Kingdom Come: Deliverance

I really didn't expect to be so addicted to this game. The first time I saw this game and the gameplay, I thought to give it a pass. Years later, looking at it again, I said to myself why not? Just try it. I must say, it is not an easy game, but very satisfying once you learn the mechanics and tricks to survive. You will need to put in time to improve Henry's skills. He is a blacksmith's boy after all. Highly recommended. Give it a try!

Finally a game that succeeds in giving the player that same feeling you'd get out of the first 2 (and only) Gothic games. Just finished the main story for the first time in Normal Difficulty. I am extremely pleased with this game, it's a masterpiece for what it is! You start off as Henry, who is basically an average village idiot, much like you and me. You're not a chosen one, the balance of the world does not hang on your shoulders, you're just a dude trying to get through life in medieval Bohemia. There is a strong bias to becoming a soldier and learning to wield a weapon well is one of the things that pay off the most in the long run, however I opted for a mostly stealth style playthrough, which is also extremely rewarding. So after one of the best tutorial sections I've met in a game, you're free to roam the land and do as you please. If you want, you can become good at everything! There is nothing (other than time) stopping you from becoming a master swordsman, thief, herbalist and well-read at the same time! All in a very realistic medieval setting. Multiple quests, interesting and well-written characters, beautiful scenery and a world that feels alive and does not seem to really care about whether you're there or not. The way you look and dress plays a role in how people interact with you (though maybe not to the extend that I'd like). The mechanics of the game are very well thought-out. Combat is pretty cool, though I'm not too much of a combat guy. The developers did go an extra step with realistic moves and combos and in general they made a combat system that's never boring. It doesn't matter if you've maxed out sword and strength, if you're not careful, few countryside bandits might make short work of you. From what I've heard, on release the bugs were game-breaking. Currently I found no such bugs. There would be a glitchy NPC here and there, but nothing that would ruin my experience. All in all, if you like medieval sets, this game is a MUST.

Ever play a game that, despite what technical problems may exist, feels like a game that will be talked about years from now? This is one such game. Thanks to a superb set of patches from the developer, this has become an excellent open-world adventure game. The story and setting mesh quite well together; this is 15th century Europe so: - Women have little say in the affairs of state but control the home with an iron fist; - The clergy has as much power over the people as their leige lords do; - Speaking of, feudalism is still in swing (so commoners can't excel too highly in the world unless their lords are exceptionally weak or far-sighted); -The world is steeped in Catholism (Jan Hus is just making his complaints in Prague during the events of the game); Martin Luther and the Reformation are almost two centuries away! You are Henry, a blacksmith's son. Your father is making a sword for the lord of your town, Skalitz. (This means that you can almost taste the priveleges of nobility but never grasp it.) Just as the sword has been finished the town comes under attack from - supposedly - the Hungarians. The sword, the attack, your lord - all will weave their way into a story involving love, revenge, faith and honest work. This game demands role-playing. Want to be a thief? Start sneaking in the woods, backstabbing enemies and pickpocketing from nobility and commoner alike. Want to follow in your father's footsteps? Hit the grindstone and fix those weapons you pilfered off of that brigand's miserable body before you sell them to make enough money to rent a room at the inn. Only through training and constant missteps will you gain levels in skills and become proficient. (The first hunt you partake in will demonstate that in painful detail.) Historically accurate, beautifully realized and a story that is both wide-reaching and personal I cannot recommend this game enough. Say a short prayer to the Lord and be thankful of the bounty you are about to recieve.

Took me many years to conclude on this game. It's a hard game to really evaluate. On one hand this is the world's finest first person medieval simulator. On the other hand it's not really much better than any other fantasy game with swords. But I keep coming back to it, and I keep thinking about it. And no matter how many issues I have with it, how many times it aggrevates me and infuriates me, I do think it's a fine game. It has issues, but you can get many hours of fun out of this and in the end the stuff that's good is damn good. No other game has made that excited to hunt, or required me to actually manually cook up a potion, or encouraged me to mind how often I bathe, or made me wonder if this jacket makes me look posh enough. If you end up playing this game you will inevitably be frustrated, but you'll enjoy yourself. Even beyond the literal interpretation; there's really nothing quite like this game. It's plain good.

This game is crazily immersive. I've in no other game spent days literally just wandering around in the forests with my dog, doing nothing important except maybe hunt a little bit. Or standing around around and figuring out the optimized steps for each potion recipe. Character's skill progress from "absolute noob" to "quite good at this skill, indeed" is excellently done. Ending is a bit of the sort "I think they may have run out of funds to complete this story", but it is a highly enjoyable game and story anyway. I definitely recommend this game.