Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is not the self-serious medieval sim you might expect

An open world RPG set in medieval Bohemia, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 takes a slower, down-to-earth, but at times more humorous approach than many of its contemporaries. It’s at its best when protagonist Henry, the low-born son of a blacksmith and a permanent fish out of water, steps off the beaten path to observe and converse with the game’s vast cast, many of whom have a strange story to tell, a leg up pick, or a harebrained plan to rope you into.

The 2018 original was rightly praised for its sim elements and trust in the player to master its often obtuse RPG systems, but I remember it most fondly for its side adventures and the characters you meet therein. Getting drunk with Father Godwin, investigating a coven of ‘witches’, messing with a public execution and delivering an impromptu – and in my case disastrous – sermon, KCD remained consistently varied throughout its sprawling run time. The series is far from the self-serious medieval sim you might expect, and after spending the last week exploring the length and breadth of the sequel’s first map, I’m happy to say that Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is packed with the same personality, sense. of danger, and bouts of screwball mania that made the predecessor sing.

I won’t get into its linear opener or general setup here, so if you’d like to familiarize yourself with the basics, you can always check out my first hands-on preview from last year. For my final preview, I’ll focus on some of what happens when you’re eventually unleashed into the open world, including light spoilers for an early game side quest.

KCD 2 has a tendency to surprise without ever being so expectedly unexpected that it becomes unintentionally predictable. Early on I encounter a group of deserters from the Cuman army in a tavern in a small town. The locals are afraid of the armed band, and Henry is immediately suspicious given the murder of his parents at the hands of Cuman soldiers a few months ago. Sure enough, tensions rise and the scene erupts into a brawl, prompting the outsiders to leave, before the violence escalates from drunken punches to stabbings and stabbings. It’s not over yet though, as one of the locals asks me to track down the group and deal with them once and for all.

With murder on my mind and a freshly sharpened blade in hand, I inquire as to their whereabouts and soon happen upon their camp, only to find their only Czech-speaking member warm, welcoming and surprisingly eager to share a drink, Henry comforted the loss by his parents, urging him not to dwell on the past. However, he seems to avoid discussing the raid on Henry’s hometown. Now drunk enough to feel a possibly false sense of security, I hear that another of the Cumans is in love with a nomad living in a nearby camp, so I offer to interpret for him as he seeks to confess his love to her. In about thirty minutes, we’ve gone from a bar fight to a cross-country manhunt to a conversation about Henry’s loss, potentially with several of the men responsible, to an enjoyably silly exchange involving two would-be lovers who don’t have a clue about what the other says. It should be jarring, but I buy it.

Unfortunately, my low charisma stat brought on by a recent foray into the stocks and being covered in dirt results in some drunk stomping on any possible romantic flame. The growing embarrassment transcends the language barrier and Romeo calls for my efforts by punching me in the face and sending me back to my new Cuman friend with my tail between my legs. Still, that’s not even half of what unfolds over an evening that’s always teetering on the brink of disaster.

There are more bumps and enjoyable detours in some KCD 2 side missions than most RPGs can muster in a dozen hours of play, and that’s before you consider the possibility of new events inserting into the script. But it works because it’s often written and compelling, even as it veers from toilet humor to traumatic violence.

It also works because Henry is a permanent outsider protagonist who never quite fits in with the peasantry, gentry or gentry. His alienation is heightened even more now that he’s away from home, and due to a series of mistakes in the early game, he’s traveling alone while broken. You rarely know how people will take you, and they can turn on a dime if they think you’ve stepped a little out of line. “You really don’t know your place,” says an otherwise affable gentleman when I ask if an invitation to his son’s wedding is on the cards, after having gone to great lengths to impress and help him.

I’ve spent hours now finding side stories, not as part of a desire to grind levels or improve my equipment, but to spend more time learning this world and its strange, irritable, friendly, and sometimes dangerous people to know. I want to hear their worries and hopes, how they pass the time, or perhaps their plans to paint a neighboring town’s prized white bull a different color.

I’m over 25 hours in and it feels like there could be another 80 to come given the scope of the new narrative and the fact that there’s a whole other map I haven’t seen yet. The thought of spending that much time on most other open-world games would typically repulse me, but KCD 2 has got my attention for the long haul. I can’t imagine that fans of the first will find it less than fantastic, and those coming to the series for the first time will – if you’re willing to work with it – find a charming and ambitious RPG unlike any other something else out there. Moving on to the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 release date of February 4th.