Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Hands-on Preview – Stepping Into History

Highlights

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 picks up right where the first game left off, providing a seamless continuation of the story for fans to enjoy.
• The game offers bigger and better gameplay, with new maps, weapons, and a living city to explore, while maintaining the immersive historical setting.
• Despite some bugs in the preview build, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 shows promise as a refined iteration that builds on the strengths of its predecessor.

As a seasoned gamer with years of gaming experience under my belt, I must say that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has left me quite impressed during my recent preview. The combat mechanics, though subtly altered, felt more intuitive and less clunky, making it an enjoyable experience that surpassed my enjoyment in KCD1.

In the sequel to “Kingdom Come: Deliverance,” titled “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Henry and Sir Hans Capon, accompanied by their entourage, find themselves leaving the dense woodlands of the Trosky estate, seven years after their initial entry. The narrative of the second game begins right where the first one concluded, implying that while fans of the series have waited for seven years, the protagonist Henry and his companions in “KCD2” have only experienced a few weeks or so since the events of the first game. This clever time difference offers a significant advantage to the franchise: those who appreciated the original storyline are likely to enjoy the sequel, with an additional six years’ worth of technical improvements incorporated into the gameplay.

In essence, the upcoming game titled “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2” is more a matter of expansion rather than revolution. From the onset, developers at Warhorse Studios have emphasized that it’s “larger and improved,” and this ethos is evident in its construction. The “larger” aspect is noticeable with a fresh narrative, two expanded maps encompassing the Bohemian Paradise and Kuttenberg regions, an additional bustling city, and new features such as crossbows and early firearms. However, it’s the “improved” aspect that truly shines. Recently, Game Rant had the opportunity to preview “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2” during an event in Kutná Hora (Kuttenberg), where we experienced two segments of the game – the initial hours and then later in Kuttenberg.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Prologue

In “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2”, you initially step into the role of Father Godwin, a priest from the first game. Your mission is to thwart a castle siege. You’ll utilize your crossbow to pick off attackers as they approach the gate, continuously firing bolts at them, and engaging in combat on the ramparts as enemies attempt to scale the walls using siege ladders. This tutorial serves as a refresher on the combat mechanics of “Kingdom Come: Deliverance”. The scene concludes dramatically with Sir Hans being wounded. The game then rewinds time, placing you back in Henry’s shoes as he marches towards Trosky Castle once more.

In this initial segment of the prelude, we get to shape the character of Henry by making crucial choices that reveal his personality, and at the same time, build a prior relationship with Sir Hans. This results in significant attributes for our level 15 persona. Shortly after, we encounter Otto von Bergow’s men on the battlefield who claim they are chasing bandits (a hint of things to come). We disclosed our identity, but it didn’t help much as Otto von Bergow had allied with the main villain, Sigismund. We were given a choice between various actions, and we learned that the persuasion ability is influenced by one’s attire too. Although we could have opted for a more confrontational approach, considering our appearance and role, we chose the path of diplomacy instead. It remains unclear just how significantly different decisions might alter this scenario, but we managed to part ways amicably in the end.

Since it was unlikely that we’d make it to Trosky Castle before dark, Sir Hans suggested we pitch our camp by the riverbank instead. This gave us an opportunity to discuss with each other, figure out how to feed our dog, learn more combat techniques from Sir Hans, specifically perfect blocks and ripostes in KCD2, and catch up on some of our characters’ histories. Later, Sir Hans proposed that he and Henry take a brief dip in the river. Afterward, we all gathered around the campfire, sharing stories and learning more about each other’s pasts.

Near the river, we follow the lure of the siren’s song, spotting a group of women slightly downstream. As we stealthily move along, avoiding a person washing clothes, we come across three women in the water. Just then, a premonition strikes: our camp has been raided by the mentioned outlaws. We could only watch in horror as those with whom we had recently shared a meal were brutally killed. The outlaws then turned their attention to the women. Sir Hans urges us to flee amidst the commotion, but noble Henry can’t help but intervene, demanding that the outlaws leave the women unharmed. One of the women is distinctively dressed in blue. For now, however, the outlaws focus their aggression on us as we struggle to swim across to the other bank.

Sir Hans is quite skilled in swimming, whereas Henry isn’t as proficient; he struggles next to him, which provides some amusement but also puts us in a precarious situation. We get struck by an arrow before reaching the shore because of this, not a funny matter at all. The bandits had closed in swiftly, forcing us to tread carefully and then sprint from them towards the end. As we narrowly evade them by scaling the rocky hillside, one of them spots us, leading to a desperate struggle for survival. This culminates in both of us tumbling over the edge, adding to the chaos, our dog also slips away. Sir Hans locates us and attempts to carry us to safety, but Henry’s close brush with death results in hallucinations.

In this part, we revisit memories from our late father, reminiscent of key events in the first game such as Skalitz’s burning, the loss of our parents, our desire for vengeance, and the misfortune of losing our father’s sword. This segment effectively brings newcomers up to speed on the backstory of Kingdom Come Deliverance 1. Upon reaching an elderly woman’s humble abode, Sir Hans too is injured by a bandit. Despite managing to slay this enemy, his injuries are severe. The old woman tends to our wounds, but in doing so, she exhausts her supplies. Consequently, we are sent on a quest to gather herbs for a healing potion (with a tutorial included) and to bury the fallen bandit.

