Developer: Warhorse Studios
Publisher: Warhorse Studios, Deep Silver
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Tested on: PS4
Kingdom Come: Deliverance – Review
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is one of those titles that appeared out of nowhere, but was instantly on our radar. Deep Silver has a fairly impressive repertoire of titles it has published in the past, and it seemed that they had another new interesting entrance on their list once again with this medieval first-person action RPG. Nonetheless, we couldn’t be sure until we finally had our hands on this title, as it seemed to offer a very expansive experience, allowing the player a fair amount of freedom, but together with it a reasonable difficulty curve as you’ll have to take into account the hunger and tiredness of the characters. We were curious and for the most part this title had a charming effect on us.
Story
We’re taken back to the start of the fifteenth century where emperor Charles IV has just passed away and the crown has now been passed on to his son, Wenceslaus, who doesn’t share the same sense of responsibility of his father. The newly appointed emperor is mostly interested in primal urges of the flesh and other more fun affairs, as he even fails to show up for his own coronation. This does not go unnoticed by the nobles and the common riffraff and soon after help is called from abroad from one of Charles’ illegitimate children, Sigismund, who is currently the king of Hungary. Enemy forces are soon to arrive in the Bohemian kingdom, not only to abduct Wenceslaus, but to increase Sigismund’s stronghold of power.
You’ll be playing as Henry, the son of a master blacksmith, but you have no particular talents yourself. You’re pretty much a nobody, who likes to hang out with other nobodies, and would like to learn the way of the sword, but would also rather stay in bed until the day has passed significantly. When doing some arduous tasks for your father, who is creating a sword for one of the nobles, your life will change rapidly, as Sigismund’s forces invade your hometown of Skalitz and they leave no one alive, safe for those who flee to the castle. As expected, your parents die in the attack, suddenly giving you a motive to press on and become someone more or less important. Sword in hand, the one your father forged, you’ll escape, warn a nearby village, but you still wish to return to bury your parents in a proper fashion, causing you to lose the sword your father has crafted. The latter gives you a quest, not only to fulfill your father’s last job, but one for revenge as well.
Overall the story goes slow but steady and while some items may be a bit predictable, the many different conversations and side-quests provide enough originality to keep the game’s long playing time interesting. You’ll be treated to a typical medieval setting with small villages for you to explore, adding extra story content as you go.
Graphics
We have tried the PlayStation 4 version of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and while we were treated to very picturesque sceneries when walking/riding through the Bohemian Kingdom, we also noticed a lot of dated graphical features. For example the characters all move in a wooden fashion, and the lip syncing is beyond horrible, making the characters feel like late PlayStation 3 models, rather than something designed for our current generation. Other than that, for some reason, the female characters all seem to have the same facial features, with a different hairstyle, but they are mostly fairly appalling in terms of likeability. Nonetheless, the developers did their best to fill the world with clutter, green environments and such, and this makes up for a lot, but even so, many of the houses look a bit bland and ugly on the inside and some clutter is used over and over again, creating a lot of déjà vu situations.
Sound
Sound wise there aren’t that many remarks. The game has a decent sound design, and it’s fun that all dialogues are fully voiced, ranging from the odd villager around the corner, to the nobles you’ll meet along the journey. The combat sounds are decent as well, even though swords hitting you make a somewhat odd sound, more akin to someone just beating you with a stick. The soundtrack itself is appealing, but somewhat unnoticeable at times. The only thing you’ll grow tired of is Henry moaning every step of the way that he’s hungry, even after he just ate twelve apples, three loafs of bread and a roasted duck.
Gameplay
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a first-person action RPG, which revolves around Henry’s arduous quest for revenge in the Bohemian Kingdom. You’ll be going from point A to B for the most part, with a few sidetracks along the way if you want to earn some extra coin, be it with some odd jobs, illegal activities or some other interesting tasks. The game is pretty straightforward in the sense of what is going on, but there’s a lot of micromanagement going on when you truly want to survive in a proper fashion.
Combat in Kingdom Come: Deliverance feels a bit clunky at times, but the sword fighting is still somewhat entertaining, as you’ll be able to attack from different directions, hopefully making sure your opponent can not parry. The latter is somewhat odd however, as your opponent often shifts sides as fast as you, making them parry the first hit more than often, but if you follow up with a second they’ll be hurting for sure. The same can be said for you, when an opponent starts wailing on you, you’ll often find yourself dead before you can respond. Of course better armor will help and after a while you’ll get used to the combat system, but still, early opponents attack just as fierce as a Tasmanian devil, making it hard to learn the ropes, when it comes to defending against blows. It’s often a case of being the first who strikes and downing your opponent before you run out of stamina.
The sim part of the game is pretty much all about the micromanagement of your character. You’ll have to keep Henry well-fed, rested and even clean depending on things to come. You’ll have a nourishment status, which can be sustained by eating the proper foods, but cramming too much food will also slow you down. Resting is important, not only to skip time but to remain alert. And even clothing plays a role in this game, as it may add to your armor bonuses, but it can also determine the opinion of those surrounding you, or it can alter your base stats, such as charisma if you run around in a brigand’s clothing. If you’re up for a chat with nobles, you’ll have to keep in mind that dirty clothes don’t really make for a good impression, so an extra set of clothes in your backpack may help you out, or if you’re out of storage space, you might want to consider rinsing your clothes in a river or going to a bathhouse to have them cleaned for you.
Actions have consequences in this fairly expansive digital kingdom, which means that if you want to walk on the other side of the law and pickpocket half a village, you’ll be able to do so, but when getting caught you will not land any favors. The same can be said about conversations, in which you are presented with choices, which may allow you to charm, persuade or threaten someone, but things may not always turn out the way you’d like.
If you’re hoping to build a very unrealistic warrior the likes of a Skyrim protagonist, you’ll be sorely disappointed as nearly every perk you choose will increase one item but often decreases another. For extra damage you’ll have to sacrifice some of your stamina usage while others may reduce other stats while gaining an extra ability. Overall this keeps the balance intact and it makes your character more human. Of course, basic stats will increase when you use certain items a lot, such as your crafting skills, or your swordsmanship and even speech will increase if you talk a lot. Overall the game is well balanced and to a certain extent, very realistic.
This game has a somewhat odd system when it comes to your basic stats, as they can influence a lot of conversations. If you have high charisma, you might be able to wind certain people around your finger, but having a great speech ability might also persuade other NPCs to believe what you say. Threatening those around you is also an option, but with the combat system being somewhat too balanced at times, it might be best to avoid trading blows whenever possible, safe for when you’re busted for a crime when you try to walk the dangerous and illegal path. Spending a night in prison is often better than being six feet under.
Conclusion
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an interesting and fun ARPG with a lot of content to explore, albeit with some annoyances and dated mechanics along the way. Nonetheless, if you like a meaty first-person medieval action RPG, this game will certainly please you for many hours to come, even if you’re simply a voyeur and love to explore the world. The latter might be annoying if you can’t keep your food levels up, but there is enough food to find if you look in every nook and cranny. The moral system is decent and the overall story is interesting, albeit somewhat cliché. If you’re looking for a serious action RPG and you can overlook a few flaws in the graphical and gameplay departments, you’ll be good to go with this one.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Review,
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