Summary
- Unmarked side quests offer surprises in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 without cluttering the map.
- Random events in the game make the world feel larger and more unpredictable.
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 opts for natural exploration over overwhelming players with map icons.
As open-world games continue to increase in prominence in the industry, so too does their aim to craft massive, meaningful worlds for players to immerse themselves in. During the genre's initial rise to popularity, it was often thought that bigger inherently meant better. However, as time went on and more players began to feel that many of these larger worlds were lifeless and empty, the open-world genre of video games began to take a turn, choosing instead to craft worlds that feel as full as they do expansive. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's two open-world regions may not make up the largest game map ever designed, but it manages to offer a sprawling world that isn't confined to its established borders.
In the end, this is where Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's open-world design succeeds. Rather than simply giving players a massive map to explore and plenty of copy-and-paste content for them to do, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 still gives them a sizable world, but one that isn't overburdened by map icons and an overwhelming number of off-the-beaten-path collectibles and side activities. Instead, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 opts for a world that is meant to regularly surprise players, rather than spoon-feed them everything there is to do. In this way, it ends up being much larger than it lets on, and it's better for it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review
With Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Warhorse Studios delivers one of the first great games of 2025.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's World Is Larger Than It Lets On
Unmarked Side Quests Populate the World Without Filling the Map
There is certainly plenty of content in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, from the main story to side quests, as well as a healthy number of optional areas filled with rewarding discoveries. However, this isn't the only route Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 takes to offer players an expansive world, as the game's map doesn't tell them everything there is to know about what they can find throughout its recreation of medieval Bohemia. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is rooted in historical authenticity and realism in presenting its world to players, and therefore offers something breathing, alive, and always in motion that desires more than anything to stop players in their tracks, regardless of where they are headed.
Where many open-world games try to make their content as accessible as possible by either showing it all on the map or offering players ways to reveal it (like Assassin's Creed's Viewpoints), Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 populates its world with content without filling the map. Sure, there are countless side quests already marked on the map as players explore the world, and even more as they speak with Quest Tipsters throughout the two regions. However, there are also dozens of unmarked side quests in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 that can only be triggered by speaking with certain NPCs.
Rather than simply giving players a massive map to explore and plenty of copy-and-paste content for them to do, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 still gives them a sizable world, but one that isn't overburdened by map icons and an overwhelming number of off-the-beaten-path collectibles and side activities.
While making their way through Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Kuttenberg and other urban areas, players might hear a group of NPCs having an intriguing conversation with one another, or a peculiar NPC might even call the player over to them. In speaking with these NPCs, players are often given a side quest of sorts that requires them to complete a minor objective. With this design, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's world becomes much larger than its visible borders, in a sense, by giving players content that can only be experienced by immersing themselves in the world and interacting with it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Is Chock-Full of Random Events
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 also increases the size of its expansive open world through random events, which occur rather frequently in the game, especially when players fast travel. Fast traveling in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, like its predecessor, doesn't teleport players from one place to another. Instead, players watch Henry travel between locations on the map to allow time to continue to move, affecting things like Henry's hunger and rest levels. While fast traveling, players might be presented with the opportunity to stop, whether it be because they've encountered a group of bandits, a merchant, or a random NPC who wants to speak with Henry.
One random event, in particular, sees a woman approach Henry, thinking she is his betrothed, only to find out he isn't a noble before she turns away in disgust.
In other words, rather than overwhelming players with a chore-like checklist of activities, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 offers a more natural approach to open-world design. By refusing to lay everything out on the map, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 ensures that exploration is almost always an unpredictable experience, making its world feel far larger than it immediately lets on. Every unmarked side quest, overheard conversation, and unexpected encounter contributes to an environment that thrives on discovery rather than hand-holding.
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
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
