I watched development of this game for a year before its release. The concept was one I had not seen before - a single-player, story-driven RPG set in a historical time period, that paid close attention to historical detail. Being a fan of the RPG genre and having a deep interest in medieval history, I was, naturally, very excited.

Fast forward to February 2018. Kingdom Come Deliverance is released on PC. I waited with great anticipation as the download progress bar crept across the screen. Once the game was installed, I double-clicked the little desktop icon, set to take an interactive journey back in time to 1400s Bohemia. As the intro video played out like a movie opening, I could feel my heart in my throat. My God, it was beautiful!

Once the prologue actually began, I adjusted my settings to get a playable framerate (more on that later) and proceeding with the opening quest. This is where my story begins.

I was ill-prepared for the requirement of attention-paying one has to do in some of the various quests. If you father says bring back cool ale from the tavern, then you'd best not procrastinate after picking it up. I got my first taste of combat through a couple of brawls with some locals. The unarmed combat is very well done. No tricks, no magic, no super-powered hero. You're a peasant boy on the verge of becoming a man, a nobody who is too immature to trust with anything more than menial tasks. That's refreshing. No prophecy to fulfill, etc.,etc.

The actual combat though. Let me tell you. In the early stages of the game, I would say Kingdom Come greatly surpasses Dark Souls in level of difficulty. There is some difficulty scaling as you become more skilled, but the general idea is that the harder you train, the easier the actual fights will be. And I can attest to that, having finished the main storyline on my second playthrough with only a few deaths. You MUST train in order to get better. As you do, you will see a very noticeable difference in the difficulty of the combat.

One thing I will point out, however, is while one-on-one combat becomes easier, you will never have it "easy" when you are outnumbered. That particular scenario requires skill on your part. Knowing when to attack, when to get distance, when to switch targets. It will come, with time and experience.

I mentioned my second playthrough. Yes, my first didn't go so well. I advanced through the storyline to a point well beyond my skill level, and, despite my love for the game, I rage quit and put it down for a few months. Besides, there were a great many bugs on release that, when fixed, would make the game even more enjoyable.

On bugs. There are still quite a few, but the patches come fairly regularly and most of the major, game-breaking bugs have, from what I can tell, been hammered out. There are still one or two animation bugs and some AI pathfinding bugs that require squashing though. And performance, while not nearly as bad as it was on release, still has much area for improvement. However, even on medium settings the game is still gorgeous.

The storyline has some stench of cliche, though this is to be expected, as there isn't a story under the sun that hasn't already been told. Regardless, it is an enjoyable one, with a few late game revelations that can be forseen if one has the perception. The second half of the story feels a bit...rushed. I don't know if this was due to time constraints or what, but the pacing seems a bit too hurried. Then again, I might have blasted through the second half wondering what happens next, not realizing it.

Some of the side quests are repetitive, and often times you'll feel like you spend more time traveling from point A to point B than actually doing things. But, they do serve a purpose if you choose to buy the From the Ashes DLC (which I have yet to finish).

Replayability is somewhat lacking, due to the linear nature of the storyline. However, there is opportunity to play a different "type" of character. Good vs bad or somewhere in between? Sneaky archer type or heavily armored knight? The story, however, will not change. Some things will happen and some won't, depending on your decisions, however the overall story arc will not change, regardless of your playstyle.

All in all, once I found my combat stance, so to speak, I thoroughly enjoyed Kingdom Come Deliverance and plan to purchase and future DLC they put forth. I hope Warhorse continues to expand upon the foundations they have laid out in Kingdom Come, and I look forward to future titles from them, especially if they keep with the historical aspect.

TL;DR version below

Gameplay - 8/10
Story - 7/10
Dialogue - 6/10
Graphics - 9/10
Performance - 6/10

My recommendation - if you have the money, buy it. If you don't, when it goes on sale, buy it.

I watched development of this game for a year before its release. The concept was one I had not seen before - a single-player, story-driven RPG set in a historical time period, that paid close attention to historical detail. Being a fan of the RPG genre and having a deep interest in medieval history, I was, naturally, very excited. Fast forward to February 2018. Kingdom Come Deliverance is released on PC. I waited with great anticipation as the download progress bar crept across the screen. Once the game was installed, I double-clicked the little desktop icon, set to take an interactive journey back in time to 1400s Bohemia. As the intro video played out like a movie opening, I could feel my heart in my throat. My God, it was beautiful! Once the prologue actually began, I adjusted my settings to get a playable framerate (more on that later) and proceeding with the opening quest. This is where my story begins. I was ill-prepared for the requirement of attention-paying one has to do in some of the various quests. If you father says bring back cool ale from the tavern, then you'd best not procrastinate after picking it up. I got my first taste of combat through a couple of brawls with some locals. The unarmed combat is very well done. No tricks, no magic, no super-powered hero. You're a peasant boy on the verge of becoming a man, a nobody who is too immature to trust with anything more than menial tasks. That's refreshing. No prophecy to fulfill, etc.,etc. The actual combat though. Let me tell you. In the early stages of the game, I would say Kingdom Come greatly surpasses Dark Souls in level of difficulty. There is some difficulty scaling as you become more skilled, but the general idea is that the harder you train, the easier the actual fights will be. And I can attest to that, having finished the main storyline on my second playthrough with only a few deaths. You MUST train in order to get better. As you do, you will see a very noticeable difference in the difficulty of the combat. One thing I will point out, however, is while one-on-one combat becomes easier, you will never have it "easy" when you are outnumbered. That particular scenario requires skill on your part. Knowing when to attack, when to get distance, when to switch targets. It will come, with time and experience. I mentioned my second playthrough. Yes, my first didn't go so well. I advanced through the storyline to a point well beyond my skill level, and, despite my love for the game, I rage quit and put it down for a few months. Besides, there were a great many bugs on release that, when fixed, would make the game even more enjoyable. On bugs. There are still quite a few, but the patches come fairly regularly and most of the major, game-breaking bugs have, from what I can tell, been hammered out. There are still one or two animation bugs and some AI pathfinding bugs that require squashing though. And performance, while not nearly as bad as it was on release, still has much area for improvement. However, even on medium settings the game is still gorgeous. The storyline has some stench of cliche, though this is to be expected, as there isn't a story under the sun that hasn't already been told. Regardless, it is an enjoyable one, with a few late game revelations that can be forseen if one has the perception. The second half of the story feels a bit...rushed. I don't know if this was due to time constraints or what, but the pacing seems a bit too hurried. Then again, I might have blasted through the second half wondering what happens next, not realizing it. Some of the side quests are repetitive, and often times you'll feel like you spend more time traveling from point A to point B than actually doing things. But, they do serve a purpose if you choose to buy the From the Ashes DLC (which I have yet to finish). Replayability is somewhat lacking, due to the linear nature of the storyline. However, there is opportunity to play a different "type" of character. Good vs bad or somewhere in between? Sneaky archer type or heavily armored knight? The story, however, will not change. Some things will happen and some won't, depending on your decisions, however the overall story arc will not change, regardless of your playstyle. All in all, once I found my combat stance, so to speak, I thoroughly enjoyed Kingdom Come Deliverance and plan to purchase and future DLC they put forth. I hope Warhorse continues to expand upon the foundations they have laid out in Kingdom Come, and I look forward to future titles from them, especially if they keep with the historical aspect. TL;DR version below Gameplay - 8/10 Story - 7/10 Dialogue - 6/10 Graphics - 9/10 Performance - 6/10 My recommendation - if you have the money, buy it. If you don't, when it goes on sale, buy it.