Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – A Detailed Look at the Highly Anticipated Sequel

Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a long time in development, and then relatively unknown developer Warhorse delivered some impressive technical reviews and once again assured us that they would provide a realistic, down-to-earth and historically accurate role-playing game without dragons, trolls and magical powers.

The game was a success, despite many technical glitches, but users around the world were clearly disappointed, and the game even managed to sell over six million copies, which is particularly impressive for a new, innovative IP.

This performance is not so surprising when you consider that the game is not yet optimized for PS5 and Xbox Series, so it is still stuck at 30 frames per second. So what has Warhorse been up to all this time? Well, they have been working hard on Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, which has just been released. We have seen a small gameplay demonstration and can tell you about it here.

Here’s a hint:

The year is 1403 in Bohemia around the town of Kuttenberg, and we play again as Henry who is now a little more experienced but still green, and together with Sir Hans, his life has become a little more expected after the events of the first game. But of course everything is bound to go wrong, and Henry is once again set on a path that leads him into brutal and violent conflict with major political and military forces. The studio makes sure that even if you’re not related to Henry and Sir Hans, this is a good place to start. You don’t need to have played the first game, and you certainly won’t, as it hasn’t been developed yet on the latest console platforms. But everything indicates that this will be another meaningful story and, above all, real with believable characters, which is the whole point of the Kingdom Come series.

This sequel is more advanced in every way imaginable. 250 workers have worked for six years to bring the game to life, and with just over three hours of cuts in the first game, five people are here now. The world is also twice as big and for the first time there is a real city, which, according to the developers, was particularly challenging. A bigger world, a longer and deeper narrative and more content, apparently without affecting the structural framework of the free game.

Here’s a hint:

Warhorse has proven that you can build “your Henry” especially whatever you want, but at the same time this world opens up many different types of strategies, and there are rules and consequences in society- social factors that help frame the way you make decisions. If you are caught stealing, it changes the way people in that town community look at you and they will confront you and you can respond there. Even if you don’t get caught, people will talk about theft and an unknown perpetrator. Warhorse seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on the empath community, and it will be interesting to see if they succeed.

The very physical combat system is also back, although there are a few other options. In particular, you can now complement your sword fights with different weapons, because in the years since the first game, the first guns have arrived in Bohemia. These are fairly basic rifles that can only be fired once before the enemy is above you, but you can also use a crossbow in a tight spot.

The beauty of this first look at Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is that Warhorse seems to have tackled the right issues. No, it cannot compete with today’s AAA games on graphic detail, but instead depth, nerve and identity are expressed through music, intelligent lighting and believable NPCs . Whether they get there remains to be seen, of course, and Warhorse has promised better facial animations, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is not a graphical powerhouse, nor is it meant to be.

The fact that it’s coming out this year on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series is a surprise in itself, and if it comes in a more technologically advanced state, maybe we can already rejoice. Warhorse has drawn the longest straw here and is now on the list of most anticipated games of 2024 for me.