''DELIVER ME YOUR WEAK AND NIMBLE''
Developed: Warhorse Studio
Published: Plaion
Genre: Role Playing Adventure
Release Date: Feb 4th, 2025
Platforms: Playstation 5, Steam, X-Box Series and Epic Game Store.
Thank you to Plaion for sponsoring this preview and providing me the game.
Ive been given the opportunity to play Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 early thanks to the folks at Plaion and I have my fair share to say about it in regards what you as a potential player has to look forward to with its release on February 4th in less than a month. Don't worry though, there will be no spoilers or major story implications so by the time the release date rolls around, there will be plenty of surprises in store. So lets get to the nitty gritty and see just what everyone is in for once this title releases on Steam, Epic Store, Playstation 5 and XBox Series.
''HEADED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION''
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 aims to be a very ambitious sequel that attempts to take everything the original game did and elevate it to a level that might not have been thought possible with the previous entry back in 2018. By offering you the player an immersive experience into the civil unrest of 15th century Bohemia as you follow the life of a man named Henry. Since this title is making its way to our consoles and PC's in the year 2025, that's a good 7 year gap between games, usually this can spell disaster for specific titles that don't have a long standing reputation to be able to pull it off, however with Deliverance 2 in this case, the developers at Warhorse Studio's decided, you know what, heck with it all, lets go for broke and go for broke they have with this buffed up sequel by setting you off on an adventure in a world that is twice as large as the original games map and further expands its historical authenticity to the mix that offers you a variety of scenery from bustling cities that are crowded with life, large scale interactive environments, the robust forests of Bohemia, and choices you have Henry make on this journey, end up being what shapes this once humble and laid back blacksmiths son, to turn into a full fledged warrior that tip toes between the rights and wrongs of medieval politics and all out warfare. Yes, politics are actually fun for once, who wouldve thought that would be possible?. Changes to the map aren't the only things to be on the look out for because Warhorse not only improved the game in the size department, but also tweaked many of the mechanics that players took issue with in the original game, such as the combat to some people feeling a tad bit stiff and wonky. However here in the sequel, that's been rectified and is now much more intuitive, smooth, reactionary, but still retains its level of difficulty and strategy at the same time. So definitely an all around win there so far. But overall with the game play itself in this entry? lets dive in that too while were here.
In Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, the game strikes a balance between trying to keep an authentic historical accuracy and using engaging gameplay to entice you as the player to stay interested, but at the same time, attempt to avoid their ''giant enemy crab'' moment as we have seen games end up doing in the past when they have strayed too far from their vision. Using weaponry such as early firearms for that era of combat, alongside weapons like crossbows, definitely give it a fun strategic depth that allows for player flexibility for each person to choose their own style of combat more freely without feeling like you're forced to play in one specific style only. Want to slice and dice? go for it, want to just blast someone away? heck why not, shoot someone in the knee with a crossbow to make sure they'll never be an adventurer like you, you know? then pew pew away, because nearly everything is a possibility here, whether for strategic sake or comedic sake, its your choice. Combat this goes around feels less cumbersome and weighted down if that makes sense. In the previous game, the combat wasnt bad per-say, it just didnt feel as refined as it should've been and it felt like something was missing, a few more tweaks really. Thankfully in this sequel, it was one of the major things addressed due to the complaints thrown at the devs, and here now in Deliverance 2, the combat is WAY more straight forward, streamlined and being able to block and turning that into a parry against your enemy for faster and more efficient combat is much easier to complete this go around, but at the same time, while its easier to achieve, the timing is still a bit of a challenge, so its not exactly a cake walk to fully master. You WILL die several times trying to perfect the parrying system, even with the easy to learn harder to master game design, but at least you won't be like me and rush someone with all the confidence in the world, screaming your war cry with all your heart, then get embarrassed in front of everyone and get slain with ease because you got a little too confident in your own skills. Oh well, at least there's no way for me to crash and burn in this game like I do all other vehicles in games, so that's definitely a plus. On the subject of combat however, not my mishaps, the game also has you balance out a skill and perk system that's expanded far beyond what you may have been used to in the first game, with a system thats been almost rebooted in a way by offering you more choices that more heavily impact choices you make without head scratching side grades you experienced in the previous game, and by expanding this skill and perk system, it enhances player enjoyment and satisfaction by making each system feel more personable in relation to your own character development, which goes along way with replayability and immersion.
But what good are map changes and combat changes without the glue that holds those achievements into place? you know, the actual story telling aspect of the game. Now before I get into some of the details, disclaimer, there will NOT be any spoilers regarding the overall story, plot twists, story beats or anything like that, so dont worry, were going spoiler free people, so no need to send the Knights Templar after me or anything, chill. The story in this sequel continues the story of Henry and his tale of not only discovery but his vengeance as well by picking right up where the first game let off. But dont worry, even if you havent played the original, its totally fine because you get an extended intro that helps fill you in on what you missed, so even if you're a newcomer with no prior knowledge, you will be all caught up in a matter of minutes with no problem at all. Although its lacking a ''previously on Kingdom Come Deliverance'' tv like delivery, but hey, we cant win them all, so this will have to do. But other areas we as players win at in this game is in regards to the overall dialogue, with what was previously noted as feeling a little outdated in that department with the previous entry, now though, has become way more polished that makes each character interaction in the game feel more meaningful by either setting up a narrative or part of a story that blends a mix of stuff to make you laugh with its humor or intensifies a serious situation by unfolding drama that continues to riddle Henry's brain on his explorative journey. This approach taken for the narrative story telling, alongside 5 hours of cutscenes, makes the game feel much more dynamic with the way it presents itself by allowing NPC's to react to the player in a more believable fashion and makes the world itself feel like a living breathing medieval tapestry - which in turn makes it feel like a TRULY realized Triple A game.. and all this is based off the first 5 hours of your journey. So who knows what else is in store for you... I mean I know of course, but I won't say, so blehhhhh. Visual department aspect, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is definitely a significant upgrade from the first game, which is great because I love immersive worlds set in medieval times and honestly, I feel we don't get enough of them, so to actually see one, like this, with environments that are not only larger than what you expected, but way more detailed, and vibrant with certain cities have a decor of Gothic like architecture compared to other areas that may seem a bit more rural - it just sets a tone of the scale of this world and manages to optimize scale with performance to offer a smooth play experience without the downfalls seen in the first game with technical issues it had - so that in itself is a big achievement that should be applauded and praised.
''I FOUND THEM LIKE THIS, I SWEAR''
OVERALL:
When its all said and done, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is shaping up to live up to the vision that Warhorse Studio most likely dreamt up when taking on this project. With thrilling combat, an immersive world in the medieval era, core elements from first game that fans loved retaining their essence, expanding the world to feel larger than life, making the game more accessible to players without it feeling dumbed down to the point where its unrecognizable from what made the series great in the first place, stunning details and lands to explore, upgraded perk and skill system, etc etc - its all shaping up to be something special and a much needed dive into the R.P.G. Medieval genre. Once again, this all pertains to the first 5 hours or so of gameplay, so who knows what else lurks out in the depths of this world and what twist and turns this story may take us... but you can find all that out for yourself by purchasing the game when it launches on February 4th on Playstation 5, Steam, X-Box Series and Epic Game Store.
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