Post by Tig on Mar 12, 2018 2:20:27 GMT -5
I want to start my review off by saying Kingdom Come: Deliverance (KDC) is the game I’ve been waiting for since I discovered video games forty years ago. I've dreamt of a complete medieval sim that would place me deep in the world of shining armor, clanging swords, thundering hooves, and high adventure. When I first learned of Warhorse Studios and their ambitious historically-focused game, I jumped on the backer not to gain alpha access, but because I needed this game to exist. It’s here now, and while it is not perfect, it truly is a dream come true.
I’m well aware of my personal prejudice on this game so let me start off by acknowledging the bugs and subsequent complaints heaped upon KCD at release. Floating animals, quests with dead ends, corrupted save games, and various glitches abound in the unpatched release version. I know Warhorse had to push the game out and couldn’t extend the release date, and they did a valiant job patching it quickly, but it’s in the history books now and KCD’s journey tale definitely started off on the wrong foot.
That said, in addressing one of the biggest complaints of the game, I do not accept the complaints of KCD’s difficulty as a bug. By now you have no doubt heard the howling over how hard this game is. Swordplay is intentionally sluggish and off balance at the beginning, bows have no aiming reticule, and lock picking is a lesson in aggravation. All of those things are overcome with time and patience, especially on the PC. You’re not going to start out good at everything, or even anything; you have to keep playing. I do realize, however, that console players have it twice as rough with the thumb sticks and general controls. I get the aggravation and the game is hard, very hard, but none of it is impossible, at least not on PC.
What KCD does do right is immersion, and it does it almost perfectly. At the forefront are the graphics with the Crysis engine in full form. Armor shines, water flows, trees sway, just standing still you can feel the world becoming tangible around you. Peasants go on about their daily business amongst soldiers and beggars and the occasional bandit or Cuman enemy will appear at the edge of the forest, daring you to come after them. More than just eye candy, however, is the physics of the world. Dozens of different weapons have a palpable weight and running after an enemy in any variation of full armor sets will make you wish you could shed it on the fly. Horses push across difficult terrain of rolling hills and sharp rocks, then fly across open fields and dirt roads. The woods range from thin scrub to tight thickets, hiding rabbits that lope away when they hear you coming or deer that bolt for the horizon. Between the blowing grass and clanking of plate armor, if I suddenly reached through my screen and were able to touch a tree branch or passing boar, it would come as no surprise to my senses as my brain suspects this is close to real.
The story is fun, following the events of 15th century Bohemia in turmoil as the Hungarian army is trying to take advantage of the recent death of the king. Its course is ridged but it allows you to detour at will to join side quests or level your own skills by fighting, hunting, or general thievery. Every action is beneficial at first as even tracking a deer can improve your agility, vitality, and skills in hunting and bows which, in turn, helps with the general difficulty. Going back to the quest is rewarding with special weapons or armor or the currency to buy such. There’s plenty of reason to stray and plenty of reason to stick to the main path, so it’s easy to get lost going back and forth across the map. Fortunately the story is patient and there are few penalties for taking your time, if any. It’s well acted with gorgeous cut scenes, even if the language is a bit modern at times. One scene in the prologue had Henry crying in the muddy street in the rain with a lost dog sitting by his side. It made my eyes water as the whole scene was just perfect. Like the graphics, the story envelopes you and convinces you this is really happening, and it’s easy to get lost in the urgency of the time.
Beyond the bugs, my biggest issue with the game, is the lack of role-playing in a game released as an RPG. Sure you have stat sliders and can customize your gear, but all that is secondary as you are trapped in the role of a male commoner. The historical events are revealed through the eyes of Henry whose father was a blacksmith and who would otherwise have no place swinging swords and defending the king were it not for the exigent circumstances. It plays well as a setting but, for what’s supposed to be a roleplaying game, you are locked into exactly the role of static Henry. There is no custom background or way to hedge your starting skill set, no reason to start over in another town because you can’t, and no true way to find your own path. The game does a great job of immersion for the role you do play, but the story is Henry’s and Henry’s only. Mount & Blade has different races starting from different cities, Skyrim has different races as well, and both of those are considered “light” for RPGs. So far I haven’t seen anything in the main quest where having a customized protagonist would have damaged the story or gameplay. To date, that is my largest complaint because all the wonderful hand-crafted immersive elements are hindered by an otherwise gorgeous cut scene where my character is some nerdy-looking dude with facial scruff and bad hair. You’re stuffed in a box labeled “Henry” and you have to stay in it. Granted it’s a wonderful, fun, beautiful box, but it’s still somewhat restricting.
It’s not perfect, but it’s brilliant in its own way and, above all, I’m glad to finally see a mainstream game from independent developers focusing on history rather than magic. KCD is a true labor of love, taking Warhorse years to develop, and they have big plans for the game in the future. For now, like the surrounding woods on the map, it’s a great place to get lost.
