(This article contains spoilers)
Seven years after its very first game Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Warhorse Studios, based in Prague, makes history with this long-waited sequel. After a first game met with an honorable success, the fans of the medieval franchise travel back to the 15th century Bohemia, and jump back into Henry of Skalitz’ skin, the bastard son of a nobleman, now in the service of the young lord Hans Capon. The returning main duo is still performed by Tom McKay, playing Henry, and Luke Dale, playing Hans.
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance, we left Henry and Hans on their way to Trosky to deliver a letter to Otto von Bergow in hope of making the League of Lords join their fight against king Wenceslas. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II picks up where the story ended, forming an immediate sequel with Hans and Henry riding to Trosky.
The game takes its time to start and move, which can be an adjustment for people coming from fantasy and action-packed games where the first moments are often more focused on grabbing their entire attention and throwing them into the action right away (looking at you Baldur’s Gate 3, that I absolutely loved). Here, Henry is acting at his level: he’s not a noble, doesn’t have any real privileges, and you quickly understand that nothing is easy. Ever. Even a noble has to prove themselves when they’re not a well-known local figure. It’s refreshing and challenging.
Since this is a historical game, there’s no magical powers, the events are rooted in day-to-day medieval life, and the common game you can play in most places is a (very addictive) game of dice named farkle that I wouldn’t mind having as a mobile game (Warhorse, if you read me). The only things vaguely OP are the potions, and it’s only to make the game a bit more dynamic with low but useful perks.
Making Your Way Into Medieval Life
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II goes at its own pace. Yes, we get to be part of an attempted siege at the beginning, but it’s a short moment, and we’re quickly reminded that we’re evolving in a medieval era. The game really starts when Henry and Hans are separated following a brawl in a tavern. After spending some time in the pillory with Hans, who ends up leaving, Henry has no money, owns just very basic clothes and a sword, and needs to find Hans. He’s on foot, dirty, penniless and attracts attention with his suspicious looks (understand poor beggar possibly looking to steal something). There are laws and rules he needs to follow, many forbidden things he needs to be careful of, even walking at night without a torch can bring the attention of random guards who will judge you suspicious. And we all know how suspicious people were treated. The pillory is just around the corner.
From there, Henry will have to talk to people, help them, find ways to make money, to find better clothes and weapons, even a horse at one point. And it’s a lot of work (and a bit of luck). The loot is not something you can easily find. No mobs to make you level and give you items, hunting is considered as poaching since the game belongs to the king, and if you don’t have money, you absolutely need to be good at sword fighting or stealing.
With a lot of skills and some luck, you could kill a few bandits and loot them, rob whatever valuable you can find in houses, keep what you need and make some money with the rest, but only if no one realizes it’s stolen goods, which happens more often than you’d want to. The economy of the game is pretty unforgiving but can also be rewarding. You need to work, craft or steal to survive. Nothing and no one will come to your help, and you can die bleeding out if you don’t have bandages. You can also die of starvation if you don’t have any food or even die from food poisoning if your food rots in your bag.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a game you have to earn, and that’s what makes it so addictive, on top of the excellent writing and the stunning graphics. Is it perfect? Of course not. Combat can be a hit-and-miss, you can die very quickly if your armor is not good enough or if you don’t protect yourself. Some aspects of it can also be frustrating, but this is probably what makes it realistic. The struggle is, in fact, real.
Another aspect of this tough life is maintenance. Everything you own rusts, falls apart, rots. Time is not your ally, and the more you use your armor and weapons, the more maintenance they require. Repair kits are available early in the game, that you can buy or steal. Each type of item has a corresponding kit: Blacksmith’s kit for the weapons, Armourer’s kit for your armor, Cobbler’s kit for anything leather, etc. They’re an important thing to always have in your inventory to avoid paying high prices for some repairs.
Experience points are earned as you play. The more you do something, the more you level. It’s simple… and not that simple. Some skills become less easy to level that way, but it forces the player to really use all the game’s mechanics. Most of them are not even skills-related, and remembering that being overloaded helps you build strength is not always a given, especially when it prevents you from riding your horse.
Building History One Step at a Time
The historic part of the game is also worthy of praise. Even with some liberties, it hits right. Events, armor, weapons, architecture, everything is carefully researched and crafted up to the murals. Warhorse did a wonderful job at gamifying history. The French Army Museum (Musée de l’Armée) published 2 videos with an army historian, Olivier Renaudeau, commenting on the game and providing real pieces of armor and weapons from the 14th to the 18th centuries to compare with what’s in the game. He also talks about architecture and art, providing insightful anecdotes that really highlight the studio’s work. His very positive feedback shows how accurate the game is, even the few liberties taken are rooted in reality and history. You can watch the videos on YouTube (part 1 and part 2) with generated subtitles in the language of your choice.
And for a game based on history, all the aspects are important. Being inspired is one thing, but when accuracy is a goal, it’s important to know how good it is, and the team at Warhorse definitely worked hard on that. In this context, very little is allowed outside real medieval life, which makes the game more challenging too.
As for the music, Jan Valta really composed a memorable main theme and soundtrack, in the same vein as the previous game, that could get him and the game an award. From the very orchestral main theme to the tracks with a more medieval feel, the music really feels cinematic and authentic, from the instruments to the melodies. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s music makes use of the best of an orchestra epicness with choir, pipes, drums, recorder, fiddle, dulcimer and many other instruments that will make you travel back to the past. It’s meticulously crafted and each milestone of the game has its own gripping music environment. This soundtrack is a real delight.
Another Woke Game? (No)
As expected, a game that reflects its own time, even a historical game, will be met with backwards thoughts and logic because “it wasn’t like that back then.” Without spoiling too much, an optional romance storyline takes a queer turn towards the end of the game, something some people found unacceptable, labeling the game as “woke” and completely unrealistic.
In this romance, the story of Lancelot and Galehaut, from Arthurian Legend, is used as a reference by the character itself. Galehaut, knight and lord of the Distant Isles, was on the path of war against Arthur. On the battlefield, he’s awed by the prowess of a black night: Lancelot. For the sake of the one he admired so much, he surrendered for a chance to spend a night with Lancelot. The young knight accepts. What has been interpreted as a “deep male friendship” by some historians could also be seen as a homosexual relationship. Love or friendship? Why not both? Galehaut and Lancelot became very close in what is described as a love story. The nature of the love, however, is up to interpretation.
It’s an interesting path for Henry, and again, it’s optional. But this is 2025 and things are going backwards. If chosen, this romance storyline doesn’t really influence the game, it’s just a new facet for these characters and their respective storylines.
Warhorse’s choice to include this romance as a very optional choice is not them bending under the alphabet people’s agenda (that doesn’t exist anyway), it’s them adding a new facet to characters without changing who they are. If Henry can drink a potion that can make him see better in the dark, heal his wounds faster and give him other not so realistic buffs, a queer romance option is even more probable because yes, queer people have always existed, they just knew how to hide.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a fantastic journey. It’s not a game for everyone, but everyone should give it a chance. There’s a unique feel to it, between the lush countryside of Bohemia, the many characters and their uniqueness and the writing so rich from the main story to the smallest side quest. Henry is a relatable character, strong-willed but always under the weight of his social status, plagued by vengeance but thriving for peace, guiding us through this story. A third game could see the light of day and we’ll answer the call.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, GeForce Now, Microsoft Windows and Amazon Luna.
