Summary
Six years after the release of its predecessor,Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2is almost here. While not every detail aboutKingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s gameplay has been revealed, it seems to be right on par with the first game, potentially offering the same experience as before but with better visuals and a brand-new story.
As far as modernrole-playing gamesgo,Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis a different animal. Whereas many modern RPGs tend to go the route of providing an accessible experience that might broaden their demographic,Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis inaccessible on purpose. Some might consider an intentional characteristic such as that to be counterproductive. On the contrary,Kingdom Come: Deliverancewouldn’t be what it is without its unwillingness to hold the player’s hand as they navigate its realistic world. Now,Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2will need to decide whether it wants to maintain that reputation or abandon it for the sake of a potentially larger audience.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Should Be as Inaccessible as Its Predecessor
Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s Gameplay Heavily Relies on Realism for an Inaccessible Experience
Kingdom Come: Deliveranceisn’t necessarily a difficult game, as it rewards players who put enough time into improving both their personal skills and the attributes of the main character, Henry. However, rather than treating Henry as a superhero in a world full of otherwise normal individuals, he is as normal as they come, and herein is whereKingdom Come: Deliverance’s challenge comes into play. It’s a similar concept to most trueSoulslike games, in which the player begins as a fairly insignificant being in an otherwise overbearing world.
At the beginning ofKingdom Come: Deliverance, Henryis nothing more than a poor, unskilled, illiterate, and ignoble blacksmith’s son. Throughout the game, players who wish to emerge victorious in battle have no choice but to go through hours of arduous training, likely experiencing plenty of defeats in the process. Combat doesn’t favor Henry either, as it ultimately comes down to perfectly timed parries and learning to predict his opponent’s next move.
Earning money in the game is also no easy feat, and even thievery is a tough skill to master with so many eyes on Henry at all times.
To make life more difficult, if players attempt to read something without first visiting a scribe inKingdom Come: Deliverance, it will appear as scrambled gibberish. Finally, as if all of that wasn’t enough,the game includes survival mechanicsthat require players to keep Henry rested and nourished at all times, as well as bathed, wearing laundered clothes and armor, and free from any injured limbs and negative status effects.
All in all,Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis a demanding experience, but one that has earned it the following it now has. It is intentionally inaccessible for the purpose of maintaining realism in its medieval world. It’s certainly not for everyone, and it embraces that quality. Now, it’s up toKingdom Come: Deliverance 2to preserve the nature of its predecessor and carry its legacy forward.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Must Preserve the First Game’s Realism and Inaccessibility
It might be tempting forKingdom Come: Deliverance 2to give in and offer theaccessibility options that modern gamers are accustomed to, especially in the name of a larger following. After the first game proved to scare off many potential fans, one would think the sequel would do something to change that. However, while some quality-of-life improvements are certainly in order forKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, giving up the first game’s realism-dependent challenge just to open the door up to a more casual audience would arguably be a detriment to its identity.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
WHERE TO PLAY
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an exhilarating Action RPG, set amidst the chaos of a civil war in 15th Century Bohemia.You are Henry of Skalitz – an ordinary man doing extraordinary things – caught in a gripping tale of revenge, betrayal, and discovery as he embarks on an epic journey, ‘from a humble blacksmith’s forge to the court of Kings’, searching for purpose in this beautiful but brutal medieval world.From bustling city streets to lush forests, explore this open-world Medieval Europe through an unforgettable adventure filled with action, thrills, and wonder.
