Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review

While many games claim to value player choice, Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes things a step further by integrating personal agency into every facet of this medieval experience. Taking place in 15th century Bohemia, Warhorse Studios has crafted a thoroughly immersive albeit daunting adventure.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance often feels closer to a simulation than a traditional RPG. Boasting over a hundred weapons, a sprawling open world, a complex progression system, and real-time battle mechanics, Kingdom Come: Deliverance bears various prototypical characteristics shared among the genre’s representatives.

That said, this is an RPG devoid of any fantastical ingredients. At no point during the long campaign do you cast a spell, slay a dragon, or romance an elf.

Story

Like the calm before the storm, the opening hours provide a snippet of the protagonist’s mundane existence as the son of a blacksmith. Living in the peaceful town of Skalitz, Henry devotes his time to goofing off with his friends, hanging out with the local tavern girl, and disappointing his father. Like many such stories, Henry’s picturesque world turns upsidedown when an army of Cuman soldiers attack Skalitz, leaving him without parents or a town to call home.

Driven by a thirst for vengeance, Henry departs on an exhaustive journey to become a knight of the kingdom. Assigned to Sir Radzig Kobyla’s care, the blacksmith’s son accepts numerous quests while striving to build a positive reputation with the city folk.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance tells a grounded tale of self-growth, sacrifice, and determination. Despite the presence of a few grand battles, Warhorse chiefly prioritizes intimate character moments above cinematic or epic showdowns.

Following a purposefully quiet start, Kingdom Come: Deliverance steadily builds momentum as Henry ingrains himself in Bohemia’s political and social cultures. The main story rewards patience; in fact, many quests require traversing the broad map to reach completion. It is not unusual for a playing session to conclude with nothing of note being accomplished. The plot’s deliberate pacing suits the realistic and gritty tone.