Kingdom Come: Deliverance II review - stick with it, it's worth it

The famous quote "good things come to those who wait" springs to mind for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, an unapologetically savage medieval role-playing game (RPG).

Although RPGs usually have some element of fantasy to them, there is absolutely none of that in this, faithfully following on from the first game by dropping players into what early 1400s Bohemia, now known as the Czech Republic, would have really been like, continuing the story of main protagonist Henry.

And, again like the first game, although it is ever so slightly less punishing, if you think this is a game where you can take a ye olde stroll through a medieval setting and ease through the story with your feet up barely breaking a sweat, you're in for a shock.

There is a steep and brutal learning curve of having to learn and figure out for yourself what to do best when it comes to combat, exploration and self-preservation, everything is made to feel deliberate and realistic and after a fair few hours, when hitting a stride, the game comes to life.

This will click for some and not others.

Henry with Hans has the feeling of lads on tour when they're together Warhorse Studios

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II story (spoiler free)

Starting with the story, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II follows Henry once more following the events of the first game in this historic fictional tale.

Henry joins young noble Sir Hans Capon to rally additional noble support against the pretender to the throne but things quickly go awry and Henry is pretty well back at square one all except for some of the skills he learned in the first game.

Every single decision you make along the way has a consequence and yes, it's something you see a lot of in games today, but very few games come close to making those choices quite so meaningful as Kingdom Come: Deliverance II does - every single choice has a consequence, good or bad.

Back to the game's opening, and while it's understandable some time is taken setting the scene, catching players up with what happened in the first game, getting used to the basics through tutorials in the prologue, stumbling your way through the opening few hours, all that kind of thing, it takes a bit too long to really open up and get going.

But once it does, this is where Kingdom Come: Deliverance II shines.

After getting to grips with the world, Henry gets into some pretty big scrapes with Hans along the way and there are quite a few ways to achieve the desired outcome, in some cases by any means necessary.

There's the potential for a lot of loyalty or backstabbing as the game progresses along with loads of twists and turns, some where it feels like Henry just can't catch a break.

Henry gets backstabbed himself quite a bit in some cases and seeing this play out was great as you really start to become wary of other characters and their intentions at every turn.

The game does a great job of immersion through its story-telling and realism.

Henry isn't the only player you play as through the game either and some familiar foes come back in as the story develops - this is a direct sequel to Kingdom Come: Deliverance after all.

Some lighter highlights include a section where you act as a detective and drinking just enough, but not too much, to make it sound like you're fluent in Latin.

These might sound simple and quite menial given the more complex tale that's being told but are examples where lighter moments can really crack a smile, along with the quips littered throughout.

Full on medieval war sections, which you're thrust into the middle of, are thrilling and play out some of the game's best moments, along with carefully planned raids.

The story is complex and political but it pretty well keeps you engaged at every turn and becomes especially brilliant after the first few hours or so, especially when more options open up as to how to advance it and achieve objectives.

The script's length has been well publicised and while some of the dialogue can feel quite drawn out in some parts, it gets the beats of the most key scenes spot on.

Overall here, main quests are incredibly detailed and the game tells its story at its own pace - this is a medieval epic so expect it to feel slow in certain areas but this helps to build the game to some amazing moments throughout.

There are tons of side quests to keep you going too - this game is absolutely huge and there is no shortage of things to do in it away from the main story.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an incredibly aesthetic game / Warhorse Studios

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II presentation

The world of 1400s Bohemia is nothing short of spectacular - it's a true medieval setting which looks and feels so real and this is a truly massive game.

The characters themselves look great and feel real, emotion is conveyed really well among characters in sombre moments and during more frantic, tense and anger-inducing scenes.

Having said that, in terms of character models, Indy100 has seen more realistic.

It's twice the size of the first game with two maps instead of one this time around - bigger doesn't always mean better but in this case, it does.

Most importantly, the world feels so plausible, real and lived in across the board - hamlets feel massive and dense, villages feel remote yet purposeful and the open countryside just begs to be explored.

