Kingdom Come: Deliverance 1&2

[Antimatter]

I had the game pre-ordered, so I started playing it. Very impressed with the cutscenes and VO improvements. The prologue is interesting and full of action.

The game has the same vibe as KCD 1, but provides more options in almost every regard: from dialogue options to improved stealth.

The tone is very similar, full of humor and jokes, and at the same time, it gives the feeling of tension and worry. The story develops quickly. There is a very natural dynamic between the main character and his close friend from the first game.

There are problems with performance, though, cutscenes sometimes stutter, and sometimes that stuttering continues into the gameplay. All seems random atm and no actual clue on how to fix it. Googled, and found people with the same issues even on high-end PCs. Hopefully, the performance will get better with patches.

The picture quality is stunning.

I installed a mod allowing for Unlimited Saving.

Overall, so far so good. It's KCD 1 + much more. I just wish technical issues would be fixed soon.

 

[Antimatter]

Enjoying the game. Probably, spending time the most by gathering herbs, brewing potions, selling, buying equipment, etc. I like the slow but steady feeling of getting more powerful via the activities I define myself.

KCD 2 is not just a good RPG, it's a really good one, one of the best. I feel the same joy I had when I played BG3.

Also, here is a good article: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/rp...layer-rpg-made-all-its-money-back-in-one-day/

It's great to see how WarHorse picked up the torch that Bethesda left, and Larian kinda continued what early BioWare had started.

 

[Antimatter]

Currently have more than 50 hours in. Still haven't completed the Chapter 1 main quest, tried to complete everything else first. The game is a joy. Pure joy. It has so many nicely thought-through details: almost every side quest is a chain of quests where you interact with NPCs in multiple stages, thus getting to know them more closely. The game is filled with humor and yet mixes it with serious topics all the time.

There are hidden perks that you can only unlock by doing things naturally, so even looking at the initial perk screen won't reveal that. The game doesn't keep your hand at all, offering alternate choices and paths to different outcomes.

You can forge weapons on your own. So amazing to see actual blacksmithing implemented in the game. When you get Henry to sing a blacksmithing tune, you know the weapon will be good. Alchemy was great already in KCD1, this is now the next level.

Initially, I thought that traveling with a dog companion would be wonky and the dog would get stuck etc. Turns out, no, it works flawlessly. And this little fella brings so much joy.

The music, the environmental sounds, the tone, the freedom, the landscapes, not many games come close to that. Maybe Red Dead Redemption 2? But that game was expensive to create and it had a much larger development team.

I agree with WolfheartFPS even more now:

 

[Antimatter]

More than 100 hours in. I can agree with Larian's head of PR:



Main quests are filled with urgency. Writing is amazing. Would be an unpopular (?) opinion, but I'd say writing in this game feels better and more natural than even in CP2077 and BG3.

In the second half of the game, the quality didn't drop at all, maybe some parts became even better.

The game is a real marvel. It continues to give.

 

[Antimatter]

If the game had been 9/10 before I reached Kuttenberg, it firmly went into the 9.8/10 territory afterwards (for me). Kuttenberg is a massive medieval city with tons of content in it. It beats Novigrad from The Witcher 3 and the Baldur's Gate 3 city easily. But it's not a surprise --progress exists, and new games can become even better than legends of the past.

I was sure KCD 2 would be a good game but I didn't expect just how grand it would be. I don't remember, and I mean it, I don't remember when one game could contain movie-like main quest sequences (that you can't stop to see out), detailed side quests (with different stages and twists), memorable characters (and multiply that by 100 as this game has hundreds of them), exploration, and vast gameplay systems with deep and varied RPG components at the same time.

It comes as no surprise to me that the game already sold 2 mln copies.



It is still smaller than the game deserves. Be it "I played the first game, didn't get hooked enough", or "dunno, it doesn't have fantasy/magic in it", or "it's a direct sequel, I haven't played the first game so can't get into the sequel", there might be a myriad of reasons for people to overlook KCD 2 still. But with time, more and more players will give it a go, based on word of mouth, Steam reviews, or just growing popularity and general acceptance (say, a couple of Game of the Year awards, or more than a couple).

Playing or completing the first game is not a requirement. Yes, the improvements over the first game are stunning. It's a huge leap in quality. Think BG1 -> BG2 transition, or DOS2 -> BG3.

