Kingdom Come Deliverance II Review (Playstation 5)

We previously gave our first impressions with Kingdom Come Deliverance II, and now that the game has launched officially, we can speak more in depth.

So far, with an average of five hours a night, and up to 12 hours on weekends for several weeks, there is still so much game play awaiting, in fact the main story line is yet to completely unfold. In terms of nuanced in-depth comprehensive gaming, Kingdom Come Deliverance II delivers.

There are many immersive interlinked aspects to this game, which not only enrich game play, but also contribute towards character progression.

(Warning: video contains some spoilers – but will comprehensively explain the advanced game dynamics and demonstrate the high end graphic detail and complex fighting style beyond what is described below)

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Character development

Henry has base attributes for Agility, Vitality, Strength as the core attributes that directly influence his abilities for fighting and overall health, speed and carrying capacity.

During the opening scenes and first confrontation, Henry establishes his initial distribution of experience points to all of his attributes and associated abilities from dialogue choices. At this point in the game, it is not really known what is and is not a favourable option, and it really does not matter too much, because the play style will further influence skill progression.

Henry also has Speechcraft related skills that enable him to use his silver-tongue to talk his way out of sticky situations, persuade or intimidate information out of NPC’s and if the skill level is high enough, open up new avenues of questioning and dialogue that may not have been available at a lower level.

Dominance and Persuasion skills are not simply dialogue based, but also skill-check based against enemy bandits and other ne’ere-do-wells. Henry’s strength and presence, the level of armour and weapon he wears all can contribute to the level of Dominance or fear that the enemy will experience and they just might re-think attacking you.

Everything Henry does is an investment into skill development and with practice makes it perfect. Some players may wish to max out their Thievery skill, and play more as a rogue, whereas others might wish to concentrate combat ability and strength. Whilst early on in the game, some investment in a preferred skill is unavoidable, it does force Henry to navigate challenges in a way that plays to his strength in order to be successful.

Kingdom Come Deliverance II is much more authentic with character development. Not every situation requires a hammer, and you also won’t talk your way out of every fight. You might be able to steal a required object, but the owner will also likely know it was you, “People are not stupid”. There are of course many avenues to skill development, practising the skill, paying for training, or slowly acquiring the skill through quests and general exploring, or any combination.

Each skill and attribute that Henry increases, will work towards perks that can be enabled. These perks increase Henry’s prowess, or add additional permanent buffs. Some of these perks increase Henry’s learning speed and if enabled when offered, can really boost Henry’s learning speed.

Henry’s character development is heavily nuanced and at first glance looks ‘busy’, but it is simple and well thought out and doesn’t require too much pre-planning by the player. Once Henry starts hitting levels beyond 25, the game will open up in many ways, particularly with combat skills.

Crafting (Smithing)

For those who have a penchant for blacksmithing there is a new title out there called Blacksmith Simulator, but the blacksmithing in Kingdom Come is intrinsically tied into the lore and story of Henry and his family.

Why smith at all? Do you need to?

Good questions. It is a good idea to develop this skill, but early on in the game there is a choice Henry can make in order to gain access to the Semine wedding. Smiting is one option and working with the Miller is another.

Smithy’s are located all throughout the game, almost every town and the owners will let you use them for free. If located in the open, you can use them at night time.

The benefit for developing the Smithing skill is to be able to create and repair your own weapons. Armour however, is not something that Henry does. At a bare minimum, players would want to develop some basic skill so that they can sharpen their own blades.

The interaction is effectively a minigame where Henry picks the recipe, heats the piece and hammers it into shape. It is a skill, and even at max level – which so far seems to be 30, you can still make mistakes and ruin the item.

Alchemy

I’ve got a potion for that!

Healing potions, strength potions, Agility potions, even poisons are all possible at the Alchemy bench.

Although not as common as smithy’s, they are littered about and likewise can be used by Henry for free. However as the game progresses, some alchemy benches are inside dwellings that are locked at night.

Whether the player wishes to just buy potions and poisons or make them is entirely up to them. However the best potions are the ones you make yourself, and Henry’s special named potions have additional buffs that cannot be gained elsewhere.

With the right perks, Henry can output up to 6 phials of high quality potions out of a single brew.

Much like Smithing, Alchemy is also an interactive minigame. Henry carries an Alchemy Book, with recipes he obtains throughout the game. He must add the right base liquid – water, oil, wine, alcohol, and the correctly prepared ingredients of suitable quality, and if following the recipe it is guaranteed he will produce a usable potion.

Drinking

Henry also has to manage his food and drink intake. Mead, Beer, Schnapps, Wine and Moonshine are all available for Henry and can offer positive and negative effects.

