ImagineThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimif all the magic and flying dragons were taken out.
In the first game, Henrys personal rags to riches story felt appropriate for its more modest scope.
But inKingdom Come: Deliverance2, the stakes are higher, filled with shifting alliances and political intrigue.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2Deep Silver
For a medieval open world, its surprisingly packed with story-rich side quests.
While the game looks fine, the biggest improvement over the first one is the amount of polish.
There werent any game breaking glitches that tanked the experience or blocked overall story progression.
Players have to fill his hunger and sleep meters, which in turn can impact his combat prowess.
Now, they basically have to start over, with no one believing that theyre messengers sent by royalty.
But it was fun building Henry up again.
Not inKingdom Come: Deliverance2.
Theres a satisfying rhythm to these tasks, and the game makes even the most laborious chores feel worthwhile.
The pickpocketing mini-game was surprisingly the most fun.
The longer he remains undetected, the more time you have in the menu to select to steal.
This is whereKingdom Come: Deliverance2s save system comes into play.
This creates a single save slot that players can continually keep reloading into.
Henry gets caught trying to steal?
No worries, just reload the save.
Want to try and take on a bandit camp but dont want to risk dying?
Just save right in front of it.
Instead of mindlessly slashing away at sponge-like foes, theres a real weight to the combat.
Players have to outsmart opponents with only four directional inputs and strike when theyre most vulnerable.
By carefully watching which direction opponents raise their weapons or shields, the combat almost feels like a performance.
Skill progression is also complex but easy to understand.
Henrys stats level up by simply performing actions that correspond with them in real life.
For example, combat increases his strength and vitality by running around.
The equipment and inventory screens are confusing to scroll through, though.
The UI is sometimes difficult to read, especially with the font size being so small.
These little details are impressive, but the constant flipping between screens gets tiresome after a while.
Being bogged down in menus means spending less time in the world itself.
Even going from place to place requires time and effort.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance2is not an easy game by any means.
Its dragged down by some cumbersome micromanagement, as well as clunky combat and controls.
But thats part of its appeal.