 

[Antimatter]

https://newzoo.com/resources/blog/kingdom-come-deliverance-iis-explosive-launch-a-new-rpg-powerhouse

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II's impressive launch metrics are now available thanks to Newzoo!

• $64.6M digital revenue in February across the six markets we track for revenue, making it the #2 highest-grossing premium game (#6 overall) behind Monster Hunter Wilds.
• High engagement: 2.5M MAU, 69% of players on PC, 204 minutes/day average playtime across the 37 markets we track for engagement, and 92% positive Steam reviews.
• KCD2 outperformed both Avowed and Dragon Age: the Veilguard in 7-day post-launch DAU.
• 47% of revenue came from the Gold Edition, showing strong DLC interest.
• Localization strategy expanded global reach, with home market Czechia entering the top 10 markets.
• First major update and three DLCs coming in 2025, securing long-term player retention.

The defining attribute of an RPG is the freedom given to players to choose how to engage with the game, whether that be through quest progression, character abilities, or solving problems. This means that player choice in RPGs is paramount. Warhorse seems to have nailed those RPG elements in KCD2, which is exhibited by the 92% positive reviews on Steam. Warhorse Studios managed to appeal to new audiences while preserving what made the original so beloved by returning fans. Let’s take a closer look at the KCD2 gamer profile by examining which games these players engaged with before KCD2’s launch.

Currently, Avowed has a 76% positive review rating. Similarly, KCD1 had a 78% positive review rating a month after its release, indicating that Warhorse Studios took learnings from KCD1 and developed KCD2 into a massively successful title.

Another difference is the price point on PC, KCD2 comes at $59.99 while Avowed is priced at $69.99. While this is not the only reason for the difference in performance, players seem to resonate well with the lower price point of KCD2 when $69.99 is becoming a standard price for new games of this scale.

In terms of gameplay, the differences are substantial. Both games are RPGs at their core, but KCD2 emphasizes realism, immersion, and takes risks with mechanics like its combat system or using consumable items to save the game. Despite numerous rough edges, Steam reviews suggest that KCD2 players enjoy its unique gameplay and the freedom it offers for roleplaying.

As for Avowed, the game plays it a little safer, drawing inspiration from titles like Skyrim or Dragon Age. According to critics and fans alike, the game bypasses realism with, for example, lack of crime systems implemented, allowing players to loot anything without consequence. According to the reviews Avowed’s less realistic approach, together with beautiful environments and satisfying combat, enhances the experience of exploration, which seems to be one of this game's highlights.

 

[Antimatter]

There will be a sequel! I knew it!

Warhorse community manager Tobias Stolz-Zwilling said in an interview with Japanese GameSpark:

"At the time of developing Kingdom Come Deliverance, we had around 100 members, but now we have 250 members, many of whom are currently developing additional DLC and handling debugging.

In the future, we would like to increase the number of development members to 300 and develop another RPG game in parallel with the current Kingdom Come Deliverance project. We are still undecided, but when it comes to production, we still want to create a deep, emotional, cinematic, story-based RPG."

『キングダムカム・デリバランス II』開発者インタビュー&DLCコンテンツ「Brushes with Death」内容公開！シールドペインティング機能などアート要素が多々追加 | Game*Spark - 国内・海外ゲーム情報サイト

モーションキャプチャーの撮影見学や、今後発表予定となる新規DLCの内容について語られたほか、開発チームへのインタビューも実施されました。

www.gamespark.jp

Considering their KCD2 support is DLCs and all of them will be released until the end of this year, Tobias meant a new KCD project is already in development.

It confirms previous indirect hints the studio was already working on a sequel.









And I'm not even talking about dozens of hints of a sequel in KCD2 itself.

On the practical side, I think the strongest reason is the one explained in the Newzoo report linked before. The number of KCD franchise fans.

 

[Antimatter]

The quote in the title might surprise some people and trigger reactions without watching the whole interview. But! The interview is very insightful and full of heart:



Daniel explains how the game started, what it's like to create a game, and talks about movies, the movie and gaming industries. At the end of the interview, he doesn't deny they have 2 projects in the works.

 

[Antimatter]

My current theory is WarHorse is working on an announced Hans Capon DLC. Not the wedding DLC everyone is talking about, but a first-person Hans offshoot similar to Theresa in KCD1.

