Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - the most elaborate RPG in gaming history, but also a frustrating medieval simulator (Review)

Reviewed version: PS5 Pro

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 needs no introduction. They know that this is the most ambitious Czech game from Warhorse Studios, founded by legendary game developer Daniel Vávra (Mafia 1 and Mafia 2). The main character of the sequel to the reworked RPG is again Jindřich, who performed some heroic deeds in the first part and wants to use it for a better life in the second one.

However, he lives in the Middle Ages, so his situation goes wrong in a matter of hours and he has to fight for his life again and scrounge for pennies to have any food at all. His wandering through Kutná Hora and other parts of Bohemian territory in 1403 was supposed to be an unforgettable gaming experience. What is the result?

Few in the Czech Republic or Slovakia would dare say that this ambitious game was a failure. Let's not shoot ourselves in the foot, especially when the existence of such high-quality games is so exceptional.

That won't be the case in this review either, although I was more frustrated while playing Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 than I am with most "Souls" games. That's how much I wanted to like this game... But in the end, I was left disappointed as I was unable to finish it.

The story and characters get under your skin from the very beginning

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it though, quite the opposite. From the very beginning, KCD 2 is a very interesting game in every aspect. The story unfolds slowly, but in unexpected ways and in unexpected directions, so that the creators immediately draw the player into the action. With the excitement of the suspenseful plot and what is to come, the other twists and turns or who will not survive everyone will probably look forward to more dialogue and story scenes.

These are of a very high standard. We also liked the Czech dubbing in the game. It's far from perfect and on the level of classic AAA game acting, but it sounds very natural in the game and suits the characters exceedingly well. Additionally, the Czech actors seem to have a better understanding of the context of the events and the period setting, which combined with the slang terms and various Czech accents makes for a charming language.

So whenever the characters talk to each other, it sounds nice, but most of all it is engaging. In fact, the conversations are thought-provoking, they help to describe the time period, the common problems of people in those times, and they describe the characters and their personalities in an unusual way. Perhaps no one in the world has created a medieval RPG on this level, with such a focus on the details of real history. Warhorse Studio has thus undoubtedly delivered the most comprehensive medieval RPG we have ever seen.

A vivid and beautiful open world full of detail

A sense of authenticity and detail oozes from every scene, which also look much more polished in the second game. It's not just the higher quality textures or the higher resolution (the game is particularly beautiful on PS5 Pro), the artists have played with lighting, character models and overall visuals that stand up to other big AAA titles in the open-world RPG genre.

The latter is much larger than the unit, offering more villages and towns, forests and meadows to explore. You can look forward to Trosky Castle or Kutná Hora and its surroundings, but you can also explore other castles and towns, as the game also includes a fortress conquest mechanic.

The game's environment is magical, which, in addition to the colourful landscapes, is taken care of by the music and the living world. On your travels you can meet bandits, vendors, hunters or a simple messenger who has lost a letter and is afraid to return to his master. You can grant his request, beat him senseless to give him an excuse, or leave him to his fate. Thanks to such moments, many side and main quests and other activities, you can easily spend at least 50 hours in the game.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a beautiful game with an amazing story and characters, with a detailed open and vivid world enriched with lots of details. How it plays is a chapter in itself.

A frustrating medieval simulator

Every gamer should realize before buying that this game is not for everyone. In terms of gameplay, it is challenging, inaccessible in places, cumbersome and overly complex. There are dozens of detailed mechanics and aspects affecting gameplay.

In layman's terms, it's a medieval simulator, and since I'm not one of the target audience for this type of gameplay, I found the experience frustrating. On the other hand, there are gamers who will buy this game for that very reason and it will be their favorite game of the year.

It certainly wasn't fun for me when the guard in the village started chasing me because I was shining my flashlight on the road at night (he thought I was going to steal, after all). Nor was it fun when I wanted to earn money as a blacksmith's helper and had to forge into one sword maybe 40 times. Nor was it fun when, after seven hours of playing, I still didn't have enough money to buy a horse and had to follow my horse-riding friends around on my own.

