Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Remember Oblivion? Not the gameplay, not the plot, but the feeling you had when you first got out of the sewer. This is the first real rpg in a long time who reminds me of this.

This game is a gem once you get past through the rough and slow beginning. I bought the game 5-6 years ago but only played for 2 hours and was turned off because the combat was especially rough. I kept this game in the shelf since then. Last played April 2020..
Since KCD2 was released recently, I decided to give this game another go, in the hopes of rushing the Main Quest. But guess what? I've been taking my sweet ass time doing side quests and shit. The world is immersive, the storyline is interesting, the voice acting is amazing, gameplay is fun. Once you actually level up your skills(combat mainly for me) in this game, it's actually more fun. I used to get my ass kicked, now I'm the one kicking bandits' ass whether 1v1 or 1v5's, etc.
This game reminded me of my love for RPGs when Oblivion and Skyrim were released many years ago.
Give this game a chance. I would recommend this game before getting into KCD2. This game aged pretty well.

I grew up in a very small village in north of Iran in Middle East and I was very far away from this side of the history.
Never had the chance to read or watch anything related to this chapter of history because I wasn't simply aware of it.
since then ( being Adult now) I have read and watched and played so many Medieval stuff BUT none of them came even close to this game and how it made me feel medieval times.
Now I speak 3 languages with thousands of years of rich history behind them (Persian, German, English) AND yet I can't find the right words to explain the feelings i felt while playing this game.
You can truly experience a medieval life as it was back in those days of history while playing this game.
The amount of details they put in the game is insane.
Warhorse did such a fantastic job with this game and I can't wait to play the second one.

One of the best RPGs I've ever played. Good story, lots of freedom, beautiful world and the feeling of progression is simply amazing. You start as a simple peasant and after a while you will be a trained and fully armored knight or you can become a thief and murderer, which is also fun :)

Played this instead as my PC isn't good enough to handle KCD:2 and found myself going through a whirlwind of emotions.
First of all, I wholeheartedly recommend this product. You will hate it for the first 2-3 days. It does a lot of things that modern day games have done away with. It forces you to stare at the fast travel indicator, which moves at the speed of a slug. It forces you into gritty, hard-hitting, claustrophobic combat, which makes you feel like throwing your controller. Save files feel few and far between, so on the rare chance you do die from falling off a cliff, or die to a surprise late-game ambush, you will be set back at least 1 hour in your progress... yet despite all of this, the game is EXCELLENT.
The combat is as simple as this: if enemy has higher stats than you, you die.
This means that if you go into combat with a bandit in full black armor, he will likely parry everything you throw at him, forever. So just don't try it. Even if you try to stealth kill him, he'll throw you off and laugh at you. This is because you are a PEASANT with 5 strength, and he is a MERCENARY with 15 strength. This is DnD style role-play, and the developers did it on purpose.
But once you DO get used to the combat, and as long as you're playing with mouse and keyboard, it is possible to joust with 2-3 bandits at once. Provided THEY ARE THE SAME LEVEL AS YOU. It took me about a week of playing (I tried on console first) to actually get used to the fighting mechanics, but eventually you get to the point where you can reliably duel a small group of bandits with mixed tactics. And you don't need heavy armor to do it, ether. I usually wear a stealth set. Which leads me to say...
Stealth and thieving feel INCREDIBLE. This is what I wanted from an Oblivion-like stealth/thieving experience. I've hoarded over 5,000 gold in the early game so far just by looting Rattay and the neighboring small towns. And due to the limited save-file system, it always feels tense. Sometimes, you won't even have to load a save if you do get caught because if you have the sense to get up, spin around, and run away from people before they manage to I.D. you, that WORKS. You won't get a bounty and they won't even fine you for trespassing!
Likewise, I cleared two bandit camps today using purely Robin Hood tactics. And holy sheet, does it feel awesome! Fire off a piercing arrow, bleed the bandit leader to death, then take out his goons that come running via kiting/picking them off one by one. And don't get me started on going into camps at night whilst they're all sleeping. That feels incredible too!
So, long story short. The game has a few things that can be annoying (looking at you foliage and rain that tanks my FPS). Enemy dogs suck during the mid-game due to their hit-box, but this is fixed by having a dog of your own. (I highly recommend getting the Woman's Lot DLC purely for the dog, as it really does help lessen the dread of the experience somewhat. The dog is OP if handled correctly.)
The last thing I will say is, the main story is tedious. This is the game's worst sin/only 'real' negative. Everything else is alleviated with time, but the story isn't.
All of the quests are detective-style fetch quests with no actual combat. This makes no sense, because you spend days learning how to fight with Captain Bernard. You get some middling armor. Then you think, ''right, I must be ready for the main quests now, let's go;'' but then... you find yourself waddling around in the woods, talking to people and asking ''SO WHeRe DId ThoSe BanDIts gO?''
You are a medieval messenger. The main quests don't treat you like a knight, or a squire. You're an errand boy--and only three of them have combat sequences involved. It's... kind of annoying? And kind of confusing. The developers couldn't think up a better quest line than this? Like, I don't know:
The bandits competing in a grand tournament under disguises and Henry has to win the tournament in order to get back Ser Radrik' sword by beating the bandits one by one in a series of listings, whilst doing this other detective shit along the way(?)
Just--you know, something that ACTUALLY used the game's combat system? Instead, the game just makes you waddle around like a numbskull for 6 hours chasing threads. It's really boring/senseless. I feel like their writer crapped out here and I don't know what else to say. The story feels like it has nothing to do with the rest of the game.
Last thing--I wish there were more 1v1/2v2 combat situations. There is an itch this game has that bugs you, and I finally identified what it was the other night. You are constantly craving a good scrap. But you will start to understand after ten-twenty hours of playing that you are either always outnumbered, or cannot find anyone to fight at all. There is no in-between, and it's a bit of a shame. In other words, Henry is always 1v5'ing everyone. You will very rarely-- except through rare fast travel coincidences--have a nice, tight duel, which is where the game completely and utterly excels....

