Dungeons without dragons: For “Kingdom Come Deliverance 2”, the Czech Warhorse studio has revived the battle cry of its predecessor, which was released in 2018. Part 1 was a simple medieval RPG with no fantasy nonsense but a lot of rustic flair. The second part of the series should continue exactly where the first part left off – the story begins a few seconds after the end of Part 1.
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Content aside, “Kingdom Come Deliverance 2” will be a true sequel, as Heise Online was able to experience for himself at Gamescom in Cologne. Anyone who feared that developer Warhorse would now sacrifice the unconventional appeal of the first part for mainstream appeal can breathe a sigh of relief.
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In the Gamescom demo, protagonist Henry is in the 15th century city of Kutná Hora, located in one of two playable maps. The developers promise that both maps should be about twice as large as the game world from the first part. Kutná Hora also makes a big and vibrant impression on your first walk.
All around, citizens go about their daily business. But Henry has only one man in mind: Meinhard von Frankfurt, who is both a master of swordsmanship and a speaker of Denglisch, and wants to duel him. The combat system has been refined a bit, but remains largely the same as its predecessor, with a reduced direction of attack.
“Fuck you, butcher pig!”
The duel ends in acrimony: Meinhard has no right to teach fencing in Kutná Hora, the only recognized fencing guild complains. The man must pay a fine and leave. The minute-long dialogue is presented in a cutscene, which includes sentences like “Fuck you, butcher pig!”. The dialogue is long, unfocused and somewhat clumsily staged. Any other studio would have done it in at least half that time and said the same thing. But the dialogue is also fascinating and true to life in its own way. Real people don’t talk like Hollywood movies.
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It’s this strange charm that makes the predecessor so unique. The developers at Warhorse Studios clearly feel unconstrained by industry conventions and do their own thing, even if it doesn’t always fit the ideology. Where else would you have to drink “Savior Schnapps” to save your game?
The Stolen Guild Sword
Henry can stay out of the dispute between Meinhard and the Kuttenberg fencing guild, but he’s also allowed to intervene. The developers say that different dialogue choices affect how the quest continues. If Henry doesn’t side with Frankfurt’s master fencer, he must leave town. Instead, we let Henry pay Meinhard’s fine and meet him at a tavern later.
He presents his idea: Henry must break into the guild’s building to steal the guild’s sword and pin it to the town hall – an insult which, according to medieval honor, can only result in a duel between Meinhard and the enemy guild master. So what follows is a secret passage in which Henry has to pick locks and evade the guards. And just like that, the gameplay demo ends.
“Best Game at Gamescom”
He somehow fits into the picture. While other developers fill the little available time with fast-paced action sequences, in “Kingdom Come Deliverance 2” we spent the majority of our demo time in discreet wooden conversations to soothe the angry boast of a Frankfurt fencing master.
It’s not for everyone, especially because the overall presentation still needs improvement. The developers’ confident statement that “Kingdom Come Deliverance 2” is the best game at Gamescom cannot be completely dismissed. Anyone who likes slow-paced role-playing games and rustic medieval vibes can find a real masterpiece here.
“Kingdom Come Deliverance 2” will be released on February 11, 2025 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.
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