There’s a fine line between medieval gameplay that’s historically accurate and medieval gameplay that’s fun. The overall reception to Kingdom Come: Deliverance indicates Warhorse Studios struck that balance well in 2018, but as noted in Kotaku’s review, plenty could be improved. After playing (the recently delayed) Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 for roughly three hours, it’s clear the team is aware of the first game’s misses, and its strengths, too. KCD2 is, on the surface, a classic video game sequel—bigger and better, with more to do. But I’m surprised by just how “immersive sim” it is, even if I get the sense Warhorse might shudder at that characterization. Though its introduction is slow and narrowly focused on familiarizing newcomers with the gameplay, what I play much later in the game feels like an exciting digital LARP session I can’t wait to experiment in further.
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A slow but “authentically medieval” start
The game’s opening is set within Trosky Castle, the centerpiece of KCD2’s first (of two) major regions: Bohemian Paradise, during the year 1403. Hungary, on orders of King Sigismund the Red Fox, is invading, and Henry, Hans, and other soldiers find themselves at the mercy of arrows, trebuchets, and more. It’s a fun set piece and showcases the new crossbow weapon, which joins other additions like early firearms and missile weapons, but just as things get going, we cut to a time several weeks earlier.
Unaware of the incoming invasion, protagonist Henry, his former rival but now best friend Hans, and their crew make camp after a brief scuttle with some watchmen looking out for bandits, used here to showcase the game’s skill-check-based dialogue system. Immediately, I’m entranced by the music, written by Warhorse’s in-house composer duo, Adam Sporka and Jan Valta. It’s refreshingly medieval and whimsical and avoids the more generic tone of heroism that can sometimes accompany the genre’s music. At camp, I play a few rounds of the dice-based minigame Tankard, find a way to feed my dog (which you can pet, of course), and practice swordplay with Hans.
Dueling against Hans feels weighty and deliberate as I select a direction for my attack with the right stick before swinging with the right trigger. I do this while watching Hans’ attacks and their direction so I can block with the left trigger. It’s surprisingly difficult as you must manage your directional input, enemy input, parries, and more. The game does a great job diegetically signaling what’s next, but it’s still a lot to account for. I initially suck at it. But after a few more fights, I start to feel the appeal of this combat system. Warhorse says it focused on making the combat more engaging and easier to understand for the sequel, tackling one of the most common criticisms of the first game.
Warhorse PR Manager Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, who spoke on behalf of the studio during the event, says KCD2 is an “authentically medieval game but not a medieval simulation.” The combat speaks to that most. It feels like what I imagine medieval combat was like—deliberate, weighty, and a touch unwieldy—but still manages to be fun.
“Authentically medieval” also allows the team to get away with things like “Remedium Savegamium,” a potion that must be drunk to save the game. From the groans and laughter I hear during the preview when Warhorse mentions this, it’s clear fans of the series find this potion both a frustrating element of the first game and an endearing aspect of the difficulty and challenge it’s known for.
After some time in the camp, Hans beckons Henry to join him on a little adventure, following the voices of women he hears nearby. This moment serves as the game’s introduction to stealth, which seems simple but serviceable, but more importantly, it kicks off an event that sends Hans and Henry running for their lives. Bandits attack the crew back at camp and then the women, and Hans and Henry are forced to flee, but not before Henry takes an arrow to the back.
As the two attempt to escape across a nearby pond, Henry is forced to relive tragic (and trippy) moments of his history through flashbacks likely caused by extreme blood loss. I like these moments, as they inject a bit of fantasy and surrealism that KCD2’s devotion to “authentically medieval” might otherwise prevent, and the flashbacks help me, a newcomer to the series, catch up on how Henry went from a nobody to somebody.
I eventually make it to a rickety backwood cabin and meet Pavlena and Hezbonah, who rehabilitate Henry and teach me alchemy (a fun multi-step minigame to craft potions) and the effects of my dialogue choices. Henry gains reputation with different people, like Pavlena and Hezbonah, as well as factions based on selections I make, even with dialogue that doesn’t rely on skill checks, which provides the type of introspection I feel in good D&D roleplay. As I chose the Advisor playstyle in the game’s intro, my Henry leads with knowledge in conversation, but a Soldier playstyle might come off more brutish or a Thief more conniving.
