Meditative, gripping, and sometimes downright infuriating, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 commits hard to its medieval RPG vision. While many games sand down rough edges to accommodate as many players as possible, this is not one of those games. The resulting friction is both its greatest strength and its most glaring weakness.
Advertised as an RPG based on gritty realism, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 certainly delivers on its brief. Fighting feels heavy, as if weighed down by the in-game armour you wear. Brewing potions and smithing weaponry take actual time out of your day. Even fast travel – a convenience afforded to you by most modern games – isn’t a guarantee to bypass perils between settlements.
Nothing moves quickly in the 15th-century Bohemia setting, a compelling setting for such a densely layered RPG. A melting pot of various European cultures, it sets the stage for an eclectic cast of characters inspired by real-world historical figures.
An at-times glacial pace isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s rather refreshing to play a game so content with doing things its way. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s intended friction is riveting, embodying the ‘roleplaying’ aspect used so liberally by recent RPGs.
It’s the unintended friction that proves the most frustrating; clumsy stealth sections, and obtuse combat encounters that take you out of the otherwise fascinating world. But none of the lows are remotely devastating enough to erase the thrills of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s epic wartime story.
Delivering a letter is hard work
As mentioned in my preview, playing the first game isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying the sequel. I never played the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Beyond several returning characters, everything feels neatly self-contained, and the stakes clearly established.
Playing as Henry, whose blacksmith father died in a siege, you accompany the noble Hans Capon as his page. You’re tasked with helping to deliver a message to a nearby lord, which will hopefully end a messy dispute over Bohemia’s throne.
Except, this basic quest quickly devolves into bloodshed – it is a video game, after all. The ensuing journey involves warfare, banditry, and political espionage while Henry reckons with his own allegiances and quest for vengeance.
Wary of previous public comments from Kingdom Come‘s creative director, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the sequel’s characterisation of different cultures. Even before launch, these comments about historical accuracy have been turned back around to criticise the game. To my surprise, I found Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to be reasonably even-handed in depicting its multicultural cast.
That’s not to say it’s free of racism and rampant misogyny. However, it comes from unsavoury characters, not the game painting any particular group with the same brush. For the most part, conversations provide an opportunity to learn about history and what drives people’s viewpoints.
It is a bit of a sausage fest, mind you, with even major women characters sidelined at critical moments. At least Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 shows it’s self-aware about the male-dominated setting.
I think of one side-quest where Henry assists a young lady noble who’s widely regarded for her intellect, wit, and tactical nous. She laments that no matter how capable she may prove herself time and time again, all society dictates she can do is get married off to another noble family to prolong her father’s bloodline. It’s a poignant moment in upholding the patriarchal status of the time, while making a mockery of modern notions of ‘meritocracy’.
Interactive history
As much as you’ll be watching cutscenes and delving into branching dialogue, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has plenty of gameplay too. This is largely where the seams start to show; a relentless commitment to realism doesn’t always equal enjoyment.
Like many RPGs before Kingdom Come, nearly every in-game action contributes towards different stats. Running around and being active increases vitality and stamina, while fighting people levels up warfare and numerous weapon sub-classes. None of this reinvents the wheel and nor does it need to; it’s inherently satisfying seeing your digital toil rewarded.
Putting these skills to work is where Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 steps apart from other RPGs. Brewing potions and blacksmithing are involved mini-games that take you through each step in great detail. Gaining combat prowess isn’t a matter of button-mashing your way to glory – it’s a delicate dance of patience and poise.
Combat was one aspect I had a love-hate relationship with. On paper, it looks like a clever idea; watch your opponents closely and strike at any openings. Depending on the weapon, you can swing from up to four different directions. Following the same rules, foes hold their weapons aloft in one of said four directions. However, despite leaving what appear to be clear openings, they often block in an instant, parrying and dealing substantial damage in the process.
It’s particularly prevalent in the early hours of the game when you have low stats and weak gear. Taking down even a lightly armoured bandit is tough, making the opening act a bit of a slog to get through. It’s easy to lose progress and patience, thanks to a save system tied to consumable items.
Czech your corners
I also hold no love for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s stealth gameplay. Even when playing as a hit-first, ask-questions-later warrior, multiple forced stealth sections pop up to bring momentum to a screeching halt.
It’s at odds with the game’s philosophy of playing the way you want; you’re encouraged to level up Henry as you see fit but get effectively penalised for neglecting a stat like stealth or thievery. If you don’t put points into these stats, the occasional stealth sections are all the more punitive.
There’s a quest that tasks Henry with escaping a castle while significantly injured. This injury applies a debuff that negatively impacts his core stats. Narratively, it makes perfect sense – in practice, it was utterly painful to navigate. The debuff meant that Henry was over-encumbered, slowing his movement and ability to sneak undetected.
Reluctant to abandon any of my hard-earned loot, I eventually relented after countless failed attempts by dropping Henry’s armour and making a run for it while half-naked. Stealth isn’t Kingdom Come‘s strong suit, and the arbitrary limitation imposed upon me by this section was maddening.
What frustrated me the most wasn’t that quests like this were unenjoyable. No, I was more agitated that they kept me away from to story I became invested in. Henry, Hans, and the crew of miscreants they meet get involved in some of the most ridiculous shenanigans I’ve seen in a game. There are too many twists and escalations to count – I couldn’t get enough of it.
For king and country
A lot of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is very king and country stuff, concerned with the fates of nations and people in power. But it never loses sight of the personal impact of war. Many characters initially come across as reprehensible, unlikeable individuals, but you come to learn what shaped their hardened exteriors. Even Hans, whose first impression is that of an insufferable prat, finds redemption along the way.
At times, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s friction oversteps from realism into frustration. But it never overshadows the great moments, both big and small, that this ambitious RPG conjures.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was reviewed on a PS5 Pro using a code provided by the publisher.
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