Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (KCD2) is Warhorse Studio’s second game. It continues the story of Henry of Skalitz and his adventures in 1400s Bohemia. KCD2 pulls no punches, committing to simulating life in all its tedium, grime, and brutal violence. However, Warhorse Studio’s second effort is one for the books, offering an immersive, engaging experience unlike anything else in this generation. A game that embodies the motto of “Audaces fortuna iuvat.”
The Bohemian ideal
I wouldn’t call Kingdom Come: Deliverance 1 an ugly game; if anything, it looked washed out with sunlight at times, but the look fit its humble setting of the rural Bohemian countryside. In contrast, KCD2 looks incredible, a true next-generation upgrade in fidelity with dense forests and bustling city streets. The game gives you plenty of opportunities to absorb its setting with its large maps, and I was particularly impressed when simply walking from point A to point B. Looking at the open field beside me, I saw mice dash out of the tall grass and across the road. Small details like that and how the birds chirp in the woods early in the morning as rays shine through trees make me go beyond impressed and into wonder as to how Warhorse pulled this off. Nothing looks copied; everything looks handmade, and there are multiple huge maps!
Henry puts on layers and layers of armor and clothes, but I never saw any distracting clipping in the cutscenes. All the pieces of my Henry mismatched outfits seemed to fit together well. Every aspect of the visual and audio experience is on point, letting you be fully immersed in the world.
A knight’s tale
The story of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 picks up seemingly days after the first game with our lovable hero, Henry, and his friend, Sir Hans Capon, on a mission to deliver a message in hopes of ending the violence raging across Bohemia. Naturally, this simple delivery mission goes wrong, and the party is killed, leaving Henry and Capon injured and dirt-poor in a region where nobody knows who they are. Henry must once again build himself back up from nothing, navigating political plots, castle sieges, and the dangers of war-torn Bohemia in his quest to get revenge on the people who destroyed his home of Skalitz.
The story of KDC2 is complex, and if you don’t know anything about the first game, you may be confused with all the names of lords and noble houses being thrown around. However, the game has a detailed codex, and the major plot points are easy to follow. There is a war in Bohemia between nobles loyal to the rightful King Wenceslas and nobles loyal to the invading King Sigousmand. Sigasmands army is the one that burned down Henry’s village and killed his family, so we don’t like them. Simple. The story is engaging, with plenty of room for player choice and twists to keep you on your toes with enough levity to keep it from being too much of a downer. The story is very long, with a dozen characters, but it is paced so well that I never felt lost, which is an accomplishment in itself.
Sword and word play
The gameplay in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 can be divided into several categories. Stealth, direct combat, and dialogue are all affected by your gear, with Henry having three outfit slots. You can dress your Henry however you want, but it helps to have one outfit for sneaking, talking, and fighting. What you wear will influence what people think of you, so if you want to seem like a charismatic guy, you’d best be dressed to the nines. In the new combat system, you can strike from only four positions as opposed to the last game’s six, and the Master Strike counter can only be performed by swords with cross guards. The new system may sound like a downgrade, but it adds more depth by making the player pay attention to the enemy’s weapon and eliminates the annoying problem where some random dirt farmer is parrying your attacks like a knight. The new system definitely encourages the player to stick to swords, but the skill tree is deep enough for all weapons to feel worthwhile, encouraging you to play how you want.
Speaking of skills, KCD2 has a massive amount of them, from sneaking and specialized weapon skills, including fists, to charisma and the scholar skill that you level up by reading books, many of which teach Henry about things like craftsmanship or horse-riding and the most essential skill for any young Bohemian man, drinking. If this all sounds overwhelming, it is not in practice. You are playing the game normally when you get a notification that you can pick up a new perk and go to the menu to pick the one you want. That’s what it’s like to play KCD2; there are a lot of systems going on, but it’s put together so well that things just make sense.
Conclusion
KCD2 is the perfect sequel and a game that isn’t afraid to play by its own rules. It offers an at times brutal experience but also an immensely satisfying one filled with memorable characters and a beautiful world. It is one of the few games well-worth its price tag of $70. If you were scared away by its commitment to realism, I implore you to give KCD2 and Warhorse Studio a chance as I did. If you’re a fan of the series, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 delivers in every way you hoped, ascending to a select few all-time great works of art in the industry and one that was well worth the wait.
The Review
Masterpiece
