Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2is at its best when it’s setting its characters loose. Just like its predecessor,Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2has a great sense of humor, and, coupled with strong voice acting and a nuanced script, the game manages to present one of the most lovable casts in recent gaming memory. Nowhere is this narrative angle more apparent than in the dynamic between Henry and Hans, who are a breath of fresh air in today’s overly sanitized games market.
Minor spoilers ahead forKingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Hans Capon, based upon the real-world historical figure of the same name, was first introduced in 2018’sKingdom Come: Deliverance. He is a rather stereotypically snobbish, elitist nobleman in many ways, but his personality is streaked with heroic traits as well, making him one of Henry’s most valuable allies. The pair’s bond grows over the course of the first game, and by the timeKingdom Come: Deliverance 2begins, their friendship is easy to believe, which isn’t something that can be said about relationships in many other modern games. Warhorse Studios manages this engaging, plausible relationship through a number of means, not the least of which being a willingness to show its uglier side.
Henry and Hans Help Make Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Deeper and More Relatable
Many Video Game Relationships Come Across as Infantile and Toothless
There’s a prominent narrative, mainly expounded on social media, that contemporary, AAA games are poorly written. Now, this sentiment is often expressed a bit too liberally and generally, as there are several examples of incredibleAAA stories like those ofRed Dead Redemption 2,The Last of Us, and the newGod of Wargames. But there’s some truth to such criticisms, as one modern storytelling trend happens to kneecap tension and intrigue: overly sanitized and safe character writing.
Games likeDragon Age: The VeilguardandMarvel’s Spider-Manare perhaps the greatest offenders here: their characters are far too nice to one another, to a point where they cease to be believable. It can be hard to feel invested in an in-game relationship if its biggest hurdle is, say, a mild discomfort with necromancy in a high fantasy setting.In the case ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, characters are meant to have serious conflicts, but these arguments don’t go very far, and they are also undermined by the idea that the aggressive party is “possessed” by the Symbiote. Similar narrative dynamics can be seen in games likeHorizon Zero Dawn,Starfield, andHogwarts Legacy, where it feels like the kid gloves are on even when the games themselves purport to be more mature and complex.
Conflicts Between Henry and Hans are Believably Ugly
Early on inKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Henry and Hans are pilloried for getting into a tavern brawl. This is just the most recent in a series of setbacks that the pair have suffered at this point in the game, and it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Locked up, they engage in a fairly nasty argument, making outright cruel comments with the express intent of hurting each other. They even part ways temporarily, properly enraged.
Put plainly, these sorts of interactions just aren’t often seen in the AAA games space. Most people can relate to being hurt or hurting a loved one—it’s an unfortunate inevitability of life. But it can sometimes feel like modern, commercialized stories are hesitant to present their characters in an unfavorable light, like how Hans is aggressively elitist and rude to Henry in the aforementioned pillory scene. Butthe magic ofKingdom Come: Deliverance 2is that Hans is actually a far more interesting character because of these shortcomings, as his comments have real venom to them. By not being afraid to show the meaner, uglier side of human relationships,Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2manages to paint an appropriately believable, harder-hitting picture of friendship.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
WHERE TO PLAY
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an exhilarating Action RPG, set amidst the chaos of a civil war in 15th Century Bohemia.You are Henry of Skalitz – an ordinary man doing extraordinary things – caught in a gripping tale of revenge, betrayal, and discovery as he embarks on an epic journey, ‘from a humble blacksmith’s forge to the court of Kings’, searching for purpose in this beautiful but brutal medieval world.From bustling city streets to lush forests, explore this open-world Medieval Europe through an unforgettable adventure filled with action, thrills, and wonder.
