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Kingdom Come: Deliverance II marks the highly anticipated 7-year return to Henrys quest through medieval Bohemia. Its not quite the departure from the first game some may have hoped for, but its improvements result in a seriously impressive game worthy of accolade. The story begins where the first ended, with Henry and his best bro, Hans Capon, delivering an important letter to a vital ally of the series antagonist, King Sigismund. 15th Century Bohemia is suffering from a violent civil war and Henry, as a common blacksmiths son, finds himself a bit out of his depth amid the political turmoil. The sequel ups the stakes and scale from the first substantially, with the large city of Kuttenberg serving as one of two central hubs. As well see later in the review, the pacing and intensity of the story is riveting and magnificent, outdoing its predecessor in every way imaginable.But before delving deeper into the story, lets briefly go over what it does differently than the first game. Right off the bat, its evident the controls have been refined. First-person camera control and aiming has smoother sensitivity and sword fighting feels a tad less janky this time around. The innovative rosette cursor is now divided into just four sections instead of KCD1s five, and I have to say this streamlined change makes battles feel more urgent and fun. Also improving the urgency is the counter-attack timing adjustments. Shifting to combat, you unlock new combos and techniques by paying trainers a hefty sum of cash and helping them out with a quest or two. Pulling off techniques like the Master Strike is super rewarding, just like countering is this time around. If youre not so keen to get up close and personal, KCD2 introduces a new batch of ranged options: crossbows and guns."If youre not so keen to get up close and personal, KCD2 introduces a new batch of ranged options: crossbows and guns."KCD2s heart for the historical authenticity given to the crossbow and handgunne (yes, its spelled that way in-game) preparation is appreciated, but man those things are difficult to use in the midst of battle. Heavy crossbows take nearly half a minute just to load and aim, while handgunnes take that and have half the accuracy. I thought Id finally roleplay as an archer this time around, but just like my experience in KCD1, I felt pigeon-holed into just using swords. I do appreciate the the option to wield crossbows and guns, but I still didnt find them to be usable in combat; kudos to those who can though!A change that I did engage myself in a lot is crafting weapons at the blacksmith forge. Yes, thats right. Henry can now finally be a blacksmith just like his father before him. Forging weapons is rather straightforward and somewhat fun if you have the patience. Its kind of odd that horseshoes are the toughest thing to smith in the game compared to swords and the like, but I like that the actual shape of the weapon gets taken into account when hammering it. You dont really notice drastic changes in shape while hammering, so its not as realistic as one might have wanted, but blacksmithing is a fine addition to the game, nonetheless. Smithing is a viable way to earn lots of Groschen, especially if you have the associated perk points to increase the quantity and quality of each piece forged."Smithing is a viable way to earn lots of Groschen"Speaking of perks, KCD2 dishes them out frequently, and theyre equal parts useful and fun. You level up various attributes whenever you engage in the associated activity and then get the option of choosing one of many requisite perk points. Crouching while picking pockets and lockpicking doors in turn makes stealth gameplay more easier, potent, and viable, for example. KCD2 has perhaps one of the better balanced perk trees in the genre. The way these perks customize the players gameplay style feels personalized in a way few games do.Between the 278 perks available in the game, you have the usual passive and active buffs and some significant game-changers that can ease certain aspects of the games realism. For example, a perk cures 10 points of health when washing at tubs or piers in addition to healing 25% when sleeping. Taking a simple wash next to a lake usually doesnt cure health, but with this perk, it does. Dreaded Warrior adds a completely new dimension to combat, granting Henry a Skyrim-like shout that decreases enemy morale while increasing personal stamina and the like. Many perks change how KCD2s mechanics operate, allowing the player to custom tailor their gameplay experience.KCD2s wonderful perk system works in tandem with various other systems to specialize your experience. Henry now has reputation to deal with, a new addition that alters the way characters think of him. Reputation works similar to Morrowinds Renown system in that NPCs charge more money for goods or downright refuse to speak to you if youre hated. Each town and settlement in KCD2 has its own