Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a strange mixture of historical drama and The Hangover

GamesRPGKingdom Come: Deliverance 2Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a strange mixture of historical drama and The HangoverWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 bandits

What we said about KCD1(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)We gaveKingdom Come: Deliverance84% in our review, saying: “It’s one of the most satisfying, rewarding role-playing experiences I’ve enjoyed on PC for a while, but the inconsistent performance and the game’s tendency to completely break does test my patience from time to time.”

What we said about KCD1

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)We gaveKingdom Come: Deliverance84% in our review, saying: “It’s one of the most satisfying, rewarding role-playing experiences I’ve enjoyed on PC for a while, but the inconsistent performance and the game’s tendency to completely break does test my patience from time to time.”

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

KC: Deliverance guy relaxing

We gaveKingdom Come: Deliverance84% in our review, saying: “It’s one of the most satisfying, rewarding role-playing experiences I’ve enjoyed on PC for a while, but the inconsistent performance and the game’s tendency to completely break does test my patience from time to time.”

Those of you keen to do some horseback riding and duelling in 15th century Bohemia are going to have to wait a wee bit longer. Medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is no longer coming out this year, with itsrelease date pushed back to February 11, 2025. It’s still not too far off, though, and to keep us going, Warhorse has given us a taste of what to expect when it does appear.

At a preview event in the town of Kuttenberg, one of the real-world locations in which the game takes place, the studio gave me hands-on time with two slices of Henry’s adventure, following the unassuming hero from the beginning of the game and later, in the sequel’s second map, as he explores aforementioned town.

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 castle panorama

Having already spent countless hours in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, I appreciate being able to get straight into the meat rather than mucking around with character creation systems and tutorials—though some of this stuff is on the horizon, it turns out. For now, though, it’s war. Temporarily playing as Father Godwin, an ancillary character from the first game, I rush along the walls kicking and hacking at the soldiers clambering up them, with the din of battle filling my ears.

I even get to whip out my crossbow and start picking off some more distant foes, snapping to cover as I take aim. It takes a while to reload, but it makes up for the cumbersome setup with its brutal efficiency at killing. It’s precise, deadly and surprisingly quiet. Later, a man in medieval cosplay hands me a real crossbow to shoot, which I discover surprisingly matches everything about the experience of using its simulated counterpart.

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(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 river camp

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, like its predecessor, enjoys a laugh. It is categorically not a comedy, but it has many of the qualities of one—specifically, those of the bawdier variety. There’s a strong ‘lads getting into scrapes’ vibe, so this RPG about a war-torn nation also has a strange amount in common with the likes of The Hangover and Revenge of the Nerds. It’s a peculiar juxtaposition that is extremely entertaining when it works, and extremely awkward when it doesn’t.

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This is particularly evident during the first half of the demo, where Henry and Hans are on a road trip that goes awry. Tasked with the delivery of a message to a noble who has sided with Sigismund, the pair act more like they’re on holiday—sauntering through the absolutely stunning Bohemian countryside—than on an important business trip. They joke and wind each other up, full of good-natured camaraderie, but they’re also a bit pervy.

While camping with their retinue, there’s a discussion that serves as a subtle character creation system. We’re sharing stories, which let me define my version of Henry, sans menus and point allocations. The conversation is a touch awkward in terms of its writing, but I appreciate the attempt to establish that this is a character who is already fully-formed. Then the conversation turns to Henry’s missus, where I get the option to tell all the lads what she’s like in bed. It’sgrim, though thankfully Hans cuts him off before the conversation gets too ‘lads lads lads’. You can opt to be more coy here, it’s worth noting, but it’s a jarring moment, especially since Henry is a pretty sweet fella for the most part.

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 stats screen

They’re a couple of dumb bros, but I confess I am charmed. Except when I am not.

The life of a woman in the 1400s was pretty terrible, but it’s strange how much this 3-4 hour demo presents its female characters as either objects of desire or victims. I’m detailing this one scene specifically because it does both, for the purposes of comedy and shock, but it keeps happening. Older or less overtly attractive women, meanwhile, are presented as sharp-tongued or crone-like. It’s not dissecting the role of women in medieval Europe, it’s reinforcing stereotypes. The first game did feature some interesting, complex female characters, and hopefully the same will be true here, but how the demo presents them certainly gives me pause.

