Summary
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 should focus on player-driven storytelling to create a more immersive experience.
- Players should be given the opportunity to shape the story by playing as different characters, similar to how Theresa was used in the first game.
- A more reactive system in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 could build off of how the choices in Theresa's story were reflected in the present day with the original game, as this was a neat detail.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a massive surprise when it was released in 2018, seemingly out of nowhere delivering one of the most authentic medieval role-playing experiences as it challenged modern gaming audiences with its intentional inaccessibility. Its story is a constant tug of war between exciting, comforting, and gut-wrenching, pulling on the heart strings as often as possible as it attempts to connect players to its protagonist, Henry. Unfortunately, this means that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has a high bar to clear with its story. However, it's not just Kingdom Come: Deliverance's story itself that sets the bar so high, but the way the story is told and the player's occasional involvement in telling it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance does a great job of telling a memorable story, but its best moments are when it lets players have a hand in shaping it. Players are given plenty of dialogue opportunities throughout the narrative, but this is also a very common feature in many modern role-playing games. Where Kingdom Come: Deliverance truly shines is in those moments when players are allowed to have a more direct and experiential impact on the story than through simple dialogue choices, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 would be wise to learn from its predecessor in that way.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Should Let Players Change the Story From Different Perspectives
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Allowed Players to Shape the Story by Playing as Theresa for a Segment
Kingdom Come: Deliverance's prologue may be a bit slow from a gameplay standpoint, but its story is consistently engrossing. Something Kingdom Come: Deliverance prides itself on is allowing players to make a personal connection with the story through their choices, although it still maintains its core narrative beats. This is precisely where one storytelling strategy for Kingdom Come: Deliverance's prologue comes into play, as players experience it as Henry first and then are given the option to experience it again later through Theresa, one of Kingdom Come: Deliverance's romantic interests.
The prologue isn't simply told a second time through the eyes of Theresa, however, as players actually get to replay the prologue as Theresa. When Henry and Theresa finally reunite after the prologue is finished and Henry reaches the Miller's house near Rattay, he asks Theresa about how she made it out of Skalitz. She advises Henry that it is a long story, giving players the option to skip it, but if they choose to hear it, they are then placed into Theresa's shoes and can play through the prologue again. The greatest innovation about this particular sequence is that the opportunity to make significant, world-defining decisions still remains, despite Henry's time with the prologue being over.
For example, during one segment of Theresa's story, players can either rescue Skalitz survivors or leave them behind. Any rescued survivors then appear in the present day once players finish Theresa's story. There are other choices players can make during Theresa's version of the prologue as well, like whether to pursue something more romantic with Henry or act out in jealousy toward Henry's other love interest, Bianca. It is a unique approach to player-driven storytelling, as it essentially allows players to shape the present by traveling to the past. Now, it's Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's turn to do the same.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Should Give Players a Chance to Change Key Events by Playing as Different Characters
All of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's characters have yet to be revealed, as well as what role they might play in its story. Nevertheless, should Henry have intimate connections with any of them, and should an opportunity present itself for players to experientially alter the story through their perspective, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 should jump at it. It is an innovative approach to player-driven storytelling that arguably needs a second chance, as the ability to shape stories through nothing but dialogue choices is wearing out its welcome.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- February 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
WHERE TO PLAY
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an exhilarating Action RPG, set amidst the chaos of a civil war in 15th Century Bohemia.
You are Henry of Skalitz – an ordinary man doing extraordinary things – caught in a gripping tale of revenge, betrayal, and discovery as he embarks on an epic journey, 'from a humble blacksmith's forge to the court of Kings', searching for purpose in this beautiful but brutal medieval world.
From bustling city streets to lush forests, explore this open-world Medieval Europe through an unforgettable adventure filled with action, thrills, and wonder.
- Engine
- CryEngine
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
