Everything I loved about Kingdom Come: Deliverance is back in the sequel, just done in a bigger and better way. More importantly for some, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is more refined -- easier to get a grip on.
Because Kingdom Come: Deliverance is so crunchy with so much emphasis on trying to be as realistic as possible, it’s an easy title to bounce off of. Layer on top of that a combat system that takes some time to get used to, and it can be an even tougher sale.
Thankfully, from the brief time I played with the sequel, a lot of that is much easier to get a grip on and understand right away. The sequel is just as deep with just as many moving pieces as before, just easier to manage this time.
The first place that is apparent is in the combat. It’s smoother, the visual cues are more clear, and it felt a lot more attainable to be competent enough quickly.
I want to emphasize, however, that I don’t mean that Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is "dumbing down" what was already there. This is just a more refined system that has the side benefit of being more approachable.
My ability to block, after not having played the original in years mind you, was already better than before. I wasn't perfect by any means, and this was just a demo of course, so there's still a lot of meat on the bone for people to sink their teeth into.
Taking on the role of Henry again, it was like sleeping into a comfortable pair of shoes. The same humor and tone is throughout the story and dialogue with NPCs. If you were a fan of the writing in the original, you’ll be more than satisfied with KCD 2 I imagine.
While various game systems have been streamlined a bit more, like the combat, the biggest upgrade I experienced in my demo was just the sheer scale of the game.
The demo took place in Kuttenberg, a large German city in Bohemia. A real place, it was full of buildings, market stalls, taverns, guild halls, and so much more. Hundreds of NPCs were walking around going about their daily tasks.
The original game featured nothing of that scale at all, so seeing all of the intricate systems of Kingdom Come: Deliverance working together with so many NPCs densely packed together is going to be interesting.
If you’re interested in the historical aspects of the Kingdom Come series, then you’ll be happy to know that commitment to historical accuracy continues here as well.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is set in Bohemia, so we’ll be in an entirely new region from the first game. With historians on the team to keep things as close to accurate as possible, the time period and area have been meticulously recreated.
Moreover, the game will feature some cool actual historical events you’ll get to experience as Henry. For example, the city of Kuttenberg will be under siege at some point, which actually happened and is something Henry will get to see firsthand.
In the end, I think what I played shows that Warhorse Studios is doing exactly what they need to do with Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. They've rounded some of the sharp edges while beefing up the best parts of the game.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was demoed on a PC at PAX West 2024.
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Andrew is the Editor in Chief at TechRaptor. Conned into a love of gaming by Nintendo at a young age, Andrew has been chasing the dragon spawned by Super… More about Andrew
