Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review – Proto-Czechian Mega Epic
What is a “niche” nowadays? In 2025, any and every oddity can count on widespread appeal. Twenty years ago, a hard-core, historically obsessive RPG based on dynastic struggle in medieval Bohemia (modern-day Czechia) would fall in the same category as chewing tobacco. Weird stuff designed to appeal to a particular audience, in this case, a fraction of a sub-group of gamers slash history enthusiasts. Sculpted to amaze that venerable 0.003%, but destined to sail way past the mainstream shores. Swords without sorcery, who would even think of that?
Warhorse Studios did. In classic Fortune Favors the Bold manner, they struck silver back in 2018. Kingdom Come: Deliverance was rough around the edges but had an immensely big heart, and, in a relatively brief time, gathered a cult following. The story of Henry, son of a blacksmith who survived the massacre of his village and set in the world in search of justice and fame was old as time. Ancient as the myth of Parsifal or Star Wars: Episode IV, it was nevertheless tonally dissimilar due to its strict historical backdrop. There were no spells, gnolls, or dragons in Bohemia in 1403 AD, and that was refreshing as cold mead.
Audentes Fortuna Iuvat
The sequel took seven years, and this time, the studio struck pure gold. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is bigger and better in every respect, polished in the way of a rich sequel riding on the glory of its successful predecessor. The story picks up right at the moment the KCD ends, so the experience with the first game is essential if you wish to properly understand part 2. You can pick up the important bits of the past through reflection and dialogue, but real comprehension requires the investment of playing the original.
Focus on the same protagonist needs a reset of his beefed-up post-KCD stats, and that’s precisely what happened here. Henry and his lord Hans Capon were ambushed while traveling to Otto von Bergow, one of the big wigs their side desperately needed to sway for the continuing struggle against the usurper king Sigismund. Henry took an arrow in the shoulder and would surely died without the help of old Bozhena, forest-dweling healing granny. Dispossessed, unhorsed, disarmed, and dressed in rags, Henry and Hans had the literal shit spilled on them while trying to get the audience with the lord in question. Back to square one, our hero will have his rags to riches deja vu.
The Struggle is Real
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an open-world, systems-driven RPG intertwined with a fully mo-cap-acted narrative. It’s a technical masterpiece that feels an order of magnitude more impressive than anything Bethesda or Ubisoft has made so far. Realism, grit and mud of medieval villages, NPC behavior depending on myriad factors including the weather, time of day, and even your hygiene, superb directional combat system with the best implementation of armor in any game I’m aware of… All those goodies and more are richly spread over 70+ hours of content, or more if you are into questmaxing.
In a logistical and maintenance sense, the game relies on systems found in survival simulations. Henry needs to eat, sleep, bandage wounds, feed and pet his dog, clean himself, and even wash his clothing. There’s also a detailed crafting system divided into several trade skills like alchemy and blacksmithing. Manually forging swords and axes while whistling in rhythm feels very “Nintendoy”. Alchemy is even more smartly realized, relying on timing and complex procedures to create concoctions. Like all skills, crafting slowly improves just by doing stuff (or even failing).
I’m Just a Poor Boy but Everyone Loves Me
Some stats, such as charisma, are derived from your hygiene, and that directly correlates with how some people greet and treat you. Peasants are massive hypocrites. They’ll act shocked and concerned when you show up bloody on their doorstep, but they won’t hesitate to call guards if you try to lay for a bit in their bed. Building a reputation is a slow process, requiring questing, trading, and talking to locals. Robing people, stealing, and insulting will have the opposite effect, obviously. A bad reputation will often prompt local guards to stop and search you. If you are loaded with stolen goods, you’ll need to pay a fine, spend some time in pillory, or fight your way out.
Combat is improved compared to KCD, but it’s still a complex, skill-based affair. It relies on swing direction and attempts to slice/bludgeon your opponent from an unprotected angle. Armor plays a vital role here, a weak sword stab, for example, won’t make a dent on the plate cuirass. In time, you’ll learn combo moves and build up strength and agility to make swings more powerful, but you’ll always have to dance with your foe(s) and try to connect your steel with his weak spot. At least if you prefer swords. Using maces and other blunt weapons offers a semi-shortcut to this concept, as you can bludgeon the opponent’s armor and shield with sufficient zeal and patience.
The Cast is a Cake
The story in KCD 2 is long and full of (mostly nasty) surprises and head-spinning twists. The game doesn’t pull any punches in the authenticity and period sense. You will encounter horrible people, face massive cruelty, you’ll be tortured, and have the opportunity to do so yourself. There will be also plenty of opportunities to have fun, drink, flirt, have sex, and brawl. Hardly a dull moment in this impressive game. As before, a massive boon to KCD II is superb acting – Henry and Hans are perfectly cast and the actors were enjoying every second of the filming/mo-cap process. Simply put, there’s palpable enthusiasm radiating in every scene. You can’t fake that, no matter the budget, and that speaks volumes about Warhorse Studios’ culture.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is the first serious contender for GOTY 2025. It simply rocks that hard. Warhorse recouped the developing costs in a single day, selling over 1 million copies in that timeframe, so the game resonates with broad audiences. As before, the studio announced the future DLCs in the form of three-story expansions due to be published by the end of this year. More Henry is always a good thing.
Highs
- Probably the best cast in any RPG since the original Mass Effect trilogy.
- Excellent combat system, full of finesse and detail.
- Well-developed story full of characters firmly rooted in the history of medieval Bohemia.
Lows
- At times, maintenance is taxing and tiring. Hunger, rest, and fixing weapons and armor take too much of the player’s attention.
- Several mid-game plot points feel rushed.