reputation values toward Henry from 0 to 100. At the start of the adventure, I found that most villagers wouldnt even speak to me until I had at least 60 or so Rep. And so, I was forced to do some quests and tasks for folks, carefully choosing my words lest I completely destroy our relationship.This process felt very familiar to me, considering my love for Morrowind, so I was delighted to set roots in villages and slowly build my reputation in KCD2. Though, its fairly easy to just keep your reputation around 100 everywhere you go in KCD2; you just need some expensive clothing and a high enough Speech level and youre pretty much set. In this way, I felt the reputation system got too easy to overcome. It wouldve been more interesting to have to do more to impress certain towns and communities, like it was at the start of the game, but everyone loves Henry eventually once he looks the part and has enough coin."Many perks change how KCD2s mechanics operate, allowing the player to custom tailor their gameplay experience."Reputation feeds into the many dialogue options presented to Henry throughout the course of the game. Saying offensive things to people will indeed lower Henrys reputation in that town. Important characters actually have their own reputation values, though its not shown anywhere in menus. Im frankly in love with KCD2s dialogue options. Theyre so diverse and impactful, while avoiding that video-gamey color-coded UI that tells you outright what morality each dialogue is aligned with. Whats more, dialogue options arent really organized in a way that lets you know what choice the game subtly wants you to choose. Some responses result violently, while some lead to new quests and friendships, and youll have to rely on your own read on the situation rather than icons and indicators to decide.Like Reputation, a high enough Persuasion level can get you new dialogue options and added favor with characters. How persuasive you are depends on appearance (whether youve bathed and have rich clothes), knowledge in a specific field and a set of skill checks. The Persuasion system in KCD2 is intricate and tied into all the other systems at play so as to make me really care about how Im playing other aspects of the game. KCD2 does dialogue choices in perhaps the most organic way Ive seen in an open-world game yet, and it actually has consequences to boot.Some consequences lead to side quests or tasks. My favorite aspect of side quests is how the world responds to Henrys escapades later down the line. Characters will reference an earlier side quest and what theyve been up to after the events of the quest. Theres almost always some follow-up to these quest interactions, even if theyre simple and sweet like a thank-you. I especially love the feedback characters give to Henry during the wedding main quest. Most of the important characters in the Trosky region celebrate with Henry, bringing up how he did or didnt help them out. Various side activities are mentioned during key moments, making your activities around the realm feel impactful. You really feel a sense of friendship and camaraderie with these characters after doing so much for them and knowing their backstories."KCD2 does dialogue choices in perhaps the most organic way Ive seen in an open-world game yet, and it actually has consequences to boot."That said, the quality and tangible reward of some side quests leave me somewhat less thrilled. Some side quests have disappointing conclusions with no reward despite hours of effort. One lengthy quest involves travelling half the stretch of an entire map to find an obscure dig site. Once I reached the site, I was ambushed by two warring factions who wanted the buried contents for themselves. I only had two options: calmly negotiate and split the reward, or fight the lot of them. Since my Henry is more of a diplomat than a bloodthirsty brawler, I opted for the first option. To my dismay, this route led to a complete lack of acknowledgement from the quest giver and zero reward in the end, making me feel like I wasted time. There are just a few quests like this, but the payoff and reward (storywise and gameplay) left me disappointed.The good side quests are impressive though, even maintaining the same level of cinematography as the main quest at times. KCD2 is so chalk-full of activities and quests that it can be quite overwhelming, especially given how large the game world is (twice as big as the first game). The game mitigates this impressive scale through a somewhat nostalgic fast-travel system. Like the first game, you unlock the ability to fast-travel to a town or point of interest upon discovering it first-hand. To fast-travel, simply open up the map and select the destination. A pawn of Henry then moves along the map, interrupted by occasional random encounters. I still like this system, but there are many times when you need to get to multiple places across the map just to get to a tailor or quest, and that consumes in-game resources