RPGWatch Feature - Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review

Myrthos

Cave Canem
Administrator
Joined
August 30, 2006
Messages
11,223
Here is forgottenlor's review of Kingdom Com: Deliverance. A game which impressed him.

The developers of Kingdom Come: Deliverance went to Kickstarter to prove that there was a market for a high budget RPG set in a historical setting. The game developers decided to set their story in medieval Bohemia, and that alone makes it pretty unusual. In terms of its mechanics Kingdom Come: Deliverance plays it safe. It borrows a lot from other successful open world RPGs, like Skyrim and The Witcher 3. In terms of its story and presentation, though, Deliverance really does something different in its tone, its world building, and its setting. Certainly, those things won't be to everyone's tastes. But for those who are open to what the game has to offer will find themselves along for a memorable ride.
More information.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,223
Thank you, forgottenlor, for this excellent review. I enjoyed reading it, and it made me decide to return to the game one of these days, which I abandoned after having to do a race to win somebody a horse to assure a widow an income. I was lousy in the race because I stepped into the challenge too soon, meaning I was not good enough yet.

Anyway, thanks!
 
Thank you forgottenlor for excellent reading opportunity. I played 130 hours and enjoyed it a lot. I think it was my game of the year.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
402
Location
Poland
The race sidequest is IMO the only inexcusable rubbish content in KCD. I won it but it doesn't mean it's not a design crime in such an awsome game. Some will argue a few hunting fetch quests suck too, but cmon, sucking for sakes to net you some cash with easy to complete sides if you won't go thievery and torturing a player with GTAlike garbage is not the same thing.

As for the review, nice! Thanks @forgottenlor;
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
Still my GOTY it was a breath of fresh air instead of another fantasy game.:nod:

Also thanks for taking your time to review the game @forgottenlor;
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,185
Location
Spudlandia
Thanks for the excellent review @forgottenlor; ! Enjoyed reading it :)

I've been watching my hubby play this game - I don't think he built Henry quite charismatic, which I thought wad reflected through the voice over. I wonder if Henry in your game sounds different?

Another great game I will pass up :( there's always a fear I will get motion sickness and I just can't RP male protagonist sigh.
 
Great review, Forgottenlor! This makes me want to buy the game :)
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
3,753
Location
Brasil
Well done!

The horse race seemed fun to me. I went cross country, got well behind, went cross country again, and won!

The monastery, however, has stopped me cold. I love the music but the gameplay is blah. I want to get out of there without killing anyone but....
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
8,238
Location
Kansas City
Is the life in monastery supposed to be fun? :)
You can make it a bit fun though, if you'll explore the whole area and not rush the main quest only.

Btw you can solve the quest without killing anyone in the monastery, but in my case of playing the release version it caused additional bugs on top of display chores till doomsday so I killed the (proper) guy. Dunno what of it was fixed as I refuse to replay the game without all of DLCs.
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
Nicely done. KC: D really was a pleasant surprise for me as well, especially the main quest, as you mentioned. Its scope and quality is excellent, and the world is beautifully crafted. I also agree that it definitely feels like an AAA game.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
I pretty much agree with the review so far - the town's look much the same (in terms of what they contain) - which may be accurate but is a bit dull.

For me the combat is the worst part though. I love the atmosphere, setting…but I simply can't master the melee system. My attacks are glacial…and enemies seem to be able to wallop me repeatedly very quickly. The issue is the combat rosette which shows attack directions - mapping it to mouse move was not a good idea (for me at any rate) - I am used to mouselook +WASD…now suddenly the mouse is delicately(!) moving a directional arrow in the heat of combat, with multiple people beating on me etc. I've tried feinting (I undertand how these moves work, but always too slow) … I often incorrectly flip the attack to the wrong direction at the last second by making a tiny reflexive move as I desperately try and deal with multiple enemies (or even one very fast enemy). I know what I want to do it, but the interface interferes. And no matter how fast I change attrack direction and strike, they always seem to block. The only way I beat one armoured guy was to 'clinch' him to death! (while jabbing him wiht a mace of all things)

You are also told to move constantly, yet a dodge requires tapping a directional key at the right moment, which you can't do if you are moving (as opposed to rotating to look at someone).

I undertand that you are not meant to be good, but I have played gothic and even Darksouls with varying levels of success and never felt this frustrated. I tried using the bow, but that is also quite hard for an uncoordinated person...Although I tend to hit better (but people don't die from one arrow an dthen they all swarm you).

Anyway, I'm enjoying it except for the side quests and the combat.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
2,139
Location
Cape Town, South Africa
Another game that I simply must get to, hopefully sometime in the upcoming year. All these new games are seriously impacting me playing my old classical favourites, but I guess that's a good thing.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
18,799
Location
Holly Hill, FL.
I pretty much agree with the review so far - the town's look much the same (in terms of what they contain) - which may be accurate but is a bit dull.

