Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an open-world action RPG from Warhorse Studios that continues the story of Henry of Skalitz in a historically faithful reconstruction of early 15th-century Bohemia. The game expands the world of the first installment with new regions, more elaborate melee combat, deeper RPG skill systems and a broader network of side quests that react to the player's decisions and reputation among the inhabitants of individual villages and towns. Henry, meanwhile, continues to move on from being an inexperienced young man toward a hardened fighter caught up in political intrigue amid the Hussite unrest.

Warhorse Studios once again emphasizes historical authenticity - period clothing, architecture, crafts and combat methods are drawn from historical sources, which sets the game apart from most fantasy medieval RPGs and gives it an almost documentary approach to history. Technically, on PC the game offers significantly improved graphics, a denser and livelier world with NPCs who have their own daily rhythm and react to the player's clothing and cleanliness, and a more elaborate combat system using directional strikes, blocking and combinations of melee and ranged weapons. The music draws on a similarly historicizing aesthetic as the first game and rounds out the atmosphere of the early Renaissance amid wartime events, between burned-out villages and bustling marketplaces. Like the first game, it builds on crafts, alchemy, cooking and other side activities that give the world the feeling of a truly lived-in medieval countryside, not just a backdrop for combat.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II built on the good reputation of the first installment and expanded its fan base thanks to an improved, more accessible yet still demanding system of play that retains a realistic approach to combat and survival. The game ranks among the most significant Czech game projects and is considered one of the most ambitious returns to a realistic historical RPG on PC, one that managed to further expand the scope and craftsmanship of the first game.

Why play it: For fans of realistic historical RPGs, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II represents one of the most ambitious Czech game projects, one that further expanded the scope and craftsmanship of the first installment.