Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a roleplaying video-game set in the medieval Kingdom of Bohemia in 1403. It offers great realism in both story and gameplay.

In 1403, Bohemia was caught up in a civil war played out between a week and dethroned king, Wenceslaus IV, his half-brother Sigismund, Duke of Luxemburg and King of Hungary, and a contender, Rupert III, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Other players in this conflict were leagues of cities as well as noble factions. Also, the situation was ripe with schismatic conflicts between papal contenders and the Czech heretic movement led by Jan Huus.

The video-game – Kingdom Come: Deliverance – takes place at a time when Sigismund initiates a raid on the silver-mining village of Skalitz. One of the survivors of the massacre is Henry, son of a blacksmith. Destitute and vengeful, Henry joins the faction fighting for the restoration of Wenceslaus IV, who has been imprisoned by his brother. The game features numerous quests which allow the immersive gameplay in a world filled with early 15th century accurate landscapes, houses, castles, weapons, clothes, and combat techniques.

Real Life

The game demands that you have to keep track of things as if in real life. You have to keep nourished, while at the same time not overeat since if you get too full, you’ll be more clunky and slow in combat. Your food can also turn bad if it lays in your inventory for too long, and if you nevertheless eat it, you’ll get food poisoned. Henry, the main character also needs sleep, and if you don’t secure him the necessary sleep, he’ll start to sway and close his eyes, which makes him almost uncontrollable. Luckily there are lots of beds in the game, and you can always get one in the tavern for a small fee.

All of this stuff you learn the hard way, and that’s where Kingdom Come Deliverance is a great game. Unlike other similar games where you gather experience points, with which you level up your character, you will in this game turn better through your own effort. For example, you will not level up the strength or agility of your character through combat. Instead, your character will gradually become better at progressing through the game, while you are – as a gamester – turning better at the game, learning different small tips while exploring 1403 Bohemia.

This exploring is another great part of the game, because of the graphics and the different things you encounter along the way. The graphics are incredible, as every nook and cranny is fully fleshed out with rocks, flowers and trees, all of it looks incredible.

As good as that all sounds, though, there are also problems. Unfortunately, the game is riddled with bugs and problems, there were cut-scenes, which completely messed up, while bodies went through their clothes. These, though, are minor issues, which didn’t interfere with the actual gameplaying, but there were bugs, which did. A problem, which I experienced a lot, was horses getting stuck on fences. Then you had to dismount, walk a little and then whistle for your horse to respawn. All of these problems were annoying and broke the immersion, which the game creates, but a few patches would probably fix most.

All in all, the game is beautiful, challenging but fair, and very realistic. Although bugs sometimes break the realism, the game is an incredible piece of work for such a small development team.

Historically faithful, its graphics and general character herald a new way of using games to teach history.

Søren-Erik Toft Nielsen

GET THE GAME:

Kingdom Come: Deliverance
By Warhorse Studios s.r.o

READ MORE:

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an RPG that trades fantasy for historical accuracy.
By Andrew Webster.
The Verge 02.02.2018
(On the historical craft used to create the impressive realism)