new faces in their town. Get into the odd fight and you can end up in the local stocks with your head being used as target practice with local produce. A lot of work has gone into making the world around you feel as full of life as possible.
Visually Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a beautiful game and optimised well. Running at high settings on my 4070Ti Super based PC I am getting solid frame rates even during moments of intense action with only the occasional graphical glitch from time to time, for a game still a month away from release I have no complaints about how it is running. Graphically it doesn’t stand up to some of the bigger name studio titles but with a world this size and in depth I wouldn’t expect it to. Facial animations are good though occasionally a little flat but looking past character models you are left with an absolutely stunning landscape. The countryside is painstakingly crafted to make you feel like you’re in 15th century Bohemia. With such a vast and open game map you can be forgiven to feel a little overwhelmed by all that can be seen. Just remember sometimes the journey is just as much if not more fun than the destination.
My time with Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has not been all positive and I still have a lot to learn about the game mechanics to really build my character into something that suits whatever play style I end up with. While at times frustrating, I have come to realise that it is only my own lacking knowledge of the mechanics that is holding me back. The story to my current point has been engaging and after each play session I am left questioning what will Henry have to endure next as he looks to regain his composure and status to fulfil his mission.
I have a long way to go, a lot to learn and some serious questions to ask about where I will take Henry and his status among the people.
While Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is going to be a daunting premise for a lot of people, the facilities are all in place in the game to assist you. The gameplay mechanics are more in depth than anything I have played outside of the original and will take a bit to get used to. KCD2 is not a title that you can pick up on a whim and play, you need to be focused and understand everything from using your fists or sword, to your character build to brewing a healing potion, they all follow a specific process you will eventually master.
With a cinematic story unfolding before you wrapped in many possible layers of play style, I am keen to see just how much I can push Henry to be the worst version of himself possible.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is coming out soon, be sure to keep an eye out here for all out updates over the next couple of weeks.