Kingdom Come: Deliverance

This game is not perfect, but I had more fun with it than any other RPG I have played in a long time, and, as I get older, I have more appreciation for historical contexts and realism. Aside from there not being any magic (herbal remedies and bandages are a little "gamey," but the injuries you can get would be game breaking without them), combat is based on your real-time reactions. If an enemy swings at your left shoulder, you need to move your blade (mouse) to your left shoulder to parry. Attacking when there is an opening is the same. The story is great, almost believable, and well told. You are not some foretold beast come to fulfill a prophecy. You are the son of a blacksmith, and the son of a blacksmith you remain (though you get caught up in some military and political intrigue). There are bugs. Lots of bugs. I am not a big immersion fan and play on the lowest (fastest) quality settings, but sometimes you get happy that you are about to ambush a small group of peasants and shoot one in the face, only to have him and his friends render plate mail and fine weapons when they get closer (arrows to the head are a one-shot kill without a helmet on). Some minor quests are broken and cannot be finished, but they do not effect much; I am not a competionist, but if you are... sorry. Overall, I got this game on sale and it was worth every penny. I don't love everything about it, but it is truly well made.

seriously, I love everything about this game aside from the fact I thought it was too short, I'll save the spoilers but I feel like I didn't get closure upon completing the main story line. Those who've beaten the game know what I'm talking about, there should have been more battles more war against the cumans and a chance at serious redemption and a chance to maybe retrieve a certain something. But I guess you can't always get your storybook ending, much love to the developers for putting out such a gem, would like to see some quality DLC put out in the near future or maybe even a sequel, the DLC currently out is way too short and only worth getting on a sale deal for true KCD diehards.

Having played around 150h of the main game (no DLCs), I can say it was an enjoyable experience. I didn't get it immediately at the release, so didn't experience many bugs, there were quite rare to be honest. The graphics, sounds and acting are are top class. The really dark nights when there is no moonlight really add to the atmosphere and actually force you to use light sources and nighthawk potions unlike some other games. You can actually hear the difference in the choice of clothing/armour you're wearing and they affect your visibility, which made my stealthy play really immersive. The quests at the very beginning add to the immersion as they reflect your novice status and your lack of skills. Thus, you do a lot of grinding collect herbs, hunt rabbits, etc. which help you develop your skills before taking the main quests. At the moment, I'm near the end of the main quest line having completed most of the side quests and maxed out the character level. However, at this stage I do find the game doesn't match your character progression as you get plenty of grinding style quests which kind of water down the build up towards the finale. You're given tedious tasks worthy of a novice not a multiple tourney champion who has dealt with numerous bandits and uncovered the whole conspiracy. However, my main gripe with the game is the stupid fast travel and wait/sleep mechanic the first of which is not fast at all and makes you watch a figure move on a map for a minute or so, while the second inexplicably slows down to snail's pace in the last hour - so if you have to wait for 1-3 hours, might as well do something as the wait mechanic will make you wait just as long for the time to pass. All in all the game is very good, but it requires you to commit a lot of time to grind quests, spend hours looking at sleep timer or travel map, which is not actually playing or enjoying the game, but just wasted time.

First time playing this in 2022. This is a very good first-person RPG set in medieval Europe. If you are a fan of the Elder Scrolls or Witcher games you'll likely enjoy it as it has many similarities. The graphics and environments are beautiful. The music is good and never sounds annoying or repetitive. As for mechanics, it demands you pay attention to learn them, especially basic combat. It is not for casuals or movie-game enjoyers. Now, my criticisms as there's plenty of other reviews that talk about the good. The big problem is the combat is seriously flawed in two ways. Not too long into the game, you are taught how to use a sword and then how to counter a foe's attacks. When you have this ability, you can essentially 1v1 anyone in the game by timing your blocks at the right moment. There is no obligation to make the first move yourself, just wait until the opponent attacks and counter them repeatedly until they're dead. Besides, even peasants with wooden handaxes will block nearly all of your own attacks despite your character level anyway. The weapon combos are practically impossible to pull off and ultimately pointless anyway. The other way in which combat is flawed is when fighting multiple opponents. There's no way around it: it simply sucks. The targetting system fails to handle it and in these situations you'll be battling the targetting system, by spamming the change target button, as much as the enemies attacking you. Enemies do not care about your zone of control or putting themselves in the range your weapon, they will literally walk into and through your character while battling you as if you're not there. It should be hard to win against multiple opponents - and it is - but it is simply flawed and unfun when the mechanics of the game don't function well and you are frequently put in battles where it's you vs 3 or more bandits. But give it a go if you like RPGs and medieval history.

This has got to be one of the best - if not the best RPGs ever made, a game that really does justice to the actual ROLE PLAYING. Looking at the trash that actually "won" GOTY 2018... God of War, figures... Kingdom Come Deliverance is not for everybody, it definitely is NOT a mainstream game. There is no character creation, you play as Henry, a peasant, a nobody, who can't swing a sword, who can't shoot a bow, who can't pick a lock. Yet. Even once mastered, Henry still will never be a powerhouse taking out an entire bandit camp like in Skyrim. KCD is as much an RPG as it is a medieval simulation. It's loosely based on real life history, therefore there are no dragons or other fantasy creatures. The game is hard. You will die A LOT. You can only save the game when you have a special item ("savior schnaps") or leave the game (bookmarked, gets deleted when you resume). It can get frustrating, as savior schnaps is expensive and hard to come by. While character models look dated, the landscape looks great for 2018. Voice acting is really great as well. The first person view allows for max. immersion and there are many ways to actually solve the many quests. The fantastic art style, beautiful open world even puts the Witcher 3 to shame. The combat is an acquired taste. It's more realistic than just hitting the left mouse button. It takes time and practice and retrying. It's also great to have a game that doesn't copy Dark Souls and has you rolling around the floor like a hog - in full armor.