Kingdom Come: Deliverance drops players into the middle of the medieval world of Bohemia. The game is grounded in historical realism, placing an emphasis on accurate role-playing mechanics. Everything from its combat to its save system is appropriately brutal, with the player able to die in jail, catch diseases and bleed out in the woods, miles from home. Since its launch, Kingdom Come: Deliverance has been praised for bringing something new to the modern RPG genre but it certainly hasn’t been without its detractors. The emphasis on realism has left to some questionable design choices which have turned players away from jumping in. With that sentiment in mind, here are five things that the game does so right, and three it does very wrong indeed. Let’s start with the good.
Right: A Refreshing Emphasis on Realism
Over the last decade or so, we’ve seen a shift away from realism and towards accessibility. Fast travel, constant hints, and hand-holding have become the norm, especially in the RPG scene. Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes a different tact by offering up a realistic role-playing experience. Little details like how dirty clothes can sabotage your chances to gain favor from a noble, coupled with a protagonist who is appropriately useless with a sword, culminate in a brutal but rewarding game. You must constantly eat and drink, bandage wounds, and keep an eye out for danger. The threat of death is around every corner so ensuring you are ready to face it is key. Kingdom Come: Deliverance forces its players to practice, practice, practice. Only by hunting, frequenting the archery range and taking lessons from more experienced swordsman can you get better, and you’d better.
Then there’s the historic realism at play. The game features a handful of real-life characters and takes place during a very real civil war. Most important of all, the game never makes you feel like a superhero, quite the opposite. The protagonist Henry is a peasant from an impoverished village and he feels like one. You’re not going to walk into a bandit camp, perform a few combo moves, and leave with your head still attached. While this may turn many players off, Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s investment in realism above all else is refreshingly bold.
Right: Kinetic, Tactical Combat
By and large, sword-fighting in video games has been underwhelming at best. By slowing things down and employing the guidance of real-life sword-fighters, Warhorse Studios has managed to build a combat system which is both brutal and dynamic. Based around a reticle with diagonal warning points on it, the system behind blocking and parrying attacks is deep and subtle. You can either launch a heavy blow which takes up more stamina, or a quick jab which consumes less. Being wounded is a serious event in battle, demanding immediate medical attention. You can only take on one enemy at a time, so charging into a group is a sure road to death.
The whole thing manages to feel palpable thanks to the way different armor parts react when struck. It’s slow, methodical, and completely engrossing, with practice being the only avenue to improvement. The ranged combat is also as tricky to master. There is no HUD to indicate where your arrow is going to land, no auto-aim, just your own instinct and skill.
Right: Incredible Visuals
While its character animations leave a lot to be desired, Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s environments are absolutely stunning. Every town and village is scaled perfectly, giving them a real lived-in quality. The forests are some of the best in gaming, evoking a dreamlike quality by playing with sunlight and shadow. Ultimately it’s the little details which culminate to make Bohemia such a compelling world to be in.
Mud and grime accumulate at the village walls, footpaths cut through the overgrown woodland which make up much of the world, and small ponds glisten with life. The game has an authentic, beautiful ugliness to it, perfectly portraying life in The Holy Roman Empire. It’s impressive that a game devoid of magic, dragons, and all of the things its peers boast can still be this interesting to play, and while there are a few visual bugs in the current build, it is a visual gem nonetheless.
Right: A Small-Scale yet Compelling Narrative
Kingdom Come Deliverance puts forward a smaller story than the world-ending tales we’re used to. Centering around a village peasant’s quest for revenge, the narrative here is well acted and interesting. This applies to the many side-quests as well, some of which contain some of the best characters in the game. Much of what makes Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s story tick is the way it plays out over a self-contained area.
The small collection of villages around Bohemia are its setting, which raises the stakes a little due to the player’s familiarity with their surroundings. You really do feel like a man trying to survive as a war erupts around him, made all the more realistic thanks to Tom McKay’s excellent performance as Henry. The story never once shies away from the squalor and unpleasantness of the setting, making it an all the more affecting experience.
Right: Deep, Versatile Armor System
Soldiers of the time period in which the game is set would have worn layer upon layer of clothing in order to protect themselves. Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes full advantage of this by offering players the opportunity to customize their armor build to near dizzying levels of depth. Stacking padded shirts underneath armor underneath leather ensures protection from blunt blows, and plate armor is a good go-to for all-around protection. There are 20 slots available for clothing with a ton of different combinations available. Experimentation is key and certain armor pieces will be better than others based on the situation the player is in.
What this amounts to is a true feeling that your armor is vital and should be maintained, curated, and readily switched out. It also helps that each piece of clothing is designed with a love and care for the era, making the whole thing feel altogether more authentic.
Wrong: That Save System
Of all the criticisms leveled at the game so far, the obtuse nature of the save system is definitely the most commonly cited. In a rather questionable design choice, Warhorse Studios has tied saving to an item called Savior Schnapps. Problem is, this item is incredibly expensive early on and can actually lead to Henry becoming an alcoholic, changing others’ perception of him. The game also allows players to save by sleeping, though you cannot sleep anywhere you like.
Saving also occurs at the start of missions but with some running well over an hour, there are often large gaps in a player’s save files. This wouldn’t be all bad in theory but due to the game’s current state being less than stable (more on that later), it is very easy to lose your progress. The developers have stated that they are working on a fix for the save system so let’s hope they implement it sooner rather than later.
Wrong: Bugs, Bugs, and More Bugs
A large-scale RPG launching with performance issues is nothing new, but usually they are minor enough not to hamper the overall experience. Unfortunately for a large number of players, Kingdom Come: Deliverance contains substantial issues. Characters which certain quests depend on disappear, leaving hours of progress lost. Stairs are particularly treacherous in the way that they seem to have a mind of their own regarding if and when to let a player pass through them. Some players have reported that they have been outed as a criminal with no reasoning behind it.
The main issue that this all boils down to is that the save system is unfair and not optimized, exacerbating each and every bug present. Small issues that could be solved with a simple reload lead to a significant loss of play time and in a game as brutal as this, it all leaves a very sour taste indeed.
Wrong: Lockpicking
If there is anything in an RPG likely to attract the collective rage of a new fan base, it’s lockpicking. At its best, it is a minor inconvenience, at its worst it is near game-breaking. Kingdom Come’s particularly finicky lockpicking system falls into the latter camp with many players on the PS4 deeming it simply impossible. On console, players must carefully twirl the left stick while keeping the cursor centered AND rotating the lock. It’s abundantly clear that the community is less than pleased, made evident by the quick emergence of a lockpicking mod on PC. Let’s hope that a patch is incoming soon, for the sake of controllers and TV screens everywhere.
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