Shane
The Kingdom has come in an open world sequel where you experience life, combat and and epic narrative in 15th Century Europe.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is played in first person (with cinematics in third person) with a mix of close hand to hand sword combat, horse riding and exploration.
Differing kingdom politics is at the heart of this historically accurate story, as you, Henry of Skalitz a son of a common Blacksmith, now a Knight of Sir Radzig Kobyla, is on a mission of both revenge and resistance in an RPG style, with many quests before you.
The King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslaus IV has been unlawfully imprisoned by King Sigismund.
You also have your own personal vendetta against Sigismund.
With a posse of Knights and your right hand man Sir Hans Capon you start out as a messenger but it is not long before you’re in full battle mode against Sigismund’s allies.
Gameplay is mostly based on decisions or narrative paths you choose, this also dictates who may align with you, whether you find yourself in an impromptu fight and how your allies react to you as well.
If you played the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018) you’ll recognize a few familiar faces that make cameos in this second chapter.
Graphically, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is well detailed, from the meticulous ‘real-world’ recreation of towns and cities from 15th Century Europe through to open contryside and more.
Characters, both your main playable and NPCs could still do with a little more work.
While general play is fluid, combat of the main character feels a bit blocky. There are on occassion delays in dishing out some sword justice, as if the game ‘thinks’ for a second before landing a good wallop against your foe. This had me in a few crucial moments where the enemy was able to get an extra smack of their weapon in.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has the medieval lore and feel and a very excellent story to the likes of an high budget era based action film release.
There’s a lot to this second chapter, and while there may still need to be some patching done in future, if mid-century narratives and authenticity in era based gameplay is your genre, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II brings a motherload and then some.
Released: February 2025
Rating: R
Platform reviewed: Xbox Series X|S
Genre: RPG
Developer: Warhorse Studios
Publisher: Deep Silver