Upon retrieving the herbs, a few individuals pretending to be associates of von Berlow’s appeared and asserted they were tracking downlawyers. This part needed several retakes as our encounters with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s combat weren’t favorable due to lack of proper weapons. However, we successfully negotiated our way out using appropriate dialogue choices. Subsequently, once Sir Hans recovered, we conversed with the elderly woman and her reappeared daughter before embarking towards Trosky Castle. The narrative then transitions to our journey, displaying various landscapes along the route. Eventually, we arrived at the castle. Unfortunately, we were poor postmen who had misplaced the letter confirming our status as messengers and granting us access to the castle. We were denied entry at the gate, but not before Sir Hans was soiled with the contents of a chamber pot – definitely giving off a strong Monty Python ambiance.

In a nearby village, Sir Hans and I were in somewhat disheveled condition despite cleaning up, and we managed to order some food. However, when we couldn’t pay for it, Sir Hans offered our labor instead, which we disputed with him since he had initially refused assistance. Before receiving the task from the server, we recognized the woman from the river and asked her about gaining entry into the Castle (since she was there seeking wine for the men). Even though she acted as if she didn’t recognize us or hadn’t been at the river, her behavior piqued our curiosity. She did share with us that Otto von Berlow would attend an upcoming wedding, giving us an opportunity to get in, but first, we were tasked with carrying large bags of flour from a cart to the basement. We didn’t even finish this task before Sir Hans instigated a fight with one of the villagers. The altercation resulted in our imprisonment in stocks, and Sir Hans had a tantrum that would put a two-year-old to shame, eventually leaving us alone. Finally, we found ourselves in the open world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, with two objectives ahead: obtaining an invitation to the wedding and, equally crucial, locating our lost dog.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – An Hour in Kuttenberg

As a gamer, I delved briefly into the vast open world, but soon found myself fast-forwarding to a later save in the urban metropolis of Kuttenberg. Although my time here was limited, it offered a more expansive gameplay experience compared to the linear prologue that preceded it. In this city, I was given the freedom to explore as I undertook a side quest involving two rival sword-fighting brotherhoods.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Seemingly Bets Big on “Bigger and Better”

Initially, “Kingdom Come: Deliverance” wasn’t universally disliked, but it definitely divided opinion among gamers. On OpenCritic, it holds a rating of “Fair,” with a Top Critic Rating of 72 and 48% of critics advocating for it. This suggests that the game resonated with some, but not all, which is reflected in its split reception.

In contrast to the original, we found the sequel to be a significant improvement, offering an equally captivating narrative, if not more so. Although the initial part moved somewhat slowly (depending on personal preferences), it effectively drew us into the plot, hinted at potential character traits, and offered historical context for those new to the game. As Warhorse Studios’ PR Manager Tobias Stolz-Zwilling suggested, it has a rhythm similar to that of Red Dead Redemption 2 rather than Skyrim, which aligns with our experience in terms of pace and playstyle. However, where it truly excelled was in the gameplay.

In a more casual and accessible manner, let me rephrase this review for you:

For me, getting engrossed in a game like this is largely due to its rich history, which permeates every aspect of it, making it almost irresistible not to pause and appreciate the details. The architectural designs of Kuttenberg, the modest shops, and the open landscapes all exude a warm and inviting atmosphere that makes leaving the game after an event proved challenging.

The Elephant in the Kingdom

Of course, it’s important to address the elephant in the room. When Kingdom Come: Deliverance was first released, it was criticized heavily for the number of technical bugs, with the Xbox version (the one I played) seemingly receiving the worst of it. Those bugs ran the gamut: crashes, mechanics not working properly, bugged quests, forced fail states, NPCs acting erratically, graphic issues, and much, much more. It’s rare that I step away from a game due to bugs, as none that I remember were exactly game-breaking, but they were gratuitous in volume. Luckily, it seems that “Better” applies here too. I returned to KCD1 after some bugs were fixed, and those lessons seemed to translate here as the experience was much smoother overall.

As a devoted fan, I must share my experience with this preview build, which is far from the final version. There were a few glitches along the way that I stumbled upon. For instance, during the river scene, I wasn’t sure which path to take with the woman. After tossing a rock down one path, it turned out to be the correct one. As we moved forward, she suddenly spotted us and started shouting and running. We didn’t fail the mission, but it was an unusual stealth moment where she ran past us screaming while we were trying to sneak unnoticed. In Kuttenberg, there was a peculiar instance where the game seemed to overlook my character, Henry, and the NPCs I was interacting with, focusing instead on the ground in Kuttenberg. Yet, these issues were minor and more amusing than frustrating, falling under the category of funny open-world bugs.

Thy Kingdom Come

If the entirety of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 matches our initial expectations, it’s bound to remain a game that divides opinion: some will adore it while others may abandon it. Yet, this divisiveness demonstrates a robust design philosophy. It might not appeal to everyone, but for those who connect with it, it could become their favorite game.

The sequel to “Kingdom Come: Deliverance”, titled “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2”, is set to launch on February 11 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X platforms. Game Rant was granted a trip and accommodation for the purpose of this pre-release review.

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2024-08-21 10:14