To get started I must say I had been keeping up to the developer updates and the game's beta tests (even though I never got to play it myself) so I already knew what to expect of this experience. Yet, Kingdom Come: Deliverance surprised me positively in the great majority of it's aspects. Still, I just cannot say it is a game for anyone. KCD was developed with a quite specific public in mind, that beeing people who enjoy Simulation-Heavy games, do not bother taking their time to understand new systems, can enjoy their gameplay even when hours away from combat and of course like to be surrounded by a realistic and historically-acurate mediaval world.


Well, to start talking about the game I feel like I should begin by speaking of what was the developer's main focus, that beeing its Narrative.
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance you will be playing as Henry, a blacksmith's apprentice, and accompanying him throughtout his unceasing quest to avenge the death of his parents. Yes, that might sound like a bit of a cliché premise and you probably have seen many stories that revolve around something that resembles that. In the end what matters is that Warhorse Studios made a great job in turning that already beated up concept into something new, the story of a boy who is finally growing up into a man and having to deal with the consequences of his every-action. It is a narrative that truly hooks you up with its climactic moments and well-thought characters and that makes you acctually see things through the eyes of Henry. This game surprised me with how much I grew attached to it's main character and also with some clever solutions it found to some of the issues that made the stories of so many great games seem dull and unbelievable.
One thing I have seen a lot of people discussing and criticizing whas the narrative's pacing, which can Indeed be bery slow at many of the game's parts. It really does come to a question of personal preference, since those sections with slow pacing did make me get a lot more immersed into the game's world since those were the moments I felt I could breathe and take a good look at my surroundings, do some side quests and just enjoy some of the other things the game had to offer while allowing the main-questline to slowly develop, though I definetly see how that could turn off a lot of players.
Also, there are a few aspects of the story that felt a bit left-off in the ending, but that is likely due to this game not beeing considered as the entire story, since the developers stated that it represents only 2 of the acts of the 3 that Henry's quest has been said to have.


I'll admit I was expecting a lot less of the combat in this game imagining it would be too slow or way too reliant on paying attention to telegraphing, but when I acctually got my hands on it I relaised I was entirely wrong. Yes, the combat is quite complicated and has its own learning curve, but after 10 or so hours of getting beat up by every opponent that you end-up facing you'll eventually get used to it and see it is actually one of the things that will be keeping you hooked to the game.
With 5 angles to strike from (6 if you count stab) and many combos to be unlocked as you become a better swordsman the game manages to make you feel like your skills beeing developed are acctually beeing rewarded with progress in the character's perks. Defending attacks can be done in various ways: blocking, parrying, dodging or simply backing off are options that allow for great strategic value in one-on-one or gruop combat alike.
Hitting an enemy always feels exciting and realisctic thanks to the many responsive animations present in the game. Combar always feels smooth and responsive, adding a lot of value to the experience of KDC


This game is packed with tons of simulation elements. From nourishment and energy to beeing able to brew your own potions interactively and develpoing your reading skills. Everything seems to work the way you would expect in real life, meaning you will nearly always be able to get out of though situations through resourceful solutions. Quite often I found myself overthinking in certain parts of the game because I was used to the limitations imposed by most games, and even though KDC has its own limits, they are generally a lot more subtle than the ones in other products. For instance, I was following the main questline by doing what the NPCS told me as I would in any other game. That was until I was able to surrender one of the bandits who were against me and when I went to tell him to drop his weapon and go away I was faced with the option to question him on where his hideout was (which would be logical but of course I did not expect that to be possible in the game at all). That and many other possible solutions simply make Kingdom Come: Deliverance stand out in the middle of all other modern RPG's.
Systems such as Alchemy and Weapon/Armor maintance also have a lot of simulation aspects to them, actually allowing you to feel the thrill of doing them instead of simply getting a message in your screen saying "you suceeded/failed!" after clicking the name of what you want to do/make like in most other games of this genre. Speechcraft in this game just works wonderfully, everything seems to have effect on how people see you and it works really well in conjuction with the other other systems.
Developing your skills also feels natural, as you level up based on what you do. Read and you'll be able to read with more ease, fight and your knowledge of your weapon will increase, sneak around and you'll learn to be more silent etc... All of that accomapanied by perks that make sense and have signinficant effects on your gameplay.


This game's visuals are great, and when accopanied by geography and achitecture that match real-life medieval Bohemia pretty accurately (at least it seems like that's the case based on what people that have been to the Czech Republic and historians have been saying). Both the wilderness and urban areas look amazing and the ambients are always full of little details that make the world seem lived-in.
Weapons, armors, clothes and objects more often than not look realistic and, of course, historically-accurate. Nothing seems out of place and the developers really put a lot of effort in making things feel like they should, an old piece of armor will look beat up and a nobleman's goblet will be clean and shiny. Details like that definitely make this game feel unique and will pretty often get you hypnotised.


I refer to the frequent bugs and optimization problems that the game has been facing. At the moment, only high-end end machines are able to keep a stable framerate throughout gameplay and bugs are in every corner. I haven't particularly been faced with any game-breaking bugs, most of the ones I was faced with could be fixed with some jumping, crouching and leaving my horse, but there are people who claim they had some bugs getting on the way of their quests. I can also recall a single time I got stuck in a doorframe and could only get out through reloading my last autosave, which was very recent for my luck. Still, the game is very playable and the developers seem pretty active, so I expect most issues to be solved quite soon.


Kingdom Come: Deliverance offers one of the most unique experiences I have ever had with a video-game, and if you feel like this is the kind of game that you enjoy then go for it! If you're still skeptical abour the bug situation than just wait a little while, for once it's all fixed up this game will surely be one that will stick in the gaming world's memory.