For me the combat is the worst part though. I love the atmosphere, setting…but I simply can't master the melee system. My attacks are glacial…and enemies seem to be able to wallop me repeatedly very quickly. The issue is the combat rosette which shows attack directions - mapping it to mouse move was not a good idea (for me at any rate) - I am used to mouselook +WASD…now suddenly the mouse is delicately(!) moving a directional arrow in the heat of combat, with multiple people beating on me etc. I've tried feinting (I undertand how these moves work, but always too slow) … I often incorrectly flip the attack to the wrong direction at the last second by making a tiny reflexive move as I desperately try and deal with multiple enemies (or even one very fast enemy). I know what I want to do it, but the interface interferes. And no matter how fast I change attrack direction and strike, they always seem to block. The only way I beat one armoured guy was to 'clinch' him to death! (while jabbing him wiht a mace of all things)

You are also told to move constantly, yet a dodge requires tapping a directional key at the right moment, which you can't do if you are moving (as opposed to rotating to look at someone).

I undertand that you are not meant to be good, but I have played gothic and even Darksouls with varying levels of success and never felt this frustrated. I tried using the bow, but that is also quite hard for an uncoordinated person…Although I tend to hit better (but people don't die from one arrow an dthen they all swarm you).

Anyway, I'm enjoying it except for the side quests and the combat.

Your experience with sword fighting mirrors mine. The only DS like game I've played is Lords of the Fallen, and I find the melee combat in that game tough, but much easier to understand and play then in Kingdom Come. You can one shot a number of enemies with a bow. You need to hit the head. If the opponent has a helm it makes matters worse, but I killed a number of enemies with two-three arrows, while jogging backwards. I also died a few times in harder fights, but still never found the combat too excruciating with the bow. It helps to have a high skill and walk backward while firing. A good hit staggers an enemy temporarily also.
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
2,717
Location
Vienna, Austria
The monastery, however, has stopped me cold. I love the music but the gameplay is blah. I want to get out of there without killing anyone but….

I killed no one in the monestary. I actually didn't do a lot of killing in the game in general. The most annoying thing about the quest was you couldn't use savior schnapps and it can take some time to finish the main quest if you don't stumble on the right solution. I did think it was cool in that the tasks you had to complete in that part of the game felt different than the rest of the game, but like I say if you don't get the right solution it can become very repetitive and can get boring.
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
2,717
Location
Vienna, Austria
@forgottenlor; - I think I will try the bow approach, I have used it a little, but my bow skill is still very low (i have to be quite close to hit anything - damn deer!) I stumbled into a cuman ambush (5!)...needless to say that did not end well, managed to take down one archer but the big guy with a pole-arm beat me to death. I had too little stamina to flee :rolleyes: (I tried to run away frantically whistling for Pebbles...treacherous beast)
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
2,139
Location
Cape Town, South Africa
@forgottenlor; - I think I will try the bow approach, I have used it a little, but my bow skill is still very low (i have to be quite close to hit anything - damn deer!) I stumbled into a cuman ambush (5!)…needless to say that did not end well, managed to take down one archer but the big guy with a pole-arm beat me to death. I had too little stamina to flee :rolleyes: (I tried to run away frantically whistling for Pebbles…treacherous beast)

The bow skill lets you hold the drawn bow longer without losing stamina and shaking and helps aim a little more precisely. Having a higher strength & agility let you use better bows which do more damage. Also having a few high damage expensive arrows on hand for tough opponents is worth it. A 5 cuman ambush is tough. I survived one killing all 5 cumins near the end of the game, but I had really good equipment (good armour makes a huge difference).
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
2,717
Location
Vienna, Austria
completely agree with both pro and con !
Empty wilderness stands out for me as a con.

totally agree:
Well designed main quests
Well executed story and mechanics

Good review !
for a fantastic game !
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
1,747
Location
The Netherlands
Thanks for the review. I backed the KS but haven't gotten round to this game yet. Kinda waiting until I get a new computer to start it.

Is there any word yet on the sequel (or next "chapters", if you will)? IIRC, this was supposed to be only part 1 of 3, with each part expanding the game world.

EDIT: Hmm, according to this interview:
It was necessary to split the game to put smaller “parts” on the Kickstarter. This however, isn’t up to date anymore. We already reshuffled this idea and will release a regular RPG title: Kingdom Come: Deliverance, with a closed story. The next game will be “Kingdom Come 2” (not official name) and will offer a new story, map and more.

Too bad, I feel expanding the current map and make one big game would be nicer, though I guess that might not be feasible due to performance issues.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,377
Location
Leuven, BE
Is there any word yet on the sequel (or next "chapters", if you will)? IIRC, this was supposed to be only part 1 of 3, with each part expanding the game world.

EDIT: Hmm, according to this interview:

Too bad, I feel expanding the current map and make one big game would be nicer, though I guess that might not be feasible due to performance issues.
The planned chapters from the kickstarter were scraped due to time, and the amount of resources needed to make all three parts. So in the end it was made into one game.

Basically they cut some content but finished all three. There is still two more DLC's to be released by next year, and I'm sure Warhorse will make a true sequel one day.

2210cc5a310585f9e0d1e10f94752e880db87a22.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,185
Location
Spudlandia
Back
Top Bottom