The lighting in this world is generally great, which is key especially when trying to sneak up on enemies or outposts, or just generally sneaking around, at night-time.

However the lighting can flicker at times when the game is trying to work out if it's getting lighter or darker with the sun due to rise or set.

And, for now until these are patched, the bugs don't stop there.

Playing through on PS5, in the opening few minutes, my mutt kept appearing through the middle of objects and the water physics were noticeably lacking compared to other games.

There were a few stutters and texture pop ins here and there too.

In one cart ride, characters would jolt from one position to another very abruptly and in one case, when a conversation option came up, code was presented and not the actual dialogue options, forcing me to blindly guess between them and hope for the best.

But in such a large and ambitious world, this is to be expected to some degree.

The medieval score in this game is remarkable and truly a standout, with the general sounds and noises of this world at the same high standard too.

Combat in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II requires patience, both during combat itself and getting to grips with various different weapons Warhorse Studios

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II gameplay

To start with, the game aims to be as realistic as possible and is not subtle in its brutality with jeopardy potentially springing up around every single corner, setting players back to a last checkpoint or save that could have been a long time ago especially if playing away from the main story.

Saves have been made easier but you still better hope you haven't travelled halfway across one of the two maps to be met by an ambush. It won't end well, you'll have wasted a good chunk of time and have to start the journey all over again.

It doesn't tell you too much of what to do and how to do it to begin with, it's down for you to figure out where you need to go, what you need to do and where things are.

The game makes you feel like you're struggling through the world to begin with and that plays out very effectively. If you are not familiar with the game's mechanics, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II punishes you hard until you are.

But that's the point. You will get it wrong to some extent to start with. And even as time goes on, you will.

But the more you learn the mechanics, the better equipment you get, and the better you get at the game generally, the more you can hold your own and grow in this world, albeit without ever feeling like you've truly mastered it.

That will undoubtedly resonate with some and not others.

As before, you have to eat, rest, wash, be presentable etc but across a bigger world, again mostly away from the main quest, this can be a struggle to maintain sometimes - roadside camps dotted around the maps can literally be life savers.

The battle mechanics take some considerable learning to master and you can't just rush in and take out large groups - you have to get your inventory and equipment just right and learn a few different key weapons before even thinking about taking on groups of three or more.

There are more weapons this time around, including guns, and while these are incredibly useful to pierce armour, they are very slow to reload given this is the 1400s.

But that makes combat and use of powerful weapons like these all the more strategic.

Skills and perks have been expanded from the first game and these feel much more like progression rather than give and take in certain areas.

Alchemy is back where Henry has to painstakingly gather the necessary resources then craft potion recipes at a cauldron - again, very realistic to do this all yourself and from scratch, but quite arduous to actually carry out.

You can only carry so many things too before Henry is unable to sprint and the weight from your inventory drags you down, so inventory management and getting to grips with it is essential; every item has a weight value.

There's the option to fast travel between key settings, which certainly speeds things up a bit, but time will advance as if you've travelled there yourself and your tiredness and hunger will slightly deteriorate too.

When you eventually do figure things out (after seemingly endless trial and error), this is where Kingdom Come: Deliverance II really pulls through. While it takes a bit too long for me to get there, it is still very much worth it.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an incredibly ambitious game Warhorse Studios

Verdict

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an incredibly ambitious game that builds on its predecessor, advancing the story of Henry and the world he's in and refining the previous entry.

Although in some cases it's actually slightly easier than the original, it still retains that undeniable brutality of feeling like you are Henry, figuring things out as you go.

Yes, there are a few bugs, it can take a good while to get going and the game requires a good amount of learning and patience, but there is a rich medieval tale and world begging to be discovered offering players hundreds and hundreds of hours of gameplay.

That will all stick with players that want that kind of experience but will be a bit of a turn off for those that don't click with those type of games.

But for what it is, it's an undeniably successful title that achieves what it sets out to do very well.

8/10

If you haven't already, check out the indy100 reviews of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and EA Sports FC 25.

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