Unique game worth playing, despite the bugs
I must confess that I had just finished another playthrough of The Witcher 3 before jumping in to Kingdom Come: Deliverance and although the latter bears the hallmarks of an open-world RPG on the surface, ten minutes with this very special game reassured me of its patent uniqueness.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance eschews many of the conventions that have defined the perenially-popular genre. There is no spells, no magic blades and no evil bogeyman prophecy that will plunge the world into a millenium of darkness. Instead, we are treated with a delightful fantasy tale centered around life in the Late Middle Ages.
To be fair, fantasy is probably too misleading a word to attribute to this game, as the developers seem to have dedicated a great deal of their attention towards simulating life in Medieval Bohemia.
Kingdom Come: Deliverances survival mechanics are particularly notable, requiring you to constantly monitor everything from fatigue and hunger to your cleanliness and hygiene.
Nobles, for example, might be less than inclined to hold audience with you if your attire is worn and dirty from your travels. Similarly, potential foes will be less likely to cause trouble if you turn up in bloodstained regalia.
Frequent visits to bathhouses and laundries are a cornerstone of Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
While all of this sounds terrific, what cannot be glossed over is the sheer amount of bugs and lack of technical polish that exists in this game.
Game-breaking glitches are frequent, often requiring you to backtrack through hours worth of saves in order to change minor details and unlock progression in quests. The game world itself is littered with even more bugs, particularly related to clipping and having your character inexplicably stuck in stairwells.
Without a doubt, the two best facets of this game are its story and combat. The story is a gritty and often brutal tale of betrayal and political intrigue, whilst the combat is a sheer blast and certainly the best swordplay I’ve ever encountered in an openworld RPG.
If the developers can iron out the huge array of bugs through updates in the coming months, Kingdom Come: Deliverance could be elevated to classic status. If this game is to be a stepping stone for an ongoing series, we should be very excited for the direction it could go.