As far as first-time sequels go,Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2is right up there with the best of them. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel or make controversial, short-sighted changes like implementing live-service features; rather, it takes what works inthe firstKingdom Come: Deliveranceand elevates it, fleshing it out in ways that are beneficial, unexpected, or both.
A particular aspect ofKingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s sequel status that deserves praise is how it ushers in new players. Sequels to story-focused games have a difficult line to walk: they often aim to be both satisfying for returning players and welcoming for first-timers who don’t want to jump into the previous game beforehand. As one might expect, this balance can be hard to strike, and attempts to do so can often come at the cost of compromising the experience for one or both demographics. The best sequels, therefore, manage to make their stories accessible to new players, but elevated for returning ones, who may better understand the emotional or narrative context of certain plot elements.KCD2does this, but it goes a step further, offering a strong blueprint for other story-driven RPGs moving forward.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Strikes a Perfect Middle-Ground with Its Exposition
The Player Steers Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Exposition
In the early hours ofKCD2, the player will spend quite a bit of time talking with NPCs, who will often ask Henry personal questions about his past. For instance, after the introductory setpiece, Henry and Hans will spend time with Pavlena and Bozhena, a daughter and mother who have taken them in. To make conversation, Hans will prompt Henry to tell stories about the two times he saved his life. Players can then either choose to tell an abridged version of these events, which occurred in the first game, or go into more detail, with the game offering several opportunities to abandon the longer version at key points.
Another example of this can be seen even earlier, when Henry is asked about Theresa, the primary love interest of the firstKingdom Come. This interaction goes a bit deeper though, as players can effectively define the current relationship status of Henry and Theresa, albeit somewhat loosely. Now, other games, likeMass Effect 2andThe Witcher 3, have offered dialog-integrated exposition dumps like these, allowing players to shape the game world through NPC interactions, butKingdom Come: Deliverance 2goes a bit further thanks to its frivolity: it gives players insight into smaller, less plot-relevant details of the first game, which goes a long way toward making the story more emotionally impactful and believable.
It should be noted that these example exchanges rely onKCD2’s strong writing. They wouldn’t work nearly as well if the dialog didn’t come across as naturally as it does.
How Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Exposition Synergizes with Its Player-Driven Narrative
Aside from the obvious benefits of immersion and respecting returning players' time, being able to decide how much of Henry’s backstory to learn helpsKingdom Come: Deliverance 2better balance its main storyand open-ended role-playing experience. Of course, the game will never be as “choose your own adventure” as something likeSkyrim, since Henry is a predefined character, but if players want to forge their own path in this sequel, they have some level of control over how much narrative baggage they want to carry from the first game.
Story-driven games, especially RPGs, have a tendency to hold players' hands a bit too much, repeating information ad nauseam or erasing ambiguity altogether. On the other side of the spectrum, the narratives of games likeThe Witcher 3can sometimes be intimidating for newcomers, as there aren’t enough opportunities to dig into smaller aspects of previous entries.Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2is in the middle of these two extremes, perfectly positioned at the intersection of informative and flexible.
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.
