Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 review – The adventure of a lifetime

The original Kingdom Come: Deliverance found its way into my top 10 when I first played it and today, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has found a rightful home among in what is my now top 11.

If I had to sell it to you, imagine The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind with the production values of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the granular gameplay of Deus Ex and Stalker in a realistic (though not strictly adhering to history) 15th-century setting in the Kingdom of Bohemia.

While Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 stands up on its own, it is best enjoyed and judged if you play the first game.

After the credits rolled, I looked back on the countless hours of adventures with protagonist Henry across two games and I couldn’t help but be overcome with the enormity of it all.

It truly feels like the adventure of a lifetime that ranges from crushing heart-wrenching blows all the way to debaucherous revelry as Henry finds himself in a world plunged into chaos.

Both games are absolutely massive but are comprised of so many personal moments featuring a dizzying number of characters that only balloons in the sequel, with a story that is captivating, funny, human, touching and tragic.

Even small, minor players are well-written and fleshed out. I wanted to stop and talk to them all and complete every side quest I came across.

By the end, the game leaves you questioning your motives and holds you to account for your actions, of which there are a staggering amount of paths to take.

Like many RPGs, you can talk, intimidate or fight your way out of situations, but KCD2 allows you to explore other avenues much like an immersive sim.

All this, paired with the stunning vistas of the Troskowitz and Kuttenberg regions makes for an incredibly exciting, dynamic world to explore, full of secrets, danger, wonder and unforgettable moments.

Troskowitz is a brilliant stomping ground for coming to grips with the game and its innumerable systems. It’s smaller and more rural but prepares you well for the Kuttenberg region.

Despite the main attraction being the city of Kuttenberg itself, many of the villages surrounding it are much bigger than any of the towns in Troskowitz. It can be overwhelming, especially as the plot opens up to feature more characters grappling with the bizarre politics of the nobility, but you’re right there with Henry, who is equally bewildered.

Eventually, you begin to find your footing in this new, dangerous land. Looking back to the squabbles of Troskowitz (you can also travel back after completing the game), it seems downright quaint.

Exploring these lands, I felt like a spoiled historical tourist. So much of my time spent was obsessing over the impossible amount of little details in the authentically crafted medieval world, but ultimately, it’s the people who inhabit it that make it feel lived in.

Warhorse Studios came under fire for a lack of diversity in the first game and it’s immediately clear in the sequel that the developers listened and learned.

Across both regions, you will find an authentically rich diaspora of diverse peoples that go a long way to making the world feel a lot more believable for all the right and wrong reasons.

It’s great to see representation for communities that existed then and still do, but like today, many of these groups such as the Romani people in the Troskowitz region are marginalised and demonised by many. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a realistic game, after all, and to gloss over hardships past and present would be a disservice.

Playing KCD2, there is a great sense of "the more things change, the more they stay the same". While technology, laws and society have progressed massively, we are ultimately the same humans as we ever were.

The realistic settings help ground this all, making the plight of oppressed peoples, women and the peasantry feel all the more poignant, as well as making the funny and heartwarming moments even more so.

Helping to provide context to this all is the wonderful codex which provides a huge amount of insight into 15th-century Bohemia and beyond, all while being beautifully presented with Medieval art.

Something I really appreciate is that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 never really pretends to not be a video game. With such a hugely ambitious project, there is the odd rough edge.

One for me was that the city of Kuttenberg, for all its grandeur and splendour, it seemed more like set-dressing at times, with many closed-off buildings and regions that felt at odds with the open-ended values of the game.

Some of these areas are for plot points later on, but in the codex, Warhorse Studios explains that due to optimisation and the like, they had to make it the way it is. Nothing is hidden from the player, so instances such as this are much easier to accept.

But now, it’s time for some complaints. Whilst the game is lovely to look at and runs very well, the game could do with some more advanced graphics features.

Hardware ray-traced ambient occlusion would work wonders, as Cryengine’s software solution can fall short at times, with some characters having distracting glowing features in dark scenes.

Another is that the game feels quite leary at times. It’s not as raunchy as Baldur’s Gate 3, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 comes off far more awooga-smashing-head-with-mallet-eyes-popping-out than the former does. The romantic aspect of the game is optional, but while the dialogue is good, when it comes to intimate scenes, it’s not always so tactful.

In my preview, I said that I enjoyed the streamlined combat system, and I did until I learned master strikes and found it pretty easy to cheese after the fact.

You can experiment with other weapons, but master strikes allow you to completely dominate opponents, save for a few expert swordsmen out there.

Perhaps this is more realistic, but even going up against larger groups, enemies wouldn’t do much to flank or swarm you. Perhaps I’m just an expert gamer, but I only died a handful of times in combat. This is something that will be addressed in the upcoming Hardcore mode, but I would’ve liked the extra challenge in the here and now.

The AI can be a bit funky, too, and won't really react to you at times. This is especially evident when using a bow or crossbow from a distance, with some severe "must’ve been the wind" moments as NPCs don't really go looking for you despite the arrow sticking out of their neck.

These are just minor quibbles when compared to the game as a whole. Not very long into my playthrough, I knew I would be awarding Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 five stars, and here we are.

In my opinion, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and the original are essential must-play games and you would be doing yourself a disservice to miss them.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 launches 4th February on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. We reviewed on PC. You can order your copy here.

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