As the social lubricant, drinking is actively encouraged and outright required in the gaming world, so naturally Henry is better with practice and can get some interesting benefits after the associated unlocking perks.

Horsemanship & Houndmaster

Simply by riding a horse, the skill progresses. Henry also has a dog called Mutt, which is lost during the early stages of the game.

Unfortunately we cant speak to how the skill progresses with Mutt, we sadly never found him again – although never say never!

Players who prefer combat may wish to commit to developing this skill to take their horse into combat. A fully charged horse with a hammer or pike swing could be deadly to enemies on the ground and may provide a tactical advantage.

However in game play so far, it seems that we were only able to get in one or two swings into an enemy, especially if they are standing against the civilian we want to save. After this, visibility at night and turning around for the 2^nd swing, gives the enemy enough time to switch to bows or spook the horse and it may throw you off.

There is something satisfying about up close and personal sword swinging anyway, so combining both techniques can be a powerful combination.

The more levelled up the horse is, the faster it is and the sooner Henry reaches the destination. It also aids in avoiding a battle altogether.

Scholarship

This skill directly relates to Henry’s intelligence and knowledge of the events and world around him. The more Henry knows, the faster he will develop other skills, the more intelligent his interactions with others will be and more dialogue options will be presented, especially in situations where only a negative outcome would have occurred.

This skill serves no purpose if it were grossly underdeveloped with respect to the rest. But ultimately shines with the powers of persuasion and cheeky, comical dialogue options. Obtaining better outcomes, perhaps even better prices, and avoiding trouble for crimes may all benefit from this skill.

Henry will also gain favour and make better impressions on people as the quality of the interactions improve. When people like you, they perceive you better and are willing to do more for you.

Dice

Dice is an interactive mini game that is held in safe areas. It is 100% gambling and a great way early on for Henry to get some coin.

An interesting and fun game too. Six dice are rolled and a One or a Five are scored as 100 and 50 respectively. Combinations of 3 or 4 of a kind and sequences have higher scores. Players roll and are required to hold back at least one scoring die. They can then roll again with the remaining dice or pass-in that score. If they roll without a scoring dice, they forfeit the accumulated score and their turn.

With the objective hitting a specific score, its first to meet or exceed that score wins the pot.

The game is made more interesting with Bronze, Silver or Gold badges (based on the amount bet), which allow the player to exercise a perk/buff. The player can also collect loaded dice that they can use which may increase the odds just slightly.

Now let’s be honest, the developers know it too. Saving your game before you play, and reverting if you lose is the way. But bet big or go home!

Thievery

Lock-Picking, Robbing, Theft, Sneaking

People lock valuables away, carry items on them and (un)surprisingly don’t allow Henry to simply wander into areas he has no business being.

Some quests require Henry to act in a less-than-Christian way and obtain items to right wrongs, or for money.

It is more nuanced than this though. Sneaking is a skill that is required to get away from enemies at certain points in the story. Henry is less equipped to fight or if the fighting skill is weak, he really wont last if he gets caught. Sneaking out of danger or sneaking into places for a rogue-rescue is something that will occur.

Well, doors are locked at night and sneaking out may require a door to be opened, so Henry must not only carry lock picks, but also know how to use them – quietly.

Some players may want to be honest and never engage in such activities, and well to a certain extent it would be possible, it will be bloody hard to avoid though.

Lock-Picking is a minigame that is overlaid on the screen and requires Henry to carefully navigate a glowing ball’s position aka the sweet spot for the lock pins, to the exit position for the lock – simply put it’s a round ‘maze’ style. As previously mentioned, with the haptic feedback on the Playstation controller, it can be a bit janky and difficult, especially early on. It is difficult to say if that is by design or not, but the advice here is stay the course and start breaking lock picks in safe-ish areas and things improve.

Robbing is best defined as pickpocketing, vs robbing which is an assault with associated theft. Nevertheless, it is also a minigame, but time restricts Henry as the person being ‘robbed’ will become aware of Henry if the minigame is not completed in time. Again, most people will save the game first and revert for any high value or required activity.

Robbing for the sake of robbing, or to gain wealth, would likely lead to Henry being caught, or accused of theft if he hangs around too long in one place. It would then make other aspects of the game far more difficult.

Sneaking however, is not so simple. If Henry was to crouch down on the main street and walk around, he will attract the attention of the townsfolk who will act incredulously at his behaviour and may even call the guards.

Weapons

• Short Sword
• Long Sword
• Shield (combination)
• Bow/Crossbow
• Pistol
• Long Arms
• Heavy Weapons

Henry has a choice of fighting with an entire medieval arsenal.

