Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a surprise hit when it launched in 2018 after seven years of development by a then-unknown Czech studio. While it got mixed reviews from critics for having numerous bugs, a pretty slow pace and some unconventional (and annoying) design decisions, it proved surprisingly popular among role playing gamers, selling a million copies within two weeks and continuing to find an even bigger following as time went on and more content and patches were released, with over 8 million units moved by November of 2024. It's certainly easy to see why it found an audience, showcasing a surprising amount of attention to historical detail for 15th-century Bohemia, with many real skills (repairing weapons, armor and clothing, distilling alcohol, creating medicines, horseback riding and combat) implemented into the gameplay, and the player actively getting tired, hungry and having to tend to injured limbs and bleeding as well as avoid food poisoning. Combat is handled with surprising realism too, relying on carefully-timed blocking, striking and combos as well as stamina management rather than just flailing away, and the player is given a surprising amount of freedom to complete quests as they see fit, take on morally dubious jobs, or try to play honorably by sparing surrendering foes, staying within the law and avoiding actions seen as blasphemous or taboo. Strengthening your character is done in a surprisingly realistic fashion - as in games like Elder Scrolls you actually have to train or put your skills to practical use to improve them, and once you've powered up a stat to a certain point (or gained an overall Experience level), you can choose Perks that grant you various benefits for the rest of the game. Elements of realism can also prove something of a detriment at times. The start of the game is very slow and restrictive; it takes a good 10-15 hours of gameplay and (admittedly well-acted and written) cutscenes before you're finally given some freedom to wander, and until then you'll probably be pretty frustrated with the fact that you can't succeed at doing much of anything because of your limited skill set and having very few opportunities to improve stats. Fast travel is a thing, but only to very specific points near major landmarks; you'll still have to get around mostly either on foot or by horse. Saving your game is heavily restricted too - you only get a hard save when you either rest on a bed or bench for a period of time, or when you use Savior Schnapps, which are quite expensive and hard to come by. Basically, this isn't a game you can easily just savescum your way through - you have to commit to a playstyle and put in work to get good at it, or you're going to be in for a lot of frustration and save loading. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an ambitious game with a lot to like, but only if you can adapt to something that unabashedly disregards instant gratification, and rigidly enforces its vision of a grounded, mostly realistic 15th-century role playing experience (albeit with some annoying bugs and braindead stupid ally AI at times).
Developer: Warhorse Studios, Saber Interactive (Switch)
Publisher: Warhorse Studios, Deep Silver
Released: 2018, 2024
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, XBox One, Switch