Kingdom Come Deliverance | ★★★★☆
I tried this game in 2021 and dropped it after around 10 hours due to its unusual mechanics. My playstyle involves immediately diving into side quests and wandering aimlessly, but the game had different plans and wouldn't let me Skyrim'd it.
Fast forward three years later, and the trailer for Kingdom Come II caught my eye. With a newfound patience with games, I decided to give it another try. And oh boy, it did not disappoint. Throughout my 70-hour journey, this has been one of the most immersive experiences I've ever had, rivaling even RDR2
For those who may find the game’s mechanics daunting due to their realism, here are three tips that could enhance your experience base on mine:
If you want to explore Bohemia's beautiful landscape as soon as possible, I suggest advancing the story until you acquire your own horse. (Don't just walk around accepting side quests w/o it lol)
Regarding combat, don’t be fooled by the basic tutorial at the beginning. There’s a more comprehensive tutorial about a quarter into the main quest that really makes swordfighting click and feel seamless.
The game features several hidden inventory menu tabs that are easy to miss. I recommend familiarizing yourself with these before setting off on your adventures.
The limited save system also made me take the game more seriously. Despite a few quirks and some frustrating AI behavior, this might be the most realistic game I've played. Respect the game design, and you will reciprocate a lot more enjoyment as you go along. It will transports you back to a past you won't forget.
It makes me more incredibly excited for the sequel, especially knowing it's supposed to be released this year!