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Henry being hunted

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(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 archer

The progression system isdense.First off, you’ve got your main attributes, like strength, and each of them has a bevy of associated perks waiting for you to unlock. So the strength tree lets you grab the Heracles perk, which makes you sexier the stronger you are, essentially making you more persuasive. Then you’ve got your secondary stats that are derived from your main ones, which include things like speed and charisma. You’ve also got skills, like thieving and horseriding, along with combat skills that make you proficient with specific weapons—these also have associated perks and combos. Practice makes perfect, so if you want to level up these skills and stats, you’ve got to use them.

The dialogue system, specifically when it comes to persuasion, is similarly dense. When trying to talk people around to your way of thinking, you’ll have a bunch of options, like threatening violence or being chivalrous, and stats alone aren’t the deciding factor. Who you’re talking to matters greatly, as does what you’re wearing. I went for the chivalrous approach to deal with a rival knight early in the game, but trying the same tactic with a bandit while being dressed in rags probably wouldn’t have had a positive result.

After some chats and some scuffles, Henry and Hans leave the forest and finally reach their original destination: the castle of a rival lord. But they look terrible and don’t actually have the message they were tasked with delivering. A guard pours the contents of a slop bucket on their heads. Now they look terrible and smell like a toilet. This is where Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 finally starts to open up. Quests must be undertaken, work must be done and coin must be earned. There are different routes to getting an audience with the lord, and plenty of trouble to get into. And yes, a lot more laddish bants.

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 alchemy system

Here’s the deal: a master swordsman from Germany wants to open up a school in Kuttenberg, and he’s been given permission from the king. But the king is now MiA, the country is at war, and the local council has decided to let a local crew open a swordfighting school instead. I agree to help the German bloke sort this out, and this requires some stealth.

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kuttenberg square

First, though, I explore Kuttenberg. It’s a lot more lively than the forest and village I’ve explored thus far, with an abundance of NPCs living out their extremely regulated lives. Everyone is on a schedule, and sometimes that schedule might not be convenient for you. When I visit an NPC one night to chat, I can’t find him in his usual spot. Instead I find him sleeping in his room at the inn, where he’s in bed, muttering in his sleep. So, like a totally normal person, I wait. Hovering over his bed. For several hours. Thankfully, you can speed up the process. Morning arrives, and I watch the NPCs get ready for the day ahead. They actually rifle through their possessions to find their clothes and get dressed, because unlike Skyrim people don’t sleep fully clothed. What a novelty!

I’ve been asked to steal a sword from the rival school, which I will then need to display outside the town hall. This will signal their acceptance of a challenge, and they’ll be too embarrassed to back down. Thus begins a lot of sneaking around in the dark and plenty of lockpicking minigames. My first attempt doesn’t go very well. I forget to shut the doors behind me, so a guard starts following my route through the building to investigate. I then botch a stealth attack, which would have knocked him out. A proper fight ensues, more people arrive, and to save my own life I start swinging my sword instead of my fists. One of the men I kill runs the school, so I fail the quest.

My second attempt goes a bit better. I close the doors this time, at least. I do find myself wishing for some feedback, though. It’s hard to know if I’m properly hidden or not, and despite being 2am there are a surprising number of people awake in the building searching for intruders. I manage to steal the sword, but I’m notquitesneaky enough, so the rival school’s boss knows I’m responsible. This isn’t a dealbreaker, thankfully. The tournament goes ahead, despite everyone knowing I’m a naughty boy. Unfortunately, this does mean the other school gets an advantage: they get to wear proper armour, while our squad has to make do with only meagre defences.

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(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tavern brawl

After all the sneaking around, I’m excited to start causing some legally sanctioned mayhem with a big ol' sword. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has other ideas. Instead, for round one, two NPCs get to fight. “OK,” I think to myself, “this will only take a few seconds.” Nope! I wish I’d timed it, but it felt like it must have gone on for five minutes. They go for multiple rounds, and while the combat feels great when you’re involved, it’s deathly dull when you’re just watching it. At one point, I look up from my screen and see rows of journalists just waiting around.

(Image credit: Warhorse Studios)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 stealth

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