"Kingdom Come Deliverance" The Next Big Open-World Franchise?

 

    Look, I'll admit it, at first glance when I saw this game I was a bit skeptical. While it absolutely looked right up something my alley: medieval, open-world RPG, and filled with quests, I just never got around to the game, until now. And I have to say, it is so very much worth it, and now I am filled with delight waiting for it's sequel, set to come out at the end of this year. Where do I even start? After 112 hours on this game, I can safely say that this game deserves all the hype it got, and frankly it's impressive that its roots began on kickstarter. If you want a quick rundown of what this game will provide, think of it like Skyrim if it had a real dynamic combat system, and it was much more grounded, in terms of both gameplay and story.

    So yes, while technically there is alchemy, and some very questionable moments of magic, expect this game to keep its head very close to the ground when it comes to the actual "fantasy elements" it provides. For the most part, this works, I mean if you don't particularly like doing all that micromanaging about elements like keeping your clothes clean, foot rotting, overeating, drinking  and sleeping, you'll become used to it very quickly. At first, I was very adverse to this system, it reminded me of those overbearing Skyrim ones that forced you to carry multiple sets of clothing for each environment and it would prove to be too cumbersome, but you really forget about it. I mean like Skyrim, by the end, you do mostly feel like a medieval God, but at the very least it does feel like you have to work for it. Thankfully, Warhorse adds multiple perks that actually negate most of these micromanaging elements, so if you're starting out in this game and are struggling with them, fear not, they'll be gone very very quickly.

    I suppose that's my main and really only gripe with this game. It tries so hard to be more in-depth, to have more consequences, and to be better that when it fails at doing that it just becomes more amplified. Let's first start off with the combat. One on one, it's fine, and I'd go as far to say that it feels pretty great to use, especially if you just have a sword and no shield. However, once you get late enough into the endgame, it's mostly a bashing simulator, and I basically resorted to the Skyrim method of bashing my enemies skulls in with maces. Sword and axes are simply not even worth using by the time you reach end game, because frankly it's laughable how much more effective maces become. Not to mention, by the time you reach the higher levels, practically everyone knows how to master counter, boiling what on paper should be an excellent combat system down to just wait for your enemy to strike because 50% of the time your opponent is just going to end up auto-countering anyways. 

    The same could be said for the quest system, while I do enjoy the fact that there are timed quests, thus making them feel more urgent, it would have been nice for them to be coloured red or something like that, just so that people knew what quests were timed, and wouldn't have to have a wiki page open at all times just to make sure that they weren't forgetting anything. Though, I do have to admit it is very funny to have a quest where you're supposed to save a village, and it can all be bypassed if you simply forget to save people and let them all die of the plague. On the other hand, some quests just feel half-baked or are too short to really be memorable. Take for example some of the Matthew and Fritz quests, you gather all of these Cuman materials just to have them never come up again. Or any/all of the DLC quests, which are a bit fun, are all worth maybe an hour or two of playing time before they're completed.

    I suppose it's less that I dislike aspects of the game but rather I'm simply disappointed by it. I feel as if once you start to get better you really begin to lose what makes the game so unique and stand out amongst the crowd in the first place. Though, I suppose that doesn't leave you with a bad game. When I compare this game to titans like Skyrim or The Witcher III, it's meant as a compliment, because the comparison is made earnestly, I really do think the game is that good. I love this game, but I think my last and final major complaint is about the items themselves in this game. I mean there's the sword of Queen Sheba, which is more of a joke weapon than anything, but I just wish there were more unique items in the game. I know they don't really want to include magic, but is it so wrong to wish for a better variety? I mean it's pretty easy to get really good loot really early on, you just see a skirmish, steal loot off of a corpse and run away. By the time you reach the endgame stages there really isn't much loot you can't use.

Final Score: 86/100

    I would be lying if I said I am wasn't so so excited for Kingdom Come Deliverance II to come out later this year. I think I will be buying it immediately, or perhaps I'll wait again. I mean this game reignited my passion for these long open-world RPG's, I basically garnered all of my 100+ hours in the span of two weeks, maybe even a bit less. To answer the question in the title, I absolutely believe in the developers of this game to have the juice to replicate this game, because I am so very excited to continue the adventures of Henry of Skallitz. So thank you to Warhorse Studios, because this game really is that good. I mean it doesn't reinvent the genre, but it does add some flavour that really distinguishes it from the other games in the genre, it just struggles to maintain it throughout the entire journey, which makes life better but also basically turns it into most other games in the genre. You get what you can I suppose.