After playing for a few hours, I can confidently say that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is – hear me out – Kingdom Come: Deliverance… 2.
Let me explain: the first game was brilliant, but it was not without issues around graphical optimisation or quest bugs, as well as garnering a poor reception from casual players due to it being a slow-burn, tediously-realistic, almost-simulator-esque medieval journey of peasant boy Henry becoming an armored peasant-boy-turned-squire-boy who can use a sword now.
A Little Less Jank, A Little More Action Please
About ten hours into the sequel, I can say that while this feels very much like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, it’s much more polished than the original game, with a tweaked combat system, some truly gorgeous scenery, and no quest bugs to note so far. Though, it is still a slow-burn, tediously-realis- yeah, all of that. Except squire boy is a bit more experienced here, now being a knight-in-training, following on directly from the end of the first game.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is much more polished than the original game
The opening is exciting and action-heavy, following a castle siege as you fight alongside Sir Hans Capon. As things begin to look bleak, we’re sent several weeks back in time to Henry and Capon’s arrival in the region, wondering how this seemingly peaceful start might culminate in the battle to come.
With Henry, Sir Hans Capon, and their company arriving in this new region directly after setting off in the original’s finale, things don’t stay peaceful for very long. In true video game fashion, you’ll be stripped (literally) of your gear, experience, and skills in a lore-friendly way so you’re back to something of a square one. You don’t have to learn to read again, though.
Combat Remains Unlike Any Other Game
One of the first things I noticed improved was the combat: in the first game, you’d have five directional inputs for an attack, as well as a stab in the middle, and would have to be smart with combos, blocks, timing, and outthinking your opponents. Here, it’s slightly more simplified – not to the detriment of the complexity but more to the benefit of the enjoyment and deeper mechanics.
You now have four directional inputs of left, right, and above, with below being the stab motion. It keeps the control of the combat itself intact, as well as the tension in facing off another opponent, but it means you can more easily discern attack directions and retaliate more readily. It makes sense that Henry would find combat generally a bit simpler now, but I’ve also just been having a lot more fun in duels compared to the original game thanks to these subtle tweaks.
No Killing, No Robbing, And No Lollygaggin’
The crime system is also fleshed out this time around. This was already ambitious in the original game, but here there are a lot more potential outcomes and things to be wary of. For example, I was tasked with retrieving a lute from a local carpenter, though I was warned that he wouldn’t want to sell it. Despite this, I spoke with him and was quickly turned away. So of course, I snuck into his house and took it.
A few in-game hours later, while I was well on my way to the neighboring village, a pop-up told me that the carpenter had reported the theft to the local guards and accused me because… well, obviously. NPCs will use context to their advantage when it comes to suspicious activity, so if you’re hanging around or doing something strange, even if you don’t actually commit a crime, they might still report or confront you. Just be careful not to take it too far, as you can be executed.
If you’re confronted by guards or a villager, you can choose to pay a fine/compensation, accept punishment, talk your way out of it, or run/fight. If you stack up criminal punishments too frequently, however, then the gallows await you.
And of course, I would be remiss to not mention the best thing about this whole game so far: you can pet the dog. Or more specifically, you have a dog. Mutt from the original game’s A Woman’s Lot DLC loyally returns by Henry’s side, and has a lot of functionality. While you can just keep him around and give him food to maintain his loyalty, you can also level up in the Houndmaster skill to unlock perks and commands. You can have Mutt track things to save you the trouble, bark to draw attention, or even just give you a charisma boost while he’s with you because everyone loves a good dog. Or my personal favourite, he can keep you warmer and cosier while camping out in the wilderness, giving you an extra rested buff. Now that’s a good boy.
In just a few hours with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, this is a big improvement on the original with a lot more polish, care, and many great additions to the gameplay that make for a much more enjoyable experience. That said, it’s not a completely different feeling – if you didn’t enjoy the first one or thought it was a little too slow or tedious, then chances are you’ll feel the same with the sequel.
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