I haven't played an open world RPG so thoughtful, sincere or funny Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 from… well, the original Kingdom Come Freedom. With the sequel, Warhorse Studios has struck a fine balance between historical accuracy and deep gravity, resulting in a story full of boozy, slapstick hijinks. Just like in real medieval European history.
Manage cookie settings
For this preview, I was able to play up to a wedding set within the first major category you get to explore. Since reaching this point, I have 25 hours on my save file, and I have completed all the content available up to this point, except for one side quest. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a rich resource, full of engaging content, smaller tasks that demand your attention, and side quests that really weave into the main story so that you feel like a reward not only through material goods, but a narrative payment, too. eat your heart out, Witcher 3.
But – best of all – this is the best open world RPG I've played that not only respects your decision to become an entrepreneur. a hunterbut there are deep systems built around that allow you to be the most competent wanker you can be. Do you like robbing people? Getting drunk and hitting random people on the road? Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 promotes unique progression paths for brawlers, burglars, and drunks. While the people of Bohemia take note, suffocating among themselves, leading to lasting and influential consequences. I am forgotten.
Many other previews seem to note how different styles of clothing affect your charisma, how (if you don't wash yourself often) how you shine like a p* *s, and if you don't take a bath your clothes will be dirty. as a sort of permanent scruffbag debuff. Countless, I'm sure, will appreciate how adorable your dog is.
These are all good illustrations of Kingdom Come Deliverance's strengths, but let me summarize in more detail: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 feels like a hobgoblin game. A game for late nights, sick days off work. A game where you can cross it. It's a wonderful historical romp for the average video game fan, if they have the constitution to handle a few waves of tedium. Let me make a case for the game's merits by comparing it to its inevitable competitor in the eyes of gamers: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim for good measure.
Bethesda and A war horse which are polar opposites of the design philosophy spectrum when it comes to making open world RPGs. While Bethesda emphasizes breaking down barriers between the player and a sense of excitement and wunderlust, Warhorse included these obstacles. In Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, this not only makes the experiences you encounter more special (not trying to bombard enough), but somehow it makes obstacles mechanical road as an integral part of the adventure as well. There is no better point of comparison in my mind between the two approaches than a thief.
In Skyrim, you are less a thief in the dark and more a ghost haunting the chests and pockets of those around you. Picking a lock and picking pockets is not difficult. A stranger can walk into a town, everyone's gold and jewels can disappear, and the townspeople shake and mourn their lost wealth as the one phantom falls a – out of town the next day, very big and rich. The owner of the shop will stand like a basket placed on their head, as a voiceless spy practically rips the floorboards from the ground. How on earth could this have happened, and who could be to blame? If you get caught, you pay a fine. It's not a big fine, mind you, especially if you've been selling your stolen goods. The biggest problem for a thief in Skyrim is that the people of Skyrim often do not have enough money to buy back the stolen goods.
In Kingdom Come Salvation 2, being a thief is a struggle. Lock pick can be hardand breaking a picket will make a loud noise that will distract you. If dogs see you pooping, they will bark at you, chase you off the site. When you pick someone up, you have to spend a few seconds digging through their pockets before you even get a chance to get loot, and most of that loot is hidden! In addition, store owners can see if goods you are selling are stolen, and refuse to buy them. You often have to travel to another town to drop off your loot. Oh, and if you're outnumbered, you can't level up or fast travel. Walk, grind!
But it gets even deeper. The game has a reputation system, so if you're caught stealing stuff or lurking around houses at night, people treat you like a thief and act accordingly, even when you're not committing crimes . Even if you're not caught, they'll put together how you were in town while stuff went missing, and you'll gain a reputation as a thief – even without spending time in a jail cell! Losing this reputation is very costly, requiring you to empty your wallet or go on a time-consuming goodwill mission. Just like real life, I guess.
The reason this is important, and why I bring it up, is because the whole game is like this. There are so many styles of play not only possiblebut clearly included by the devs. You want to be a soldier, then there is a rich combo system for a melee system that is difficult to master, a layered weapon system, and weapons that are excellent against different types of defense. Do you want to be a forest ranger? Apart from the thieving business I've already talked about, you can do as well for yourself lurking around the woods, poaching and picking herbs for poisons and other reagents. Don't you want to fight at all? Dress up nicely and talk your way out of almost everything.
Or, have a drink every day and play dice. To hell with it, right? The more you drink, the more you get drink levels, which can be useless until you see that you almost can't half fall damage you take while drunk. More than once, I've seen it fall well, down eight bottles of schnapps, and come away okay. Just like real life. No other game allows you to do this.
There are going to be a lot of people who don't like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. It's an unavoidable cost that is deeply rooted in historical accuracy, and the accompanying tedium of having to carry six heavy bags from time to time. to a basement, or sit on a cart moving slowly across the map. It means some looking for a quick Skyrim-style payday and power fantasy will be left kicking their heels. Three guys can box you up (and with not-so-generous saves for the alchemy resist among you) a fight that goes wrong can set you back 20 minutes, easy. People will fall off a hill, break their ankles, and uninstall the game. This is the sacrifice required for a game like this, though. It is what it is.
Hitting the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 preview point, for me, was like criticizing the breaks on a moving train. I hope to get back on it. If you're an open world RPG fan then this looks like a real banger, and well worth putting some money aside when released on February 4, 2025.
