Yes, this game is realistic. And yes, this game is hard. But in a positive way and I loved it! Realism works the way, that you dont have to think about game mechanics, because they work like in real life. And hard gameplay mechanics dont allow you to rush the game. You have to think about what you are going to do. You have to be careful. You cant go in the middle between a group of 5 foes and hope to survive with a "rambo-style" gameplay... because, in reality, you woudnt surive either. And again - you have to play like if this was real. Wonderful!
Before I started playing Deliverance, I waited for all the patches to be out (1.9.2 being the last) as well as all DLCs. And I upgraded my PC and used hardcore mode right from the start.
First thing that caught my eye after I started playing (besides a couple of beautiful intros) was how good the gameplay "feel" was of playing and controlling Henry. I love the fact that Henry isn't some detached levitating camera, but an actual character in the world, so I can see my body when looking down, my shoulders or even a bow when looking behind me, my hands when interacting with the world (such as picking arrows from dead enemies or opening doors). It may sound unimportant, but this stuff is not exactly commonplace - of the 3D first person RPGs I played, I can't think of a single one that had this kind of physicality and presence in the world.
Second immediately noticeable thing is the gorgous graphics. Regardless of it it's hovels, houses, villages, forests, meadows, creeks, rivers...everything is crafted with an eye for detail and accurate sense of reality. Lightning feels amazingly real and texture quality is universally great. I would even dare say that of today's games, only Red Dead Redemption 2 has similarly beautiful world. Often I just had to stop and take in the beauty. In concert with the gameplay mechanics, Deliverance is almost like a time machine into 1403 Bohemia. Characters are portrayed also well (especially clothing); where the presentation stumbles a bit is in faces and their animations - particularly eyes during dialogue could stand some improvement not seem as static.
RPG system. Deliverance takes the best from its competition and mixes it with a dose common sense and simulation.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is, together with Red Dead Redemption 2 and Witcher 3, my favourite game of this generation, and probably of all time. If you have good PC, patience and ability to appreciate something fresh and immersive, you will very likely love it.
If you like history, realistic gameplay, medieval time period, you're going to love this game so much!
Don't skip on this game because of bad reviews. I almost have, but I took a chance and I'm so glad that I did.
-Bugs: At this point, this game is very stable. I'm at 80 hours, haven't finished the game yet, but I can tell you, this game is very stable and very playable. There's some small bugs, but absolutely nothing problematic. Mostly visual bugs, texture-related. Could simply be because of my potato-of-a-pc.
-Combat: Many people din't like the combat system in this game. At first, I did too. It's weird and unusual. But, once you learn the combat, how it works, you're going to love it. It's literally all about practice, with a trainer, just like in real life.
-Music: Just absolutely fantastic and goes so well with the time period. You will want to buy the OST.
-Saves system: Some people don't like the save system. But, they just don't know what they are talking about. You can always "save & quit". Game will save every time you sleep or take a bath, and before and after a mission. Also you can save at any time, but it uses a potion. Witch cost money or can be crafted. So really, there's no problem whatsoever.
-Story and cutscenes: That is probably the best part, to me anyway. It's like watching a movie. It's absolutely fantastic. I, just for that, wants to finish the game. It is so well done. It's better then most movies we have today.
*This one is probably the best open-world, historical, true RPG game I have ever played in the last 25 years. I very much recommend to everyone, especially if you're a medieval-maniac and love history, and want to experience the life of a peasant. This is it!!
**Everything else about the game, you can find on youtube. Besides, review space is limited here. :(
***I wish, that every country in the world, would have game-devs like this guys, witch could make a game about their country and it's history!
-Sorry for my English.
You need sacrifice at leas one hour of playing and exploring how this RPG actually works. However soo you realise, that pursuit of realism makes play-through relaxing. In many way you don't need to think, how this game works as "developers want to". Unfortunately errors in UI scripts or any other bugs, that are still present, are very distracting from this time travel experience.
I would recommend it for anyone, who are tired of fantasy rules and deus ex machina events or immortal heroes. There is game world with believable medieval setting. Do you think that specific NPCs will wait for you on certain places? Think twice how realistic is this assumption. Would you attack on outnumbered camp of bandits? Not good idea during a day... Ah, that's it! Nights could help. But wait, if I want be sneaky, I probably should not wear this chain armour. And so on. That's the game-play idea. And it really works if you accept it.
I always dreamed of a first-person historic RPG with an uncompromisingly recreated historical setting. A game where reality inspires the game systems instead of recycled systems being shoehorned into a new setting. Well, my dream is here and I enjoyed it as much as I hoped.
This game is an Open-World RPG starring a humble blacksmith's son, Henry. It has an interesting story that is designed to give a sort of "medieval life tour". You'll attend executions, serve as man-at-arms for your liege lord, enter a Monastery, help alleviate pestilence, learn to read, and much more.
It also features a lovingly crafted world that is just a pleasure to explore. Instead of auto-generated landscapes, you see the hand of the designers in every corner of the dense forests, pastoral landscapes, humble towns and imposing castles.
It was fun to see the approach the developers took to showcase the diverse aspects of medieval life, the ways the weaved real history into a plausible plot, the winks and jokes at the expense of our foreknowledge, and so on. The developers evidently were making their dream game, and it shows in a myriad of subtle ways.
For me, the only true fault of the game was in the scripting bugs that affected some of its quests. Fortunately, as of the Royal Edition most of them have been fixed.
Of course, there is room for improvement (e.g. in quest reactivity), but what the developers pulled off with their limited resources is nothing short of impressive.
Some notes:
- I found the controversial combat system quite excellent. Few games reproduce the physicality of combat as this one, as well as organically integrating it's many intricacies. Its faults are more a matter of implementation that wrong fundamentals.
- I loved the ending, but many didn't appreciate it because it's inconclusive.
- If you are an old-school player, do yourself a favor and play in Hardcore Mode. It sounds like an exercise in frustration, but you gain a lot in immersion and joy of exploration.