Swords

There are several variations of swords, especially Cuman influence – You seen those Cuman warriors? They’ve got curved swords

There are three classes of weapons and equipment, bronze, silver, gold. These represent the overall quality of the item, and the higher quality the higher the value but more importantly, the higher its durability. Cheap nasty weapons will deteriorate further, but are more accessible to Henry and available from all merchants.

It is a given that Henry needs to invest in sword skill. Tied to the story is the long sword that Henry’s father created and this quest item is not able to be removed once obtained.

Swords will also be pre-chosen in story lines and practice fights, in so much as it is appropriate in lore to be a noble weapon of choice. It then follows that Henry will be more adept with the sword and the sword is generally more effective against most enemies.

Sword and Shield also offers some adequate protection for Henry to block attacks and reduce damage, especially early in the game. Progressing through the skills, the shield perhaps is best used with heavy weapons. Again some shield skill will be tied to the story and quest activities.

Bow / Crossbow and Pistoe

If a fight is inevitable, it is best to not be there. A bow can be very helpful to Henry, not just for fighting but also for hunting.

From a strategy perspective, a good shot with the bow or the crossbow could be enough to disable or heavily weaken one enemy and give Henry an advantage when outnumbered.

The bow is exceedingly difficult to aim and fire accurately. This difficulty does not seem to go away even after a mid-level investment into the skill. The stronger the bow, the higher the draw strength required and the greater use of Henry’s strength and agility.

Henry can only hold the draw string for a few seconds and must let loose the arrow or stop aiming. The shake and movement makes it incredibly difficult as does the lack of perception the player has for aiming the arrow vs Henry’s line of sight. To that end, the player must genuinely invest in practice at the Archery competitions in order to get feedback on how well they have fired.

The crossbow also has escalating requirements, where as early on the draw can be actioned and the bolt can be loaded by one hand, more powerful crossbows require hand cranking and other attachments, which slow Henry’s reload down. In a combat situation, Henry really only gets one close range shot off, or two inaccurate wasteful distance shots off, before an enemy advances.

Arrow and bolts are available in varying strengths and stats, so Henry can make every shot count.

The Pistole is introduced during a climactic point in the story, it is a crude hand held canon and is as accurate as you might expect a canon to be. To be frank, much like the bow and crossbow, it may be more hassle than it’s worth. Once Henry lights the wick/igniter, he has a short delay before the pistol fires. Aiming is worse than a bow, but the damage is considerable.

The pistole is a great way to destroy and possibly instantly kill a strong armoured target. At a pinch, it will also cause a lot of damage to their armour and that could make the difference in a fight.

Long Arms

The Pike/Pyke, Spear, Staff, kinfe on a stick etc, are all long arms.

This weapon can be very effective from horseback, but also keeping some distance from the enemy. In siege situations, some of these weapons also can push-back ladders against the fortress wall and can deal very effective stab damage that can kill quickly, especially against lighter armoured targets.

At lower skill against a decent enemy with a long sword, it is difficult to hold one’s own, but at a higher level, this can be a very effective weapon.

Heavy Weapons

The hammer, Heavy axe, mace etc

These weapons can cause cleave and crush damage against heavily armoured targets. Getting to understand this quickly would have made a difference to some battle approaches. Blocking with a shield and getting a few good pounds in could crush a head or plate armour and disable or cause bleeding on the enemy.

It can be quite effective with one on one or small groups if not being swarmed. The trick is finding a high quality heavy weapon that is light and easily wielded, to maximise the number of attacks Henry can get in between ‘breaths’.

Weapon switching

With the Noble belt, Henry can carry up to a maximum of four weapons, which he can switch to. This gives Henry 5 options, which include his fists.

In practice, It is janky and difficult to switch weapons. The heavier the weapon is, or in the case of a bows/pistol – in between loading/unloading, Henry can take several seconds to put a weapon away, and any other accidental controller input for blocking/fighting will stall the switch.

Whether intended to or not for Playstation players, weapon switching is best avoided unless there is some distance. Picking the correct weapon first is always preferential.

Economy

The game economy is appropriately developed. Groschen is a form of currency used during this time.

Smaller towns/villages have merchants with limited coin and lower grade equipment, whereas cities such as Kuttenberg have master Armoursmiths who sell high end equipment, but cost thousands of Groschen.

It follows that attempting to sell expensive equipment in small towns is going to lead to difficulties and possible losses as the merchants simply won’t have enough coin to pay for more than one or two items.

The entire game works on economy. Dialogue options allow Henry to simply bribe/pay for information or better outcomes, or to receive skill advancement through training. Henry won’t go far without a source of income.

Henry will acquire Groschen by:

• Being rewarded/paid. Eg quest work/fetch/find/help etc.
• Stealing it
• Finding it small to medium amounts in the world
• Killing bandits, looting and selling
• Haggling on every sale possible

If Henry were to sell an item worth 100 Groschen, he should at least haggle for 125 to be paid to him.