Choosing Advisor, Soldier, or Thief allocates your starting ability points, but Warhorse says you aren’t locked into one direction and are free to class out your Henry however you like. Something I enjoy during my brief time with the game is the way it rewards your direct actions. Warhorse calls it “true roleplaying,” but it reminds me most of classic Runescape in the sense that if I want my combative actions to improve, I need to actually do things like swing a sword or shoot a bow. It’s nice interacting with the world to improve Henry’s abilities, as opposed to arbitrarily receiving points I can allocate to any skill after completing quests, and adds a satisfying level of action-and-immediate-consequence to the world.
I eventually reach the KCD2 title card and just before I can finally interact with the open world of Bohemian Paradise, I’m booted out. Though it’s clear the sequel’s introductory hours are meant to catch new players up on this series and how it works, even I, a newcomer, found it slow when all was said and done. It’s a ton of dialogue, admittedly well-written, but enough to make one’s eyes glaze over in between the sparse gameplay sequences.
A dash of Thief in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Thankfully, though, there’s more to come. The second half of my play session takes place 60 to 70 hours into the game, I’m told, in KCD2’s other major region, Kuttenberg, a place not seen in the first game but teased throughout. It’s a massive and sprawling medieval city inhabited by hundreds of NPCs and surrounded by villages and wilderness that invite exploration. According to Warhorse, Kuttenberg and Bohemian Paradise make up 25 square kilometers of KCD2 to explore, double the size of its predecessor.
Here, I encounter the Meister of Frankfurt, Menhard, a loud but charming character attempting to become a local guild leader by challenging others who hold the title. Henry, who stumbles upon this conversation, is free to ignore it or at least stay quiet. But you can also side with Menhard or the opposing group of people. I side with Menhard and, after a dodgy conversation over a mug of beer, find myself in charge of stealing a special guild sword and hanging it at Town Hall.
It’s midday and, curious about this request, I immediately head toward the waypoint. This brings me to a locked door that I attempt to lockpick, clearly forgetting myself because the guards nearby immediately arrest me. Henry must first endure humiliation and embarrassment in a pillory before he’s freed and, because of his arrest, must now sleep to rid himself of a debuff that makes him easier to spot. I sleep long enough to get rid of it and awake at 1 a.m., the perfect time for some daring thievery. It’s here I learn that if you’re out at night, you have to carry a torch, lest you face questioning and scrutiny (that I fail) from guards patrolling the city…and it’s jail again. Soon, this time with a torch in hand, I attempt this guild sword heist at night again and eventually reach the correct location.
After successfully picking some locked doors, I enter. I see a guard at a table and sneak in close to knock him out. It’s here I learn that baths are important. Throughout my time in Kuttenberg, almost every NPC I walk by remarks on my smell, but I ignore it. I wish I hadn’t because as I sit behind the aforementioned guard preparing to knock him out, he smells something awful, turns around, and spots me…jail again. After a third attempt, I finally retrieve the sword and hang it at Town Hall as Menhard instructed. Acting as a guild challenge of sorts, Menhard, Henry, and a third NPC must now face off against the other guild would-bes in a tournament. I love that when Henry isn’t dueling, he must stand on the sidelines and watch the other NPCs duel. It’s a small touch of authenticity that I welcome after expecting the game to either fast-forward or let Henry join in on the other fights.
It’s here in this Kuttenberg section of the preview that I find the freedom, diversity, and variation the game’s opening lacks. Though the first two hours of the game feel paint-by-numbers, what I see in Kuttenberg, more than halfway through the game’s story, hints at a sprawling medieval RPG that borders immersive sim—I wish I’d gotten to experience more than just 60 minutes of it.
Warhorse stresses there is a linear story here—Henry is still on a quest to avenge his parents, who were murdered in the first game, all while fighting back against the invading Hungarian army—and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out. I especially enjoy the comedic buddy-duo dynamic between Henry and Hans and how their relationship informs the wider narrative moments happening around them (and sometimes because of them). However, it’s the steps I’ll take to reach those moments, the choices I’ll make mechanically informed by the real history of this medieval landscape, that excite me most as KCD2 approaches launch early next year.