and lots of time to do."Like the first game, you unlock the ability to fast-travel to a town or point of interest upon discovering it first-hand."A big part of KCD2s appeal is its historical authenticity and sim-like gameplay systems. This is why fast-travelling everywhere can be a resource drain: it depletes hunger, sleep, and accelerates in-game time, which means shops may be closed when you arrive. This realism is hit or miss with players, with some adoring the constant need to do simple tasks like bathe and eat, while others feel it drags down the pacing. While KCD2 maintains the realism of the first game, certain perks do allow you to speed up and overcome some of the more mundane sim elements.The start of the game is the roughest in this regard. You have nothing; no reputation, no money or items, and no familiarity with the world yet. And that is precisely when the sim elements feel the most pressing. I found that after the first 10 hours or so, you start to gradually overlook these little lifestyle necessities and the gameplay flow becomes much more fluid."The start of the game is the roughest in this regard. You have nothing."Still, one design decision I remain firmly opposed to is the save system: particularly Savior Schnapps. Yes, you still need the Savior Schnapps consumable to save the game; however, the notorious drink is easier to obtain this time around, and it isnt the only way to save. For one, its fairly easy to craft Savior Schnapps. You get the recipe early on and there is an abundance of ingredients. Besides the Savior Schnapps method, theres an autosave after every quest milestone, saving at owned beds, and an exit save. Thats four save methods; though watch out because your autosave and exit save will overwrite previous ones.There were many instances when I had to constantly reload old saves due to a stealth mission gone awry or an unsuspecting bandit attack on a dapper, though unarmored, Henry. I even lost three hours of progress once or twice. Compounding this is the long load times. Theres hardly any loading once youre in one of the two open-world maps, but the initial load is quite long. This can really make stealth missions drag on when youre getting caught and also discourages experimentation where frequent loading is common.And I know Im going to get flack for pointing this out, but KDC2 has a bit of an uncanny valley problem at times. Faces and voices noticeably repeat between villagers and incidental NPCs. This is expected in an open-world of this scale, of course, but its especially noticeable when playing Dice. In Dice matches, even main characters switch the one of the stock NPC voices, causing any TES: Oblivion player do a double take and laugh out loud in reminiscence. NPCs also have that dynamic schedule thing going on and they will occasionally greet you with the same voice line multiple times in a row. Theres more variety in NPC clothing and faces in The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 than KCD2, but NPCs are certainly more varied than anything from Bethesda at the very least.Theres also a slight problem with inconsistent audio balancing in places. Godwyn, for example, is much harder to hear than other characters. A small number of NPCs are mixed a bit too low in the recording compared to the sound effects and music at times. And then theres the parties and gatherings, which result in an unintelligible cacophony of noise as each conversation loops over the other at the same time. Its likely that Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 will get patches that will make the audio more balanced in the future, so this isnt a huge deal."Theres more variety in NPC clothing and faces in The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 than KCD2, but NPCs are certainly more varied than anything from Bethesda at the very least."Everything else I have to say regarding KCD2s audio is unmitigated praise. The sound effects set the immersion very high. Without hyperbole, KCD2s soundtrack is easily one of the most impressive game OSTs Ive heard in the last decade or so. Id even go so far as to say it comes close to rivaling Jeremy Soules Elder Scrolls work at times. KCD2s score is absolutely phenomenal from top to bottom. I especially like the Howard Shore quality of some of the more atmospheric Lord of the Rings inspired tracks. But theres a fair degree of variety in the soundtrack too, which is nothing to sneeze at considering the limited historical period it has to be set to. Theres your delightfully playfully rustic tavern dance music, along with some impressionist exploration music to soak in the atmosphere in. Then theres the wide-ranging world music from boleros to traditional middle eastern music upon arriving in the quarter of Kuttenberg. KCD2 has the best open-world soundtrack Ive heard since Skyrim.The atmosphere and world-building in general is absolutely impressive. Take the second largest Bohemian city at the time, Kuttenberg, as a case study. Kuttenberg