I had my brother Ben review a game I probably would never play myself, but it’s nice to have variety every now and then.  So please check out his review of this duology of games!  –Cary

Kingdom Come Deliverance is duology of games with the latest one releasing early this year. The gameplay is downright unfair and difficult to begin with. You start at nothing, and you slowly build up skills over time. Many guides suggest leveling up your stats in an extremely boring or monotonous way for the first couple of hours in the first game. And they are right, for the first game it is necessary to do this. At one point you must pick a lock to escape a castle. This is non-negotiable goal and lock picks are not abundant resources. Also, the lockpicking mini-game is difficult and confusing. I’d recommend following a guide for the first few hours so you don’t soft-lock your game if you start with the first game. This is not replicated in the second game, which seems to be balanced a lot better at the beginning. Once you’ve finished the guide and the intro to the game, the game really starts to open up. Combat is some of the most challenging I’ve ever experienced. Death is nearly guaranteed if there is more than one combatant to begin with. Saving is also challenging in this game, requiring an alcoholic beverage called savior schnapps to implement it. This means the game can be frustrating and cause you to lose time by accident when you encounter something that’s too challenging to win. If you can stick through the ramped up difficulty, the game is extremely rewarding. Things get easier over the course of the game as your skills build up. This makes the seemingly too difficult gameplay seem worth the effort once your skills build up enough to do things you could not do before. There are tons of things to do in this game from robbery, dice, tournaments, sword-fighting, pickpocketing, lockpicking, several different kinds of persuasion, tons of side quests, and a fulfilling and rewarding main quest. All of that goodness is locked behind some difficult first few hours.

In summary: The game is difficult but rewarding and nowhere near impossible. 

Story

Warning: Light Spoilers

The story is very well written. The characters are incredibly flawed people from the Middle Ages, many of whom, are historical figures who come what is now the Czech Republic, or Bohemia. You play as Henry, son of a blacksmith, and you are explicitly a Christian. And so is everyone in this game. Save for two characters in the second game. The voice acting and motion capturing is some of the best I’ve ever seen in the second game, and is great as well in the first.

Henry is called to action and sets off on a medieval vengeance quest… and meets several interesting characters along the way. The important person from the first game is Hans Capon, a snobby-yet-lovable noble who is sort of a rival to him.

Henry falls into shenanigans reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto or any open world game. There are also several varied side quests and more romance options than I feel is responsible for any game to have. All of which can be pursued without conflict from the other romance options.

The action in the game also crescendos in both games near the end, resulting in some of the most heart wrenching and compelling stories I’ve seen in any medium.

There are some caveats to this though, first, the characters pay lip service to Christianity but then behave however they want too elsewhere. I suppose this is an accurate portrayal of humanity, but not one character even hesitated a little bit to break their own moral code or interpret Christianity incorrectly to suit their own needs. I would think that behaving that way would cause some hesitation with our main protagonists, but sadly it does not. And the sins committed are never really reflected on in a meaningful way.

Outside of that, everything was very enjoyable, and this duology has become one of my favorite games that I’ve ever played. Can’t wait for the 3rd game.

Kid Factor:

These games are rated M for Mature with ESRB descriptors of Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, and Use of Alcohol.  Don’t even play it with a kid in the same room. The behavior of the characters can take adult themed sudden turns at basically any moment with nearly full nudity involved. There is also abundant violence and strong language. Too many instances too count for both. The violence isn’t gory per say… but sometimes bodies are dismembered or maimed in a way that is disturbing. However, there is lots of blood during combat. The story themes are intense as well… certain plot points can be distressing. Brothels exist in this game as well. The game also has strong religious theming as most of the characters save for one profess Christianity. The mismatch between their behavior and their faith is noticeable and cognitively dissonant. This game is based on real historical figures, but the behavior is modern and secular when it comes to relationships. In summary, do not let your kids play these games. They are as bad or worse than Grand Theft Auto with poor interpretations of Christian values thrown in.  –Ben Woodham

Tags: Reader Reviews!