It’s bewildering to consider that it’s already been seven years since the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance launched. When it hit, it was a challenging but rewarding RPG that stood its ground as an authentic and realistic depiction of fifteenth-century Bohemia. But despite its ambitions, something about it never gelled with me as much as others. But now, with Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, things have changed. And while there’s nothing extensive that’s changed with this ambitious sequel, during these times with the game’s early hours, I’m already so much more excited about what Deliverance II has to offer.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II follows directly from the previous game. You’ll still spend the brunt of your adventure as Henry of Skalitz, now working as a squire for Hans Capo, who you met in the original game. Continuing the epic adventure begun in Deliverance, Henry and Hans are hunting the people who attacked Skalitz and stole Henry’s father’s precious swords. While I’ll endeavour to keep most of Deliverance II’s surprises secret, a few things happen, and Henry and Hans find themselves back to square one. And so begins their journey again.
From the very first moment you unexpectedly take control of Godwin in the game’s opening moments, it’s obvious that the scope and scale of Deliverance II have been expanded considerably. Playing as Godwin in a non-sequitur sequence, you’ll hold your ground from an invading force, highlighting some of the new bells and whistles Deliverance II has added to the proceedings. It feels bigger and more epic, and, most importantly, you can also shoot things now with ranged weapons.
Following the opening sequence, we’ve rewinded a few days back, and we’re back with Henry and Han. Following some very well-paced tutorials, we’re thrown into the world to explore. As with the original game, Deliverance II blurs the line between simulation and fantasy, propelling players into the world of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) as they follow Henry on his quest for revenge. It’s a politically charged story heavily steeped in real history. That means you’ll never find anything high fantasy in Deliverance II – it’s just good old-fashioned swords and shields. No magic, no monsters, and no arcane shout magic.
Battered and impoverished following a rather gnarly conflict, the game opens properly with Henry and Hans having to infiltrate a noble wedding. Here, Deliverance II makes its design philosophy clear – do things your way. The most obvious way to do it was to curry favour with the nearby mill owner or blacksmith owner by working for them. I went for that option but eventually got distracted and decided to buy some clothes to fit the part. Having no money, I eventually became a thief in the night, robbing travellers from local inns, fencing goods at a camp I eventually became welcome at and using that money at a tailor to make myself look like a noble.
That’s where much of the charm lies in both Kingdom Come: Deliverance games so far. There is a degree of player freedom that isn’t captured in other games of its ilk. You can almost do whatever you want, as long as you have the means to do it. Convince someone to apologise to someone else to resolve a quarrel, murder them point blank. Or even watch them as they go about their days and poison the stores they take their food from. Maybe even lie about who said what to resolve the quarrel without actually doing so. There’s a slew of options available to you as a player, and so far, Deliverance II has made good on its promises.
Though with this deep dedication towards realism comes a trade-off – it extends to Henry, too. Henry must be well-fed and well-rested to make the most of his abilities. Eating too much makes him sluggish, and eating too little drains his health. Drinking alcohol makes him hardier in battle, though makes his speech and agility suffer the next day during his hangover. You can stop getting hangovers by drinking regularly, but be ready to be addicted to the drink and need to find it more regularly to avoid other weird side effects. You can ignore Henry’s needs if you wish, but the experience is much more miserable, and, eventually, you’ll die. Just like real life, I suppose.
This aspect of Kingdom Come: Deliverance rubbed me the wrong way, but with Deliverance II, everything feels a lot better tuned than the original game. I still had to be mindful of Henry and his needs at any given moment – making sure he was well-equipped for a long journey ahead either by planning a stop at an inn or simply packing more food (that wouldn’t expire on the journey). But I never felt like it was actively getting in the way and prohibiting me from enjoying the game. More importantly, the systems never felt so intrusive that, in the pursuit of realism, they really lost sight of the most important element in a game – fun.
On a similar note, while Deliverance II still feels as true to its ideals as the original game, it does a remarkably better job introducing players to its mechanics and world. If you’ve been put off in the original game by the limited save system, convoluted combat or even just the way the game is so directionless, don’t let that put you off Deliverance II. It’s still as challenging (and fulfilling) an experience as the original game, but it does incredible work in easing you into things without compromising on the experience that the original game provided.
I can’t emphasise enough just how early I am in Henry’s adventure, but I see a lot of the charm of games like Dragon’s Dogma II in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. It’s a game where exploration and the journey are as important and engaging as the destination. Limited saves force you to think about when you save and carefully consider the weight of any decisions you make. Combine this with a higher sense of production values – including no bugs that’ll wipe your progress with every restart. I think Warhorse has finally won me over.
If it’s not obvious, I’m both surprised but happy to report that I’m excited to see what the rest of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II will bring. To think there is so much more to experience in the game without even travelling to Guttenberg, which is just as big an area as the one I’ve been exploring, is exciting. But while I usually lament about the growing size of games, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II feels different.
It’s expanded in all the right ways and designed so that all our stories will be different, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out.
So far, in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, it’s obvious that choices feel tangible and consequences matter. But, more importantly, it’s a joy to play, and given that was my biggest qualm with the original Deliverance, that’s equal parts incredible and exciting.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on February 5th 2025.