In a recent interview, Daniel said he's not working on KCD 3 currently.
In the same interview, he maneuvered questions about whether KCD 3 might happen or not.
He also said some DLC for KCD2 will be quite big.
WarHorse's social media account increased engagement with Luke Dale (Hans's VO & mocap actor).
Luke Dale moved to Prague for a few months, just enough to record the material for such a project.
There is no similar activity around Tom McKay, and that would be weird if the DLC was a bigger thing similar to the Blood & Wine DLC in TW3.
All the loose ends in KCD2 are too important to be solved in just a DLC, even if it's a bigger one.
Initially, WH team hinted they wouldn't be doing anything other than the 3 announced DLC, but the sales exceeded their expectations.
At the same time, Luke Dale's influencer star has been increasing drastically.
He's the fan-favorite in the fandom.
The "current KCD project" Tobias mentioned to Gamespark would make sense in this regard, considering previously Tom said his work on KCD is over (and that included all 3 currently announced DLC).

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 przekroczyło kolejną granicę sprzedaży. Daniel Vavra zabrał głos w temacie trzeciej części serii - GRYOnline.pl

Warhorse Studios ma powody do wielkiego zadowolenia - KCD 2 znalazło już ponad 3 miliony nabywców. Grupa Embracer, do której należy czeskie studio Warhorse, wdraża kolejne etapy reorganizacji.

www.gry-online.pl

Daniel Vávra se oficiálně vyjádřil ke Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3

Daniel Vávra odpovídal v novém podcastu na otázky fanoušků. Dostalo se samozřejmě i na Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3.

spite.cz

 

[Antimatter]

WarHorse Studios developers are so talented, creative, passionate, and at the same time, modest and human.

If you ever need to know why, how, and what it took for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to turn out that good, watch this documentary:



The documentary was shot in Prague in February. They got to stay with Warhorse Studios for the final day before the release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and talk about how the studio got to the place where they could actually make a sequel. They dive deep behind the scenes to talk about creating KCD 2, they attend the studio's release party the night before the game launched, they're there when the team see the reviews for the first time and release the game to the players.

The video explains why WarHorse is so much more than just Daniel Vavra. You get to know their designers, art leads, composer, cinematics team, etc etc.

Incredible insights! These are 2 hours well-spent. Wish more gaming companies could release such videos.

Companies are not plaques on the wall, they are not buildings or machines. They are real people, and sometimes, extremely talented real people.

KCD3 will happen, WarHorse has now opened the Brno office and will be growing to 300+ people, they are aiming at making multiple games at once.

 

[Antimatter]

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 voted 13th on PC Gamer's list of Top 100 Games 2025.

1. Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)
2. Disco Elysium (2019)
3. Dwarf Fortress (2006)
4. Witcher 3 Wild Hunt (2015)
5. Crusader Kings 3 (2020)
6. Stardew Valley (2016)
7. Caves of Qud (2024)
8. Balatro (2024)
9. Elden Ring (2022)
10. RDR 2 (2019)
11. DOOM (1993)
12. XCOM 2 (2016)
13. KCD 2 (2025)

The next DLC will be released on September 9th.

 

[Antimatter]

Feeling sad that it seems there won't be more DLC beyond the 3 announced ones, and I can't help but notice they deliberately said "last day in the booth & on the mocap stage for #KCD2", not, say, last day in the booth & on the mocap stage for Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I firmly believe there will be KCD3, just too many loose ends.

 

[Antimatter]

 

[Antimatter]

 

[O_Bruce]

Watched the video and I don't understand why even care about whether the game gets some GOTY categories or not. It's not going to feel any better or worse to play because of it, and it won't erase all the hard work put into it by developers, voice actors and various artists.

GOTY awards are a joke anyways, as far as I am concerned.

 

[Antimatter]

Even though it might be a bad event when it comes to awards, it still does mean something to me. Seeing my favourite developer winning and receiving all of that extra praise and exposure should be a win for all gamers. Even nominations for the award raise awareness about games. Many of us want to see our favourite studios experience more success, even if it is something out of our control. Seeing studios we don't like or ones that are not very consumer-friendly win is a negative thing as it encourages and normalises things we don't want normalised. So personally, I think it is fine to be emotionally invested a bit, but of course, people always take it too far, get irrationally angry, and turn it into a tribal war. Games winning awards might influence games we'll get later (as it affects decisions on what projects to greenlight etc). As for personal VO nominations, I just sympathise with KCD actors, and it's a big pain not to see their work acknowledged, especially after the BAFTA video I posted before.