Game Over: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Mike finished a game

- Mike Crewe

For almost three months, I’ve been making my way through Warhorse Studios’ one and only title to date, Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Initially released back in 2018, it’s taken me almost five years to play this mediaeval action role-playing game, and I wish I’d given it a go much, much sooner.

I knew very little about it beforehand, apart from it being open world and having challenging combat mechanics that seemed to divide players. Whilst initially I foundmyself trying to sweet talk my way out of fights using my high charisma level, I came to love the fluid and precise nature of battles after spending many hours training to improve my weapon skills.

The story isn’t the typical “hero saves the day” type of narrative you usually find in videogames, and is instead very much grounded in realism. Playing as Henry, an ordinary blacksmith’s apprentice who narrowly escapes death during the sacking of his hometown, Skalitz, you’ll do what you can to survive and live out a life that you can shape as you see fit. I quickly decided that my Henry wasn’t averse to breaking into people's homes in the dead of night to unburden them of their gold; with many a day spent inside a prison cell until my sneaking skill levelled up significantly.