If you’ve been craving to see the next chapter in the story of Kingdom Come Deliverance’s Henry, your wait is finally over, the sequel is almost ready to go, after a few years spent on being cooked and seasoned.
What can you expect diving into Kingdom Come Deliverance 2? Let’s take a look at we’re going to find, shall we?
You can find on G2A.COM: Kingdom Come: Deliverance Games
Henry returns
Perhaps unsurprisingly, especially given the opening paragraph of the article, KCD2 brings Henry of Skalitz back, once an apprentice to his blacksmith father, now rubbing elbows with the mighty of his time.
KCD2 starts soon after the conclusion of the first game, and has Henry taking part in a plot to liberate the kidnapped rightful king of Bohemia from the hands of his power-hungry half-brother. While lords and politicians craft their plans, you need to escort Sir Hand Capon on a mission crucial to securing alliances and support. What could possibly go wrong? It’s just a 15th century Bohemia in the middle of war!
Studying the blade – smoother swordsmanship
The realistic combat system makes its return alongside Henry, but it received some streamlining and polish so that it’s easier to get into without sacrificing complexity and authenticity. In fact, the combat system became more complex, by the sheer virtue of greater differences between weapon types!
Can openers – blunt weapons rework
In the first game, the practical differences between slashing and blunt weapons were mostly negligible, due to shared animations. Since the sequel gets to go bigger, be bolder, try harder, now you will see and feel the difference between the speed and precision of swords and the bone-crushing impacts of maces or hammers, all with appropriate moves and maneuvers.
Explosive greeting – guns are in the game
There’s also a new weapon type introduced in the sequel: a firearm. Though slow, loud, and probably not hugely accurate, it will be a fantastic way to start a fight with a proper ‘bang’ before going fully melee. It won’t turn KDC2 into a shooter, it’s not Vermintide 2, but you should still give the gun a chance to be your herald of impending doom.
The tale of two maps (and one city)
As the scale of the story increases, so does the sandbox. This time around, you’re getting two maps, each comparable in size to the entire first game’s world.
Rural Escapades
One of them will largely be a countryside based on the region known as the Bohemian Paradise, a gorgeous, open region full of expected and unexpected adventures and challenges.
City adventures
The other map will feature the sequel’s major city and its immediate surrounding area. In KCD2 you’ll spend a good amount of time in a city that was, at the time, Prague’s strong competition to the most important city in Bohemia: Kuttenberg (Kutná Hora). The city was rich thanks to its silver mines and coinage, which translated neatly into economic and cultural prominence.
The reactivity of a historical world
As Kingdom Come Deliverance games pay an incredible amount of attention to their historical authenticity, the world you’re going to explore will look as close to its historical setting as it can get in a video game. Even the events you’re participating in, at least on the grand scale (nobody cares you kicked a chicken), are based on a real conflict which rolled across medieval Bohemia. You’re interacting with historical figures, and they are closer to their real counterparts than they’d be in games such as Civilization or Assassin’s Creed.
Weighty choices – the world will react to what you do
Much like in the previous game, all this scale and complexity isn’t limited to depicting the historical period or showing off the cool mechanics or how pretty the maps are. There is a strong undercurrent of emergent narrative to the game, as your quest might take on unexpected directions based on what you did previously, how much time it took you to achieve certain objectives, or even how cleanly you executed your plans.
Keep yourself alive – survival systems
A part of the immersion is also tied to the fragility of human form, which in KCD2 takes the form of Henry’s need for sleep and food to keep on being vengeful and effective. Preparing food is a large part of the immersive systems, and it even pays attention to the ingredients you’re using, or how much time passed since you’ve made the meal. It’s 15th century, fresh food doesn’t keep very long.
Sleep also has its shares of troubles, since Henry doesn’t evaporate after closing his eyes, not does the time stop, so there’s always the risk of getting attacked, or having an interesting opportunity pass you by. Surely, you can stave off sleep for a little while longer, right?
Release date and platforms
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is scheduled to release on February 4th, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, leaving only Nintendo Switch out as far as hardware is concerned. If you’re keen to play on the go, wait a bit until its compatibility with Steam Deck is tested.
PC requirements
The requirements listed for the Steam version of KCD2 are as follows:
Minimum:
- a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400, AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB), AMD Radeon RX 580
- Storage: 100 GB available space
Recommended:
- a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)
- Processor: Intel Core i7-13700K, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- Memory: 32 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
- Storage: 100 GB available space
Embark on a historical adventure
Now you’re armed with the knowledge you need to make the crucial choice: whether or not you’re going to get in on the fun, joining Henry on his journey through the 15th century Bohemia. If you do, check our guide to the various editions of KCD2, including the little bonus you’d get for pre-ordering, and pick one that’s the best one for you!