Kingdom Come: First Impressions

I kind of wish I hadn’t picked up Kingdom Come: Deliverance in a recent sale. Not because it’s bad, but because I’ve haven’t been able to stop bloody playing it. I’ve clocked 20 hours of play in less than three days. I’m not sure that’s entirely healthy.

I’ve been interested in Kingdom Come since its release, but I was still very wary about purchasing it, even on discount. I’ve seen many people warning of bugs, crashes and save corruptions, even following multiple patches and updates. But I’m pleased to say that – so far, at least – I’ve had no crashes, bugs or issues with any of my saves.

The game looks lovely, with some very nice lighting and weather effects. I’m playing on Very High settings with the HD Texture Pack, and my performance, overall, is pretty solid. It’s only when I’m running or riding through one of the larger towns that I notice any dip in the frame rate.

Kingdom Come is a first person, historical RPG. You play as Henry, the son of a blacksmith, living in Bohemia in 1403. Unlike say, an Elder Scrolls game, you’re not a ‘chosen hero’ or a ‘man of destiny’ – you’re an illiterate peasant who can barely hold a sword. But Henry is such a likeable chap that you really want to help him succeed.

The story of Kingdom Come has been excellent so far, and I’m eager to see where it goes. It knows when to be serious and when to be fun. You have your typical main quests which drive the core story onwards, in addition to a variety of story based side quests and the less elaborate ‘activities’. There’s certainly plenty to see and do.

Kingdom Come, as far as the gameplay mechanics go, is an interesting mix of skill, stats and gear. The combat is skill based, in the sense that you must learn to properly time your attacks, blocks and combos, but your character stats in the form of strength, agility and vitality also play an important factor.

And the quality of your weapons and gear is also important as is your individual skill level with particular weapon types and the associated ‘perks’ you can unlock for every skill. I guess the question is: is the combat any fun?

Well, the system does feel pretty good once you get the hang of it, and 1v1 fights can be very enjoyable. The only times I’ve had problems with the combat is the few occasions I’ve had to fight multiple people, which the system doesn’t seem to be designed for. Trying to switch between two or sometimes three targets in a fight can prove troublesome.

Then again, I suppose that’s the point. It shouldn’t be easy to fight three people at once, not when they can easily surround you. Kingdom Come isn’t just about skill, stats or gear, it’s also about playing smart. You can’t just charge into a bandit camp and expect to win against four or five guys. But what you can do is wait, watch and maybe try to lure one or two of them away. A swift arrow or a stealth kill can even up the odds.

And then, you can charge in, maybe catch the bandits by surprise or when they’re sleeping. A bandit with no weapons and in his underwear isn’t much of a threat and can be cut down with ease. It’s kind of funny watching them abandon their camp and flee for their lives.

Henry really does start at the bottom. You need to train every skill which takes time, patience and practice. You even need to devote time to simply learn how to read. It may be slow, but it’s a pretty satisfying progression, as you really do feel that Henry is becoming stronger and smarter as you play.

I really like the world map. It’s both functional and lovely to look at, which is something a lot of open world developers could learn from. The games uses as auto-save system, but you can also brew or buy a ‘save potion’ which lets you save whenever you like. I’ve seen some criticism of this system, but I can’t say I’ve had any issues with it. It’s very cheap to buy (or free, if you pick them yourself) the ingredients you need, and you can brew enough potions to last you for several hours of play very easily.

Whilst some may dislike the limitation, I can see the intent. It forces you to think very carefully about what you’re doing, or what fight you’re going to get into. It forces to you stick with decisions you’ve made – you can’t just reload your quick save every two minutes. That said, I do think the game could auto-save more frequently, such as when you fast travel.

Overall, I’m having a lot of fun with Kingdom Come and after taking a short break to complete some side quests and explore more of the map, I’m eager to get stuck back into the main story. It’s possible it could all go tits up, of course, and I could encounter bugs or other issues, but so far, so good.