Wow, what a game, what a masterpiece in this world of games so full of shallow! I am having difficulties understanding if it is just that good or if it was that sweet spot hitting for me personally. I am amazed. I was obsessed for three weeks by this game playing it every spare minute and watching streams every minute I could not play myself. Now I am not sure how I will come down from that high. I haven't had such an experience with a game probably never. The only other game that was somewhat similar was Wither 3, but even it could not provide such sweeping emotions - I had my heartbeat speed up countless times, I have laughed (loudly!) many times, and I have shed actual tears few times as well. I cared about many characters and fell in love with some (coughHanscough)
The acting using performance capture is so advanced in this game, but obviously the biggest praises should go to the actors Tom McKay and Luke Dale and supporting cast was VERY good as well. English voice acting is brilliant. Tom McKay as Henry manages to capture the soul of a young man who is kind and compassionate but can also be judgemental and vengeful. Luke Dale as Hans is next level casting because they seem basically the same person :D but seriously, very good job, can't imagine anyone else as Hans. I also loved Godwin, Dry Devil, Adder, and many more.
On the romance options, I have chosen to romance Hans since I was very curious (the controversy and so on) and I was pleasantly surprised how well it was done. It was romantic, and emotional, and subtly done. It felt that they have something deep and special and exclusive going on between them and no labels were needed and I cared about this relationship so much. The final scene was perfectly directed and acted. And I want to see more of what is in store for them two ;)
It has to be said, that actors were only as successful because they had an amazing script and so well developed characters. While experiencing their performance, it can be easy to forget that Hans character growth or Godwins gravitas is a product of brilliant writers first and then actors building on top of very good writing.
Side quests and activities are also very good and most of them quite memorable alternating funny, scary, and dramatic, but never boring. Main story is nothing unique per se, however it is very masterfully told. It sometimes funnelling you through the story by locking away the open world or putting you in another characters shoes, but that does add to the feeling of a story being experienced rather than told to you and I think it adds more drama. I especially loved Divine Messanger and To Whom the Bell Tolls. During the latter I was so emotional and the cinematic in the end had me in tears. Which brings me to the next best thing.
The music. I don't even know what to say. Usually, I am happy if it doesn't bother me in the game. Very rarely I really like something. KCD2 soundtrack is another level. Listening to Recordare is still giving me shivers and brings tears. Hopefully, I will hear it live sometimes in my life. Jan Valta is a genius.
And all cinematics were obviously the cherry on cake as they were performance captured and so well directed and there were so many of them.
I am not even talking about game mechanics or RPG aspects since that is a given and all works. Different systems design vary from very good to just fine, but everything is enjoyable and lets you live the power fantasy eventually. Combat is improved from the first game and so fun - loved the bow and crossbow (which is why I could not find time to use boomsticks), smithing is fun, alchemy is super immersive and very OP. Quest decisions matter is a way that doesn't affect very much in the big picture but makes you care.
There are some minor bugs here and there at the moment of me writing this (which is before any considerable patching). One activity was not appearing for a long time (High Toll), and while smithing anvils sometimes did not hold the sword correctly, some visual glitches, and a couple of crashes in my 170h play through were inconsequential overall and did not affect my enjoyment of this masterpiece.