Ever since its release on February 4, 2025, the video game industry has had one name on its lips: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The action RPG sequel shipped over one million units in its first day of release and has had everyone talking about how addictive and immersive it is.
Let’s be real here, though: The industry loves the hype machine and its flavor of the week, so it’s best to take every proclamation with a pinch of salt. So, the question needs to be asked here: Is Kingdom Come: Deliverance II a good game? The answer is complicated.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II creates a captivating and engaging virtual reality
In terms of pure immersion, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II‘s first-person perspective transports the player into the medieval world. Despite there being a clearly defined story as your character, Henry, accompanies Sir Hans Capon and his crew on a journey, a player should prepare to lose countless hours to exploration and general life simulation. It’s all too easy to wander the towns, speak to locals, discover new areas, or to take to blacksmithing to craft weapons to sell (that whistling tune still rings in my head). There’s always something to do, and a reason to do it, because Henry needs money to survive – alas, capitalism is still the final boss that no one can defeat.
This addictive quality is reminiscent of Animal Crossing, as you keep coming back to Kingdom Come: Deliverance II to do seemingly insignificant chores and simply be. Warhorse Studios didn’t only make a game here; the developers created an entire living, breathing world that offers a high level of escapism. That said, the game also encourages and rewards you to spend time in it, since these “trivial” conversations and tasks lead to a better overall experience and unleashing Henry’s full potential. Just be warned: Some of the characters, such as Hans, are insufferable know-it-alls and you might be tempted to break bad every few minutes.
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The game needs better tutorials and combat
For those who didn’t play 2018’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance, the sequel provides a steep learning curve. The tutorial system doesn’t hold the player’s hand in the early stages, while the instructions and hints on screen lean on the vague side. For example: In the beginning of the game, Hans tells Henry to put on his gear for a bout of sword training. Now, gaming logic tells you to look for a pile of armor, walk toward it, and press whichever button to put in on. In Kingdom Come: Deliverance, it’s different – the player needs to go into the menu and choose the gear from there. You need to discover this on your own, which can become frustrating when there are no clues or hints in the introductory phase to lead you.
Then, there’s the combat system. For a medieval game, with swords, armies, and trebuchets, one would think Kingdom Come: Deliverance II‘s action would be outstanding and thrilling. Well, it’s not. It’s slow, heavy, methodical, and requires a lot of patience. Truth be told, it is realistic in the sense that no one would be wielding a hefty steel sword like it’s a lightsaber, but it’s still a killjoy in practice. It almost doesn’t make you want to fight, because it’s such a tedious process. In this case, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to stick to realism.
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What’s the final verdict on Kingdom Come: Deliverance II?
There’s a lot to like about Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and how it values creating a virtual reality that people want to revisit over and over again. It’s easy to see how it’s the type of game that becomes a mainstay in a collection and not just a once-off playthrough. For gamers who love RPGs, it’s an experience quite like no other. Yet, for those who might not have too many hours to burn and want something more linear and traditional, it lacks the quick dopamine bursts to keep you interested in it for the long term. Make no mistake about it: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a really good game, but it’s not for everyone.