In fact, I stole most of the items I had, which the shop assistants can automatically detect and won't buy those things from you. Such details take away from the fun of the game (and that there are a lot of them). The level of authenticity is often extremely frustrating. One example might be that the player is not allowed to freely sell the meat and fur of the animals he hunts. This is because at the time the forests belonged to the king, so his permission was required to hunt. Whoever doesn't have it is a poacher and automatically finished. It's a wonderful detail that adds to the authenticity of the world, but limits the gameplay and its potential in creating fun activities.

First uninstall - duel system

Whether you fight with your fists or with a sword or other weapons, you can hit an enemy in five places. From the bottom left or right, from the sides to the body, or from the top to the head. Where you aim, Henry strikes. However, his movements are sometimes slower, and by the time the strike connects with your opponent's body, he has already changed position or attacked himself. Thus, Henry must defend himself and deflect attacks, which quickly become repetitive.

When I got into a fight with a vagabond as part of the main story, I couldn't manage to defeat him a third time. He covered every single one of my attacks and defended against every single counterattack. I barely touched him a few times, but he caught up to me like a little boy. The fights overall were probably the weakest part of the game, and if it weren't for them, I probably would have passed the game and enjoyed it immensely. It's a shame that the game doesn't include multiple difficulties and doesn't make it any easier.

Second uninstall - technical error and missing autosave

I reinstalled the game after a few days because I was really interested in the story and characters, so I tried to chew through its complicated gameplay mechanics.

However, when I tried to climb the 20cm hill, the character couldn't do it and kept getting pushed away from the "edge". Eventually, it pushed me 50 meters away, after which my character died. I found out right after that that the game doesn't save the progression automatically very often. It's not clear when the autosave is triggered, and manually you can only save the game by sleeping on the bed and drinking a special drink. I would have to replay the last 20 minutes or so of gameplay, so frustrated I uninstalled the game again. So if you buy Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, you'd better save the game as often as possible.

The technical state shone at times, but disappointed at times

The developers have added a great, clear map to the game with a very detailed inventory that also offers handy character appearance customization options. I was also pleased with the archive, where I learned a lot of fascinating things about life in the Middle Ages.

We praised the beautiful world and other details, but that doesn't extend to the animations. For example, a dog walked through a wall with robotic animations, a log didn't move when a character stirred it with a ladle, and the characters' faces looked artificial and deadpan at times while they were talking. There are still a number of bugs in the game, but the developers are sure to fix them.

The leveling system is also very elaborate, providing dozens of options on how and what to level up your character in. However, the result is counterproductive. There are too many systems, and some of them amounted to little more than minor gameplay and personality tweaks to the character. It's one of the other things that offers an unnecessarily large number of options that end up looking confusing as a result.

As in most RPG titles, the player chooses what type of person their main character is, and the dialogue options open up accordingly. However, not once did I manage to convince another character in the dialogue to comply. I deliberately saved the game before the dialogues in question, and after a failed attempt, returned to them to try a different dialogue option.

I never succeeded. It didn't matter if I was talking to a guard, a tavern keeper, a homeless woman, or characters from the main and side quests. Maybe it's a technical glitch, but it's more likely to have some deep explanation in complex game systems. That's not fun, though.

The game in general is extremely detailed, beautiful, thoughtful, and elaborate, offering unique gameplay mechanics and unique gameplay moments. The quality of the quests and dialogue will remind you of the third Witcher or Baldur's Gate, the story will draw you in like few other RPGs, but at times it's just not fun. We're sure it'll find plenty of fans among STALKER players, too.

If a medieval simulator is something you'd enjoy, you'll probably be the perfect target and you'll love the game. Otherwise, you'll get your teeth kicked in just like I did. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is an amazing game, but it's not for everyone. However, since we haven't played it, we won't be rating it numerically. It's already clear from the text whether you'll enjoy it or not.