10/10 would go undercover as a monk again.



Alright, I'll write a proper review for once. This game has a special place in my heart, as I backed it on Kickstarter about 6 years ago, and I was instantly hooked. I enjoyed watching the development videos and reading the blogs as the game transformed from a buggy tech demo with neat combat mechanics into what it is today - the best RPG I've ever played.

Let's start with the main character. Henry of Skalitz is a lazy, good-for-nothing, uncharismatic son of a blacksmith. Henry has absolutely nothing going for him - he can't hold a sword, shoot a bow, brew a potion, ride a horse, or even read. So when his home is burned down and his parents are killed, he is forced to get off his arse and develop his skills so that he can one day reclaim his honour. This adds a real synergy between you (the player) and Henry - you have exactly the same knowledge about how the world works. You must train so that Henry can improve each skill, which at the same time teaches you the different mechanics of the game. That includes how to fight, sneak, or sweet-talk your way past anyone, or anything, that might try to stop you on your quest. This is one of the few RPG games where I've actually felt like I was playing a role, instead of just myself.

As for the world itself, it's not terribly big - you can ride a horse from one end to the other in about 5 minutes. There are familiar RPG things in the world like towns, forests, and plenty of marauding bands of brigands trying to kill you. The difference here is that these are not completely inconsequential - since the map isn't so vast, every location feels different and unique, and travelling between them doesn't feel tedious and repetitive. Each town is lovingly modelled after a real place in Czechia down to every slab of stone, forests are teaming with wildlife to hunt (although poaching is a crime that you can be punished for), and bands of brigands are actually dangerous. Henry isn't some 'chosen one', come to kill the baddies and save the world. He's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ peasant, and bandits will ♥♥♥♥ him up in seconds unless you have really practised, which leads nicely into the combat.

Combat in this game is not some basic ♥♥♥♥ like mash left click till the thing you're looking at dies. It requires real strategy, and is based rather accurately on HEMA, so don't think you can win a fight by picking up a sword and giving it a few swings. Every encounter with enemies in this game is meaningful, because when you go into combat you have absolutely no idea if you will make it out in one piece. Early on you will quickly learn to avoid large groups of enemies, because Henry isn't a one-man army laying waste to hundreds of baddies effortlessly. Combined with a fairly restrictive save-system, you learn not to take unnecessary risks, which is exactly what someone like Henry would do - and would you look at that, yet another reason why the game actually makes you feel like you are playing a role.
Once you have learned the combat mechanics though, things don't necessarily get easier, but they absolutely make you feel accomplished. It is so satisfying to be able to defeat opponents who wear full plate armour after training hard with Captain Bernard and learning all the different fighting techniques.

In addition to the combat, each of the other skills in the game has a mechanic associated with it. Alchemy involves actually brewing a potion from scratch by placing ingredients into a cauldron, grinding them with a mortar and pestle, or boiling them using some bellows. Keeping your sword sharp means taking it to a grindstone, where you must press the pedal and change the position of your sword in order to keep it at the right angle so that you don't dull the blade instead of sharpening it. Reading is a skill in of itself, where you must unscramble the words on the page until you reach a higher skill. Reading also affects other skills, as if you want the effects of a skill book study you must study it for several in-game hours. Personally, I enjoyed the reading skill more when I was at a lower level, because unscrambling the words was such an interesting challenge for some of the quests!

Speaking of quests, in this game they are of very high quality. Even the fetch quests feel more engaging, because there are usually many different ways to approach them - do you buy a potion for someone from an apothecary, or do you brew it yourself? Do you go to the butchers or grocers to buy some food, or do you take the risk and go hunting for it yourself? It never feels like it just boils down to chasing the floaty quest indicator.
One of the highlights of the main questline, I thought, was when you are forced to go undercover by joining the monastery as a novice in order to track down a bandit hiding there. I never expected that a game could possibly make this fun, but the amazing attention to detail in the monastery just made it seem so real - it was full of sculptures and paintings that could easily be overlooked. The sound design was spot-on too, with real hymns echoing around the chapel in the morning and evening prayers, which just made the experience all the more fascinating. I must admit, though, that it did get a bit repetitive after a couple of (in-game) days, but that was my own fault for bumbling around a bit while I tried to learn how to be a monk, which resulted in the game slapping me for breaking the rules of the monastery several times. The other story quests all have a similarly impressive attention to detail, and there are plenty of side quests to get on with in between.

The story is another area where the game shines. I don't think I've played a game with a story as compelling as this. It felt like a gift that kept on giving - every time it seemed Henry's story was coming to an end, something unexpected would happen and there would be yet more content to get through (about 40 hours worth for the main campaign!). The characters were all very well done, each having their own flaws, and each developing as the story progressed. They were all interesting to talk to as well, and I always explored every dialogue option and listened to every line - something I don't think I've really done before in a game. Additionally, I even felt like reading the in-game books instead of just flicking through them, which was equally unexpected for me. I always wanted to learn more about the events and the people in the world, and this in turn drove me to complete each quest. This is such a rare experience to have, because so many RPGs these days (looking at you, Skyrim) focus on the short-term rewards, like getting a fancy new weapon, or piece of armour, that will get replaced after a few more hours of play. In this game, advancing the story is the reward, because it is so well written. Plus, the ending is fantastic, and well worth the effort you put into the game!

Finally, on to the technical stuff. The graphics are good, although I had to play on medium settings to stop my computer screaming at me. The landscape, buildings and forests are all really good, but character animations can be a little weird at times. It was quite obvious when different face models had been re-used for different characters, but I could forgive that because the characters themselves felt genuine enough. Watching NPCs ride horses was especially jarring, so it's a good thing not many could afford one!

Overall, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a solid, incredibly immersive RPG, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. No other game I have played even comes close in terms of depth and attention to detail, nor have I ever seen a developer care so much about their game and the characters they created, like Warhorse has done here. I very much look forward to where they take it next!