I’m well aware of my personal prejudice on this game so let me start off by acknowledging the bugs and subsequent complaints heaped upon KCD at release. Floating animals, quests with dead ends, corrupted save games, and various glitches abound in the unpatched release version. I know Warhorse had to push the game out and couldn’t extend the release date, and they did a valiant job patching it quickly, but it’s in the history books now and KCD’s journey tale definitely started off on the wrong foot.
That said, in addressing one of the biggest complaints of the game, I do not accept the complaints of KCD’s difficulty as a bug. By now you have no doubt heard the howling over how hard this game is. Swordplay is intentionally sluggish and off balance at the beginning, bows have no aiming reticule, and lock picking is a lesson in aggravation. All of those things are overcome with time and patience, especially on the PC. You’re not going to start out good at everything, or even anything; you have to keep playing. I do realize, however, that console players have it twice as rough with the thumb sticks and general controls. I get the aggravation and the game is hard, very hard, but none of it is impossible, at least not on PC.
What KCD does do right is immersion, and it does it almost perfectly. At the forefront are the graphics with the Crysis engine in full form. Armor shines, water flows, trees sway, just standing still you can feel the world becoming tangible around you. Peasants go on about their daily business amongst soldiers and beggars and the occasional bandit or Cuman enemy will appear at the edge of the forest, daring you to come after them. More than just eye candy, however, is the physics of the world. Dozens of different weapons have a palpable weight and running after an enemy in any variation of full armor sets will make you wish you could shed it on the fly. Horses push across difficult terrain of rolling hills and sharp rocks, then fly across open fields and dirt roads. The woods range from thin scrub to tight thickets, hiding rabbits that lope away when they hear you coming or deer that bolt for the horizon. Between the blowing grass and clanking of plate armor, if I suddenly reached through my screen and were able to touch a tree branch or passing boar, it would come as no surprise to my senses as my brain suspects this is close to real.
The story is fun, following the events of 15th century Bohemia in turmoil as the Hungarian army is trying to take advantage of the recent death of the king. Its course is ridged but it allows you to detour at will to join side quests or level your own skills by fighting, hunting, or general thievery. Every action is beneficial at first as even tracking a deer can improve your agility, vitality, and skills in hunting and bows which, in turn, helps with the general difficulty. Going back to the quest is rewarding with special weapons or armor or the currency to buy such. There’s plenty of reason to stray and plenty of reason to stick to the main path, so it’s easy to get lost going back and forth across the map. Fortunately the story is patient and there are few penalties for taking your time, if any. It’s well acted with gorgeous cut scenes, even if the language is a bit modern at times. One scene in the prologue had Henry crying in the muddy street in the rain with a lost dog sitting by his side. It made my eyes water as the whole scene was just perfect. Like the graphics, the story envelopes you and convinces you this is really happening, and it’s easy to get lost in the urgency of the time.
Beyond the bugs, my biggest issue with the game, is the lack of role-playing in a game released as an RPG. Sure you have stat sliders and can customize your gear, but all that is secondary as you are trapped in the role of a male commoner. The historical events are revealed through the eyes of Henry whose father was a blacksmith and who would otherwise have no place swinging swords and defending the king were it not for the exigent circumstances. It plays well as a setting but, for what’s supposed to be a roleplaying game, you are locked into exactly the role of static Henry. There is no custom background or way to hedge your starting skill set, no reason to start over in another town because you can’t, and no true way to find your own path. The game does a great job of immersion for the role you do play, but the story is Henry’s and Henry’s only. Mount & Blade has different races starting from different cities, Skyrim has different races as well, and both of those are considered “light” for RPGs. So far I haven’t seen anything in the main quest where having a customized protagonist would have damaged the story or gameplay. To date, that is my largest complaint because all the wonderful hand-crafted immersive elements are hindered by an otherwise gorgeous cut scene where my character is some nerdy-looking dude with facial scruff and bad hair. You’re stuffed in a box labeled “Henry” and you have to stay in it. Granted it’s a wonderful, fun, beautiful box, but it’s still somewhat restricting.
It’s not perfect, but it’s brilliant in its own way and, above all, I’m glad to finally see a mainstream game from independent developers focusing on history rather than magic. KCD is a true labor of love, taking Warhorse years to develop, and they have big plans for the game in the future. For now, like the surrounding woods on the map, it’s a great place to get lost.
), just free spar with Bernard for a while (30 min - 1 hour), and it will raise all of your fighting skills (warfare, defense, sword, etc). Once they are high enough, you will become unstoppable, because the game is very RPGish in this respect. They compare your skills against NPC's skills, and if they are high enough, your hits will go through very often.