Kingdom Come Deliverance Review - At the bottom of your own ambition

Kingdom: Come Deliverance drives us to madness. This is potentially one of the most beautiful role-plays of all time, but in the current form, this ambitious Kickstarter project does not manage to rise above average. Why, you read that in this Kingdom Come Deliverance review.

The development of Kingdom Come: Deliverance was difficult to get off the ground. Already in 2009 the makers of Warhorse Studios played with the idea to make a realistic simulator based on the late Middle Ages. For years it took before enough money was collected via crowdfunding to start the ambitious project.

The enormous size of the project was underestimated: Kingdom Come Deliverance was originally intended for a launch in 2016, but that was not achieved. Since then, the game has been postponed a few times. Now, almost ten years later, the medieval simulator still sees the light of day. Expectations are high: according to critics this could be the best RPG since Skyrim and The Witcher .

Insane intro

In the first few hours of the adventure it seems absolutely to go that way. The intro is really brilliant. An introduction to an interesting time period that we will not soon forget. It is unwise that the developer has succeeded in bringing Bohemia - the present Czech Republic - to life.

Everything in the world feels and looks lifelike: the Christian villages, the imposing castles, the poverty-stricken farmers and wealthy nobles, the untouched nature full of vast valleys, farmhouses, quarries, lumberjack camps, babbling brooks. It is all equally beautiful, and also based on reality. All locations and castles have been recreated on the basis of old drawings.

Bleeding wild man

Kingdom Come Deliverance is in all things an ode to the Middle Ages and includes one of the most atmospheric and credible worlds we have ever seen in a video game, with a ditto faux-medieval soundtrack. During your trip there is also a lot going on. No player will get exactly the same experience here.

This is mainly because the world responds to your actions. All contact falls or stands with your reputation. If you steal a lot in a certain village, they look at it with your neck. If you walk around somewhere like a bloody wild man, you can be accused of a murder. If you hide too much stuff in your pocket, a castle warden can decide to search you.

Even during fast traveling , you can end up in unique situations. So our journey was interrupted once, because we met three dead people. Horribly mutilated. A salesman who happened to pass by looked at us and ran to the nearest castle to accuse us. And why? We were full of blood stains, forgot to wash off.

Stupidity

For example, Kingdom Come Delivarence offers a succession of unique situations that can arise as a result of your own stupidity. The way in which you present yourself is also of influence. When you dress like a noble landlord, you can achieve much more in conversations than if you look like a poor farmer. Wear your heavy armor and razor-sharp swords, then intimidating criminals (or innocent farmers, whatever you like) will make you much easier.

The game offers such incredible depth that it feels overwhelming at first. You also have to take your health into account. You should eat, drink and sleep early to avoid hunger, dehydration or fatigue. Accidentally a rotten apple? Then you must go to bed as soon as possible before you die of poisoning.

Young blacksmith's son

These facets make Kingdom Come Deliverance more than an RPG. It is a lifelike simulator in which you, as the young smith's son Henry, have to do everything to survive. How you do that is entirely up to you. Do you become an unscrupulous thief and do you do everything to achieve your goal, or do you stick to the norms and values ​​of faith and do you live - like your parents - a Christian existence?

Whichever path you choose, the main character Henry's goal is simple: take revenge on the men who brutally slaughtered his parents. That is not without a struggle: Henry gets involved in the Bohemian civil war. This breaks out when Sigismund, the king of Hungary, decides to abduct King Wenceslas and take over his kingdom.

But then...

For example, Kingdom Come Deliverance has everything to entertain gamers for dozens of hours with a beautiful world, impressive simulation and a truthful, intriguing story. But unfortunately. Our fervent enthusiasm makes room for frustration, disbelief and above all great disappointment after an hour or five. Because behind all the good things that Kingdom Come Deliverance offers, there is a terrible technique and ditto presentation that to a large extent destroy the gaming experience.

Let's start with the conversations, where we regularly fall from one surprise to the other. Sometimes everything goes so incredibly wrong that it feels like we've ended up in an episode of Monty Python. Characters fly through the air, suddenly change their voice actor and sometimes walk away during a conversation.

All of that would be easy to forgive, if the tuning would not be so changeable. Some actors really do not know what they are doing and with what accent they have to speak. A nobility who talks like a redneck, it sounds ridiculous, but it happens. The wooden animations and the moderate lip synchronization also take you straight out of that medieval experience that you were equally comfortable with.

Fallen festival

The latter often happens because of the huge amount of bugs and glitches you encounter along the way. Kingdom Come Deliverance is, despite a gigantic day one patch, an error festival. Soldiers who get wings, citizens who become murderous, animals that go for NPCs, which breaks a quest: it's all the rule rather than the exception.

So it seems that Kingdom Come Deliverance is going down to its own ambition. The world may be beautiful, but the view is regularly disturbed by pop-in and an unstable frame rate, even on a high-end PC. To top it off, characters and objects are often loaded too late. So do not be surprised if that one noble nobility suddenly passes you in Adam's costume.

It is true that there is no error, but it is just as disturbing as the save system. Players who expect the game to automatically save are disappointed. You have to do this yourself: with drinks that you have to brew yourself or have to find. No drink with you? Then you are unlucky. You must then continue until you find one or until you complete a story mission. Illogical and unfair, because you sometimes lose the lead by some crucial bugs, while you can not do anything about it yourself.

Chaotic and messy

The latter often occurs during fighting. At first glance there seems to be little wrong with the combat. The For Honor- like approach creates exciting and intriguing fights. But in the course of the adventure it becomes painfully clear that this system is only meant for one on one battles.

When you are surrounded by multiple enemies - which is more common in the game later - the fighting degenerated into a complete chaos. It feels and looks like a mess: the soldiers chop it off and do not react at all what is happening around them. That is one on one different: then the fights are intense and you have much more time and space to apply tactical attack and defense techniques.

Peeking nice

Fighting is not mandatory, but it helps you to grow as a character. That goes for everything. By carrying out actions such as hunting and riding, you gradually become better at it. With that you also unlock new skills. There is a perk with which you can peek unseen in someone's wallet in a crowd. Handy if you want to rob an arist of his jewel in a crowded castle!

All these skills and perks, like your inventory and the floor plan, can be found in the interface. This looks very nice, with beautiful symbols, fonts and maps. The other side of the coin is that behind all that beauty is a big mess. Because of the abundance of buttons it is a hell to navigate through all tabs and menus.

Conclusion

Kingdom Come: Deliverance does not live up to the high expectations. The game had everything to become one of the best RPGs of all time, but hopelessly goes down to its own ambition. That makes us sad, because in the past few years few games have come true that have been worked on with so much love and passion. But sometimes that is not enough. That is a bitter pill for this small team.

Pros

➕ Love for Middle Ages is dripping off
➕ Great intro
➕ Comprehensive, realistic rpg simulator

Cons

➖ Technically a drama
➖ Messy fights
➖ At times poor voiceacting

My Latest Posts:

• Dandara Review - Staggering, but not always the right way
• Bayonetta 2 Switch Review - A "new" topper for the Switch
• Street Fighter V Arcade Edition Review - Boss above boss!
• Crossing Souls Review - Bad guys are wonderful over-the-top
• The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia Review - A classic 3D fighting game