All merchants will barter and as a general rule, it seems they will mostly accept a little under a 2/3 discount. The trick of course is to ensure that Henry low-balls them at first offer and marginally increases the offer after the guaranteed initial rejection – all before the merchant gets frustrated. Haggling increases Henry’s skill, and if you sell stolen items, it further increases theft.

Main Story and Side quests

The story unfolds with Lord Capon and Henry riding off into the Trosky region as emissaries to gain political support with an offer of alliance to Lord Von Bergov.

The meeting is side tracked and the best laid plans are put aside. Henry and Capon are put through the wringer and have a very rough time, but eventually the meeting does take place and a series of more complicated interweaving events take place.

The game opens up fully once Henry travels to Kuttenberg region and as it happens, Henry will need to level up quite a bit in order to face what lies ahead of him.

All side quests are incredibly interesting or intrinsically linked to the life-events of time and period. Although perhaps some things do feel like simple ‘fetch’, the side quests have a lot more nuance and purpose. Aside from the fact that each side quest will really help level-up Henry, they also lead to interesting rewards, reputation increases and possibly unlock additional quests.

There are dynamic interactions that are outright funny and hilarious, at one point Henry was stopped by a gambling addict who believed him to be the devil and could grant favours.

The dialogue and interactions are well thought out and are an absolute joy to undertake, unlike many other games that simply rinse and repeat with different NPC faces and similar tasks. Each one so far clearly seems to be unique and carries itself as its own story element.

Graphics

As the developers had been gearing up for the final release, there have been updates released for the PlayStation since the pre-release. Unfortunately with this, once arriving at Kuttenberg there were a few graphic issues.

Rain started to have the wrong depth of field and caused a light glow which made it difficult to see entirely. This seems to be location and time of day/night influenced. Although frustrating, it can be worked around – but a few times the only way to continue was to have Henry wait an hour.

There were also a few hilarious elements of magical levitating birds nests aka missing trees, and a few ragdoll NPC shaddow duplicates that were being dragged into the ground.

Few and far inbetween are these issues and none of which affected the ability to play the game.

The ray tracing effects and scenery are amazing, shadows are great and lighting is very dynamic. The PlayStation does perform well outside of the rendering/bugs stated above. One let down is vegetation and herbs are rendered as flat and two dimensional, but this is only noticeable when looking up close.

To that point, at times Henry really does need to approach a dice table or Alchemy bench with a torch in order to level out the dark areas and read the dice or book. Perhaps the graphics are too realistic?

Character animation is absolutely fantastic with facial expressions or sarcasm, disgust and fear all being rendered. It is done so well, it isn’t easy to notice unless pausing to think about it. There perhaps is just slightly less facial diversity then what is really needed, but in comparison, there is perhaps more diversity in Kingdom Come Deliverance II, then in Skyrim.

Audio and Soundtrack

The music doesn’t seem to get old, unless you listen to the menu for too long. The music dynamically changes from upbeat areas and tavern sounds to sinister and ominous when lurking in dark and dangerous areas.

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There are seemingly at least 12 male and possibly female voices among the main characters and NPC’s, with enough variety that nothing yet feels over-done.

The voice cast is clearly a healthy mix of English, Australian, German, and other European actors and players will have fun trying to pick which is native and which could just be acting.

The performances of the cast is very good, although some of the dynamic lines from Merchants and Dice players will also break from one voice/accent to another – which does affect continuity.

Final Thoughts

With a play-through still on-going, the final climax and story cannot be fully evaluated, but it is highly anticipated and expected to be incredibly enjoyable.

There were some bugs once arriving in Kuttenberg, as no doubt the focus was on ensuring the first parts of the game at Trosky were 100%. Graphics aside, some doors that lead to Henry’s beds are locked at certain times and inaccessible to him when they shouldn’t be, others become locked out when they shouldn’t be. A few game crashes during Dice minigames here and there, but mostly small and fixable annoyances. Now with the game’s release, we should see some updates for PlayStation come through that might address these, and by the time many players reach these points, they may never experience them.

Gamers may benefit from playing the first Kingdom Come Deliverance title before this one. Certainly a lot more aspects of the story and deeper appreciation for Henry and his backstory couldn’t hurt.

Kingdom Come Deliverance II is not only a really enjoyable and challenging game play, but it is a really well written, engaging and absolutely addictive story that couples real history with fictional elements.

After playing this game, you will want more, more, more!

Just after this article was written, a new ~23GB update was pushed out and Henry’s best friend Mutt was found in a triggered dramatic cut scene, right place right time. As Professor Dumbledoore would have said, “..retrace your steps Henry”.

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