is somewhat comparable in scale and attention to detail to The Witcher 3s Novigrad. Sure, it doesnt take as many fantastical liberties as Novigrad, but its historical authenticity is something to be lauded. Each quarter feels appropriately dense and lively. NPCs swarm the streets and greet or disparage Henry as he walks by. The NPCs fill out the world well with their insight into regional traditions and their individual schedules. The attention to detail with each of the buildings is also impressive, though it should be noted that not every building or door can be entered, and a lot of the architecture is purely cosmetic. Oh, and a minor complaint with doors; the lack of an icon indicating that a room is unlawful to enter is irritating, especially considering the dynamic nature of NPCs and the repercussions for committing crimes."Kuttenberg is somewhat comparable in scale and attention to detail to The Witcher 3s Novigrad."But back to towns. The smaller towns and castles are also impressive in their own right, though closer to what youd expect with the first game. In general, KCD2 shows superb attention to detail with every environment. Ditches have little puddles of water in them and various tools like shovels and sheers dot the many farms and residences. The graphical boost from the first game is wonderful. This truly feels like a six to seven year graphical leap with its sharp 4k resolution and range of HDR/deep color output. KCD2 is not as dreary and brown as youd except from a realistic medieval portrayal, but its still grounded enough, which I appreciate. Oh, and the unique map art for each town is absolutely exquisite, as are the 100s of codex entry illustrations and descriptions.I know I criticized NPC faces earlier, but the majority of facial animations within KCD2 are great. The especially important characters portray authentic emotions and react convincingly given the situation, and perhaps most importantly, have solid lip synching throughout. Lip synching wouldnt matter if the voice performances were bad, but KCD2 has a very solid voice cast. Characters like Margrave Jobst just put a huge grin on my face given the commanding performance and Tim Curry-esque likeness. Much of this has to do with the incredible personalities these characters exhibit. Its impressive how much certain characters grew on me and just how despicable others become. Yes, a lot of the lesser NPCs seem rather unpleasant and rude, and theres a lot of swearing and offensive speech to go around, but the major characters within KCD2 are well-developed, complex individuals."Its impressive how much certain characters grew on me and just how despicable others become."This leads to the final point in the review that KCD2 perhaps excels at the most: its core plot. At the end of the day, KCD2s large realistic open-world and wealth of side activities are fun and immersive, though not quite GOTY-worthy on their own. Its the absolutely amazing main quest and the plot therein that propels KCD2 into masterpiece territory. The cinematic quality on display within the main quest is some of the very best in all of gaming for its size. The main quest is incredibly lengthy, sure to take at least 60 hours with a focused playthrough, and yet its all so expertly directed and storyboarded. The cinematics feel like a big budget film, and a quality one at that. The soundtrack accentuates the impressive cinematography and in-game animations beautifully, with leitmotifs and mood music swelling up when appropriate.The plot writing itself is excellent too. I appreciate the amount of downtime the plot allows. Some main quests require no combat at all, instead letting the play soak up the camaraderie and mood of the moment. The plot pacing is balanced well with very few instances of sections outstaying their welcome. In short, I never once got bored of the main plot or the quests involved in it. KCD2 pulls off what few open-world games do: a spectacular main quest. KCD2 may well be the new standard for main quests in open-world games in a similar way The Witcher 3 is for side quests."The main quest is incredibly lengthy, sure to take at least 60 hours with a focused playthrough"Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 still has that immersive realism the first had, but the small tweaks and refinements help make it a tad more accessible. But really, its the main quest that really demands attention here. Its worth putting up with the lengthy load times and inconsistent save system to experience the sheer craft and excellence instilled within Henrys final story. KCD2 will undoubtedly end up as many gamers favorite RPG of all time, and its easy to see why. I dont yet know where it stands among my all-time favorite open-world games, but the very fact that Im undecided showcases just what a phenomenal game Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is.This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
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