The first Kingdom Come Deliverance is in its own class in terms of storytelling and world-building. Not many games came close to the level of immersion and adherence to the source material quite like KCD. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 not only sticks with its winning formula but improves upon it in every way possible, love it or hate it.
The game starts with Henry and Hans Caplan being sent to a distant kingdom as an envoy. But things don’t go as planned and the dynamic duo gets stranded in a foreign kingdom. What’s worse is that they lose everything they brought with them, as well as everything that identifies them as part of the Rattay envoy. This is but the beginning of a long series of misadventures born from a serious case of mistaken identities.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2’s open world is split into two regions: Trosky and Kuttenburg. They are distinct in many ways but the main takeaway is that the world is effectively larger compared to the first game. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that the world is emptier. The villages are populated by NPCs going about their daily lives. Every so often I stumble upon an interesting side quest with a setup so intriguing that I am willing to delay the main quest just to see the outcome.
Having everything fully voiced certainly helped out and with an approximate 2 million words long script, I may never be able to hear all voice lines no matter how many playthroughs I go through. This is most apparent in taverns when I “accidentally” eavesdrop on conversations about possible loot locations or a warning on areas frequented by bandits. Oddly enough, I managed to find one such hideout tucked away on a rocky hill after following a group of scoundrels. I was more than happy to liberate the camp and its loot.
The most unexpected quest I found in the middle of the wild involved a trail of bloody bandages and a couple running away from their pursuers. If I wasn’t looking at my surroundings, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon it. Though I’m sure there are other ways of initiating the quest, this way made me feel like I was rewarded for being observant.
In typical RPG fashion, whatever stuff Henry learned in the first game is gone. Somehow, Henry lost most of his skills when he got into a scuffle with a bandit. I say most because, unlike the first game, Henry isn’t the inexperienced young man we first met. He is now an experienced adventurer and the game does an excellent job reflecting that. Leveling up is a joy as it has always been and the skills you learn shape your playstyle in meaningful ways, as long as you don’t forget to use them. Players now have to rebuild Henry’s skills alongside his gear.
I am so happy that the gear system has been refined and I don’t have to guess which pieces are worth picking up and which ones I should toss to the wayside. The game added more equipment slots and there is no longer any unnecessary overlap. But more than that, players now can save 3 gear sets for when the occasion arises. For my case, I have a combat set, a worker set, and a set for socializing. This is, by far, my favorite change to the game by a large margin.
The combat remained mostly intact this time around. You still have the directional strikes from the sides and above. The bottom directional arrows are more for stabs and precision counters now. This subtle change makes combat less troublesome without changing too much of the whole “dance of death” aspect. My only complaint is that enemy AI pathing can get stupid at times and can easily make larger fights either ridiculously hard or easy. I like how heavy weapons like maces and clubs are further distinguished from swords. They’re supposed to hurt more and require fewer moves to be effective. In a sense, they are truly the blunt answer to any problem.
I’m still not sure how to feel about bows and crossbows. I suppose they feel slightly better to handle but I’ve never been much of a bow appreciator, even in the first game. So, I’m the wrong person to ask about such things. I do like the firearms as they can stop a charging enemy cold at close range. I may have to build into ranged weapons someday but that probably won’t happen during this playthrough.
KCD 2 is without a doubt unapologetically immersive. Apart from having to wear the right clothes for the occasion, you need to be aware of how dirty you are. People may tolerate your lack of hygiene when they need something from you but the common villager will not hesitate to comment on your odor at any given chance. The only thing that slightly gets me out of the immersion is when villagers start conversations with an unfriendly tone and then suddenly they remember they owe me their lives in the next line. Look, I’m glad that the NPCs remember past deeds but the line deliveries need a bit of work. Rest assured, It’s a microscopic nitpick in the totality of the game.
Besides, other issues also need to be ironed out through patches. The graphics look great but texture and asset pop-ins still occur, especially when you load into a new area for the first time. I don’t think it’s a persistent issue with medium-range rigs like mine but I suppose it will become an issue on consoles and lower-end PCs. Also, weather effects do add a level of immersion to the game but at its current state, don’t be surprised to see rain indoors or other places where rain isn’t supposed to be. Bugs will always be part of any open-world game, there’s no escaping it. However, KCD 2 will be far more polished than its predecessor at launch.
Locking pick was a thorn in my side during the first game. I absolutely hated it for how flimsy it felt on both MnK and controller. I was happy that a quality of life change made it more intuitive but the sting of dozens of broken lock picks and lost time still remains. Now, for whatever reason, the lock-picking mechanic is still annoying to deal with. Granted, the reworked version is on by default. It doesn’t make lock-picking any less frustrating or better in any way. If this is by design, this may be the only time I wished there was a lock break mechanic present.
Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated what Kingdome Come Deliverance 2 is trying to achieve. Years of hand-holding have conditioned players to expect simplified answers above all else, at the cost of a player’s sense of accomplishment. There will be moments when you feel like you are hitting a wall. It’s all good. The game has multiple ways of conveying crucial bits of information. Be it the exchange of money or talking to the right person at the right time, there’s always going to be a solution, even in cases where you think it is impossible.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 doubles down on everything that made the first game so memorable for so many players. It didn’t set out to reinvent itself. Instead, it made great strives to realizing that vision of Medieval Europe the first game was always supposed to be. And with DLC on the horizon, I can’t wait to sink another 200 hours into this wonderful world. If you loved the first game, I can’t recommend this game enough. You NEED to experience it.
Kingdom Come Deliverance II
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 literally doubles down on everything that made the first game so memorable for so many players. It didn't set out to reinvent itself. Instead, it made great strives to realizing that vision of Medieval Europe the first game was always supposed to be.
The Good
- Vast open maps full of mysteries and surprises
- Unapologetically immersive
- A much more refined experience
- Bigger and better in every way possible
The Bad
- AI pathing is still questionable at times
- Occasional graphical issues
- Lock picking still sucks