PC Specs


CPU
i3-12100


GPU
RX6800 XT


RAM
16GB

The game is beautiful, incredibly detailed and mostly polished (I know we're talking about a seven year old game at this point) game that keeps me wanting more. It's a great look at how life 'of olde' used to be and it manages to be a pretty realistic simulator in that sense. That said, the game isn't without its faults but the good absolutely outweighs the bad (in that I still want to keep at the story).
Pros:
The story unfolds at a nice pace with plenty of quests and character improvements along the way without dragging its heels much.
Character development (in some respects) can be very quick which is absolutely handy in survival and the game doesn't just leave you out to dry.
There is plenty of exploration and discovery to be had and the game isn't just simply an empty sandbox with choice features here and there.
The environment is absolutely gorgeous and meticulously crafted.
The lore and books they've written are fantastic! I love simply hunting for all of the books I'm able to find and read through them just to take in more lore as it's just that much more immersive.
Now for the cons (I promise, only two of them):
Combat is by far my largest gripe and mainly consists of two parts.
Okay- we're a blacksmith's kid who doesn't know combat. That's incredibly straightforward. Henry has to learn how to fight and that's understandable. What's not understandable is how NPCs can swing their swords up to 7 times in less than two seconds (I've actually timed this) while wearing all of their armor (which of course has nothing to do with Henry's inability to fight) and is just ludicrous fast and realistically impossible. It's insane that anyone ever thought that was a good idea in the first place. "But it's a combo! You get combos too!" I've read and heard other folks say. Uh.. okay? Sure? Combos are a part of any combat style (yes of course in real life too) but in a game that boasts realism, that's still not realistic to attack -that- fast with longswords (or even shortswords for that matter).
For the most part blocking works but far too many times I've found hitting and/or holding block the character simply... doesn't. The shield simply doesn't come up (or the longsword, if that's the weapon being used at the time). The NPC is making a simple thrust with his sword and... the game doesn't prompt the shield/block action? That's... that's a basic blockable attack in any form of swordfighting combat.
On the flip side once your combat skills are nearly maxed out, most of your own attacks are unblockable.. which again, makes no sense. The only justification I hear towards this is "git gud" which only ignores the terrible design in the first place (again, in a game that boasts realism).
For the second part- the way the game treats 'being in active combat' is quite... nonsensical. I've approached this and tested this quite a bit (currently I've been in the game just under 80 hours at this point on this Steam account, not counting the hundred or so I put in when the game launched previously prior to updates) and it just makes no sense- bear with me here:
Bad guy knows where you are and is hostile toward you > game treats you as being in active combat. It doesn't matter if you're on your horse and you manage to ride 100 feet away, dismount and he's still running toward you for another ten seconds before he catches up- you're still in active combat this entire time, which means you can't: use bandages, drink any potions, eat any food, change clothing. This exact same behavior persists even when the enemy (example) happens to be an archer sniper in a tower/his post and he stays up there trying to snipe you and you've stepped behind a wall (taller than yourself) so you're in full cover. The game still treats you as being in active combat even though (realistically) you're not actually in combat and nobody is actually coming after you, meaning if you're bleeding once you get into your cover, you still aren't allowed to even begin bandaging and unless you somehow kill that sniper, you're going to bleed out.
How does this make sense? Even a WW1 and WW2 soldier that drags himself into a foxhole in the middle of an active battlefield could start bandaging himself without an enemy soldier running after him (because said soldier would be attacked, etc). That's realism.
The only way to keep things balanced without breaking realism would have been to add an animation for things like eating and bandaging so the player can attempt it (the animation needs to finish) before the effects begin. So you know if a player is dumb enough in a real fight to try and bandage, the enemy is already swinging once again and breaks said animation and you take more damage, having to start over. Nobody should be that stupid but realism would demand the ability to actually try if you wanted and not restrict the player from taking actions 'just because the game says they're in combat even though they clearly have time to do what they need when not -literally- in combat'.
In terms of the environment, it seems that 'impassible bushes' are used more than often in order to block player progression/force a player to go around things. I understand the concept of level design but in the era of swords and knives, it makes no sense not to be able to cut them down and make a path or even still slowly trudge through the brambles with the potential for becoming injured and sick. Impossibly steep inclines would help alleviate this type of map design choice as it's far more hindering than it should be at times and just doesn't make sense in many locations.
Final thoughts: It's a beautifully made game with intricately detailed chunks of medieval life and living, problems ranging from warfare and kings to poverty and religion controlling everyday life and a wonderfully written story but the actual combat is just aggravating that turns to tedious (once you're skilled out), so you're going to have to take it extra slow and learn your alchemy in order to brew specific potions in order to save your game often (and/or sleep often in order to save if you don't go the alchemy route).