Almost seven years ago, Czech studio Warhorse Studios released the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It was their debut project, conceived between an open-world RPG and a simulation of medieval life.
It was an ambitious idea, but Warhorse Studios proved they could quite realize it. In the sequel, Warhorse Studios essentially doubled down on all aspects of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, honing the core systems that made the original so successful and adding a few new ones.
The Blix team has done its research, delved into the pros and cons of KCD2, and will share with you all the conclusions we reached.
Contents
Highlights
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Extended Review
- What players praise and what players scold about the sequel to the cult game
By the way, keep an eye on the game’s Twitch channel:
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Game Review
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 continues the story of Henry of Skalitz, the original game’s protagonist. If you haven’t played the first installment, you’ll still understand this one.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II received 92% positive reviews on Steam a few hours after release. The RPG left a positive first impression on most players. On the first day, almost 160,000 people logged into the game simultaneously, and on February 6, the numbers reached 185,582.
The Blix team will monitor the game’s development, but things are very good now; the studio recognizes this.
And Warhorse Studios proudly announced that Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was bought over a million times on the first day after its premiere. Daniel Vavra’s studio thanked the fans for their contribution to the success of the novelty:
Critics’ Version Scores
Many critics rated the game 9/10. IGN, for example, noted the hand-to-hand combat and excellent story, saying:
“Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is the perfect sequel to an already great opening chapter: bigger and better in almost every way.”
PC Gamer commented:
“Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a big, bold, unutterably weird thing, and it’s a new RPG classic”.
Some publications gave the game a 100/100 rating and were highly complimentary: “It expands, refines, and enriches the legacy of the first chapter in an excellent way in almost every way, so for those who appreciated KCD, it’s a must-buy.”
Although it was not without its comments, some publications have noticed bugs and glitches in the game, but with the abundance of story and combat, it’s very easy to get distracted.
However, on Metacritic, the game was rated only 88 out of 100. The author of the novelty, Daniel Vavra, pointed out that the page KCD2 on Metacritic opened the opportunity to leave user reviews, where some gave the fresh game 0-1 points.
Vavra considered the authors of such texts to be bots, as some of them evaluated not the game but its “agenda,” which allegedly “bent” the author. Therefore, reading real reviews and paying attention to what they praise and scold the game for is better. This is what the Blix team did.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Pros According to Players
We draw readers' attention to the fact that the spelling of the authors of the comments has been preserved.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is most often praised for its exciting, albeit slow-paced introduction, improved and more dynamic combat system, and highly detailed graphics. Many players noted in their reviews that it works perfectly, even on budget computers.
Performance is suprisingly very good. I was afraid my RTX 2070 Super won’t be enough but game is stable even on High setting. And gameplay is alot smoother than the first game. Pre-order was definetly worth it!
Some fans of the first part noted that the developers improved familiar mechanics like alchemy. Judging by the reviews, they didn’t make them more manageable, but they explained them clearly, so there are no difficulties with their use.
Of course, players note the story and atmosphere of the game, which absolutely everyone notes. After all, what can not be taken away from KCD is that the first part in the second is a very cool narrative and literal immersion in the Middle Ages.
The world, the atmosphere, the way it just feels—it’s all hit me in a way very few games ever have. It’s immersive, it’s gripping, and most importantly, it’s making me want to keep playing, not out of obligation, but out of sheer excitement.
In player reviews, we found frequent mention that the game is surprisingly believable and feels like the real world:
Every interaction with an npc feels so believable and genuine, like red dead 2 except on a more personal scale due to the sandbox. I’ve had npcs squeeze past me in so door way or outside and they reacted by saying “excuse me” and like rdr 2, npcs now have horses in the open world now unlike the first game.
Many reviews are positive, and even minor bugs usually present at the start of any game do not bother players much.
The reviews for the gameplay and combat system are also mostly positive. But we want to warn you right away: the fighting in the game is complicated, and here, you will learn how to act for quite a long time, especially if you haven’t played the first part.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to swing a sword like a maniac and win fights effortlessly, you’re in for a rude awakening. The combat system is just as precise, tactical, and downright punishing as the prequel, except now, it’s even smoother and more refined.
In addition to the main points that we have already listed and that excite everyone, we also want to mention the sound design, which deserves no less praise. The ringing of swords, the distant conversations of villagers, the sounds of birds in the forest – everything is designed to immerse you in the world of the Middle Ages.
By the way, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has a post on Twitter about the soundtrack:
Also, in conclusion, let’s say that if you are a gaming fan, you will be surprised by the insane level of detail. If you look closely at the armor, you can see individual dents and scratches, and the interiors of buildings look lived-in.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Cons According to Players
As for the negative reviews, players most often complained about the start being too slow, which mainly consisted of cutscenes and conversations. Several people wrote that the game retained all the pros and cons of the first part, such as not having the most responsive combat system.
The authors of several reviews criticized the game for adding scenes of same-sex love.
Henry and Hans are now gay lovers. And there is a black, muslim supremacist NPC that talks about how great islam is. This from a “Realistic” medieval European fantasy RPG
A few more people wrote that they didn’t like the animations and lack of responsiveness during battles. A couple of people from the reviews had technical difficulties. For example, in one case, all NPCs had no heads, arms, or legs.
There were also complaints about the combat system, although many users praise it on the contrary:
The new combat system is awful, it is not intuitive (especially if you played the first one a lot) the way stamina works when you swing or block suggests that Henry is an 80 year old asthmatic. You can’t really swing, you need to wait for a parry and reposte and that is really unfun.
Fighting more than 1 enemy is still egregiously annoying but purely because of the awful targeting that has not seemed to have improved even in the slightest. Swinging your weapon still uses way too much stamina so using combo strikes is never a viable option in combat. The only “improvement” that I could see was that there are only 4 stance directions instead of 5. Its kind of baffling to me as in their presentation they claimed they were making it a more approachable experience for new players when honestly it doesn’t really feel that way.
There were some very interesting comments about the game, but as the Blix team found out, they do turn out to be essential for some categories of players:
Really wish I could be playing it, was looking great… but had to refund as the motion sickness was brutal from walking around. Cutscenes and combat was fine, so I guess it was the head bob but no options to turn it off.
So, if you get a lot of motion sickness or have similar issues, consider that when buying the game.
Conclusion
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a brilliant, addictive RPG that requires patience and rewards skill. However, this game isn’t for everyone. You’ll likely be disappointed if you’re looking for a casual medieval adventure. You’ll have to work hard here to get through the game.
Some minor issues here and there, such as getting stuck on terrain and pre-rendered cutscenes, detract from immersion, but overall, they’re minor.
