I’ve played more than 200 hundred hours of Kingdom Come: Deliverance since its release in 2018. I was there for the buggy release, the frustrating lockpicking, and all the updates that brought this title to its current status as a hardcore cult classic.
Warhorse Studios has confirmed that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will be released later this year for PC, Xbox Series S and X, and Sony PlayStation 5.
Can Warhorse successfully lower the barrier to entry and capture a mainstream audience?
Or should we expect another ultra-challenging chivalric romance in the medieval Kingdom of Bohemia?
Let’s check it out.
Where will Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Take Place?
Source: Warhorse Studios
For many players, the Bohemian countryside was the star of KCD. It offered a chance to get lost in beautifully realised forests packed with game to hunt, bandits to defeat, and secrets to reveal.
We know that KCD 2 is roughly twice the size of the original, split over two maps. The first is the Bohemian Paradise region, a rural environment similar to the first game, with Trotsky Castle at its centre.
The second map is Kuttenberg and its surrounding area. Kuttenberg was a silver mining city that competed with Prague for cultural, economic, and political influence in its day. The city will feature thousands of NPCs with unique routines, attitudes, and professions.
What’s the combat Like in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2?
Source: Warhorse Studios
Kingdom Come: Deliverance was like a gaming version of some auteur indie film—janky and impenetrable at times but ultimately rewarding.
One of the main barriers to entry was KCD’s combat. Based on historical fencing treatises and contemporary HEMA practices, Kingdom Come’s fighting system was an acquired taste.
It favoured defensive techniques, counterstriking, parrying, and combos. (Like many other players, I completed the game using minimal combo moves.)
This time, Warhorse aims for more accessible combat, with valid options for fighting aggressively.
In practice, this amounts to lowering the combat skill floor while keeping the skill ceiling high.
The idea is to make it easier to be effective in combat while maintaining the challenge in high-level manoeuvres like combos and perfect strikes.
One significant change is the inclusion of more ranged weapons. In addition to bows, you can now use crossbows and rudimentary “hand cannon-style” firearms. (These are featured in the reveal trailer.)
Loading Screens in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Some players complained about the original KCD’s long, frequent loading screens. Depending on your hardware, these pauses could interrupt the game's flow and hurt its dramatic tension.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will feature only two loading screens: one when you start the game and another when you change maps. Castles, towns, cottages, and taverns are all instantly accessible without loading.
Will Henry be in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2?
Source: Warhorse Studios
Yes! Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 continues the story of Henry, a blacksmith’s son thrust into exceptional circumstances.
Henry’s voice actor, Tom Mc Kay, recently confirmed he’d recorded over 508 hours of dialogue in 127 studio sessions. (The first game featured about 350 hours of dialogue from Henry.)
The original game made you feel like an unskilled peasant at the start. It may have gone too far with this. Some players mistook the deliberate early hobbling to mean they were terrible at the game.
If you stuck with Henry’s story, things got easier: horse riding, fighting, archery—even drinking.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 picks up where the original left off. This continuity means Henry won’t be entirely incompetent like in the first game. However, new locations like the big city should bring some unique challenges.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Release Date
Warhorse is ‘targeting a 2024 release. ' While not definitive, it’s likely we’ll see this one in the latter half of the year.
According to its developers, the game is currently playable (particularly on PC). It’s reasonable to expect the game in Q3 or Q4 of this year, with the later time frame more likely.
Interestingly, the developers have confirmed that all the dialogue is recorded and copies of the game have been sent to Sony and Microsoft for testing.
For more insights from the development team, check out this interview with Warhorse Studios PR manager:
