Let’s give fair warning to the curious newcomers joining this franchise for the first time. One does NOT simply whip out a sword and dispense “Kingdom Comeuppance” to foes in this open-world RPG. A sizable chasm of busywork and exposition exists between you and effective violence. There’ll be much sorting out of to-do lists before you can get to swording out ruffians.
And do you know what? That extended foreplay (which has been deliberately baked in to remind us how basic and bloody awful medieval times were) is exactly what we fans like and expect from Warhorse Studios’ RPGing.
There’s totally swordplay in the traditional sense—resolving disputes by shmacking people with family-sized chunks of sharp metal—but the act requires finesse. Stamina management is key, unsurprisingly, as is the shrewd untangling of foes from an overwhelming scrum into an exploitable conga line. The biggest switch-up, however, is angling of thy swings and parries with stick-selected purpose.
Basically, go in expecting to easily equip yourself with arms and comport yourself well, via some Skyrim-esque kleptomania followed by attack button spamming, respectively, and you’re gonna cop it.
Let me explain the long, slow burn of arduous tasks and skill-stripping exposition standing between you and the buckling of pretty much any swash.
resolving disputes by shmacking people with family-sized chunks of sharp metal
Though we ended the original KCD riding high in the saddle as a peasant blacksmith elevated to noble toady, our returning protagonist, Henry of Skalitz, is soon reduced to rags and abject perklessness in short order. Likewise, his smart-ass and pampered lord, Sir Hans Capon, finds himself on the wrong end of the social spectrum whilst trying to deliver a peace offering.
Cue: a pretty much page one rewrite where you’ll need to grind-by-doing to get Henry into whatever shape you prefer–brawler, archer, swordmaster, assassin, pickpocket, silver-tongued fashionista, or anything in between.
Reaching whatever goal you set involves wading through the aforementioned minutiae. Henry has to be fed and watered, bandaged when bleeding, clothed respectively to be taken seriously, equipped with a torch at night to not be viewed suspiciously—you get the idea. There are a ton of gameplay systems and NPC subroutines running to make this as much of a living, breathing ecosystem as possible. The overwhelming majority of them work remarkably well, too.
As I hinted at before, this extends to the action quotient of this piece. Wanna kill someone? Well, every NPC seems to be weirdly omniscient about who owns what item this world, so ripping off some steel and someone’s armoured pantaloons will get you put in the stocks, depleted of funds, or slain on the spot.
No. The ”easiest” path to above-the-board violence is to first befriend a blacksmith through a lengthy questline. Once you’ve gained free access to his workshop, find a whole bunch of raw materials out in the field (literal, gorgeous fields), and then do a 5-10 minute minigame when it’s hammertime.
Essentially, you’ve got to cave-dwelling Tony Stark all that crap together. Oh, and then go spend more minutes sharpening it into actual usefulness on a grindstone, you filthy freeloading peasant.
Though the quest-givers, required materials, and minigames obviously vary, this is more or less the gruelling flow of how KCD2 does everything—it’s a slow, methodical experience. Walking is slow. Combat is slow. Progression is glacial. This is not a game for those who crave instant gratification; this is a game for those who want to spend ten minutes contemplating the best way to butter a medieval baguette.
ripping off some steel and someone’s armoured pantaloons will get you put in the stocks
And yet, despite its slow-burn nature, KCD2 manages to make even the smallest victories feel like triumphs. Surviving a tough fight, successfully stealing an apple, or simply managing to not smell like a corpse can be as satisfying as slaying a dragon in lesser, less historically accurate RPGs. (Looking at you, Skyrim. Where does one even store 600 cheese wheels?)
Weirdly, even just existing in the world of KCD2 and staying on the right side of its denizens through sensible multiple-choice dialogue comes with its own degree of satisfaction; this is a living, breathing society that cares about what you do. Murder someone? Expect the authorities to come knocking. Sleep in other people’s beds? Word will spread. Forget to bathe? Prepare for villagers to wrinkle their noses in disgust. Truly, it is the ultimate “actions have consequences” simulator. (If only real life had a quicksave button.)
Also, when it comes to a non-spoiler appraisal of the impressively long and dense main campaign? An engaging, multi-path adventure with twists, betrayals, and just the right amount of noble deeds and setpiece battles that can hammer home the wanton brutality of the age.
Likewise, the characters are well-written and often hilarious. (Sir Hans Capon, you lovable idiot, never change.) Henry himself can be a bit too dull and straight-laced by default—dutiful, loyal, and uncomplicated—until you make some very out-of-character conversational choices. Aside from stirring up the odd shenanigan with an out-of-character flare of aggression, Henry’s personality can feel a bit too static throughout.
Better yet, if you’re looking for an epic to immerse yourself in, KCD2 has got interesting side content and overall runtime in spades. After traipsing around in a sandbox I felt was decently vast, at roughly the 35-hour mark I earned the means to unlock a wider area that held the jewel of this playspace—the major city of Kuttenburg.
It’s pretty impressive to watch NPC villages mimic real lives out in the provinces; it’s pretty mind-blowing to watch all that play out in a far denser metropolis that’s thick with peds and rich in historically accurate detail. Better yet, Warhorse doesn’t slouch on the nature of side activities—there’s always a weird wrinkle, plot twist, or amusing shenanigan to break up what could have been point-to-point delivery boredom.
there’s always a weird wrinkle, plot twist, or amusing shenanigan to break [things] up
Despite having triple-digit side quests to explore, I have to admit that there were times when I just aimlessly rambled about to drink in these visuals. This is a pretty gorgeous world that begs to be explored thanks to reasonably diverse ecosystems and unique settlements of a non-copy-paste design.
Honestly, if the story hadn’t been so compelling, I might have been lost in that wilderness altogether for 100 odd hours. Instead, I was kept well engaged with a straightforward emissary mission that becomes a buddy road trip that goes well off the rails in hostile territories. The cherries on top of this are surprisingly cliff-hangers and the odd perspective shift plus a very memorable villain.
All in all, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 represents a considerable time investment and a phenomenal bit of modern open-world RPGing. It ditches Daedric daggers and dragons for grounded, loveable characters and gratifying skill-based combat and player development. Anything more I say about it will spoil something. Just go play it and be fairly amazed by how sharply the original 2018 concept has been honed.
