Kingdom Come: Deliverance

I purchased this game along with its sequel hoping to play through it rather quickly to get to the second game, almost 200 hours later and I'm still on this one. This is one of the most immersive and grounded gaming experiences I've ever had. Kingdom Come: Deliverance forces you to be a part of the world it has built, time always moves onward effecting questlines and NPC routines. There are survival elements like hunger and thirst, sleeping and even appearance makes a difference. The writing is top notch and all the quests are engaging. The game can be brutal and unforgiving if you don't take the time to learn how to survive and do the things needed to thrive in 15th century Bohemia. You are but the son of a blacksmith, not some chosen warrior who was prophesized to save the world... and the game will continually remind you of this and knock you back down if you get too ambitious or careless.
I am late to this party and that is a shame, but I am very much enjoying this title and am in no rush to get through it, even though I have an entire other game to get to afterwards. I highly recommend Kingdom Come: Deliverance, even though navigating through a few bugs will be a part of your journey with Henry of Skalitz, it is totally worth it. Slow down, enjoy the ride, its a slow burn, but its worth it for anyone looking for a immersive RPG to dig into.

Many people say this game is a masterpiece, but I wouldn't go that far. What I can definitely say is that this is one of the best RPGs that revolves around realism. It's an amazing RPG, but I don't think it's for everyone. It's quite different from the RPGs I've played before.
Story
If you're expecting a badass story with crazy action, this ain't for you. And you're definitely not the main character.
The story is simple and feels like real events that just keep happening one after another. Henry joins the service of Sir Radzig, and from there it's basically just going with the flow. Initially, everything revolves around bandits killing people and raiding villages, and we're investigating it on our own. There are tons of dialogues and much less action, so the same routine continues until you reach Vranik. That's where the main plot really kicks in. After that, the game starts feeling much more intense. Tbh, describing KCD's story is kinda difficult.
There are different ways to complete quests, lots of dialogue choices, and different outcomes depending on your decisions. I really liked that.
Combat
Combat is hard because Henry is no hero. He doesn't know how to fight.
If you want combat to become easier, you need to practice, which actually makes it feel more realistic. Don't quit the game just because the combat feels hard. It really isn't that difficult—you just need to train with Bernard in Rattay for around 30 minutes until you unlock Master Strikes.
Once Master Strikes are unlocked, combat becomes very satisfying and comparatively easy.
Never take fights against multiple enemies at low levels... you probably won't survive. Unlock the Outnumbered perk, and group fights become much easier.
Early perfect parries are important because that's what triggers Master Strikes. Perfect blocks only save you from taking damage. Also, don't use dodge.. it really isn't worth it.
Overall, the combat is fun, satisfying, and realistic.
Archery is hard asf. Who tf decided to make it so difficult. You don't even get a crosshair to aim.
The solution is simple. Press `~`, type:
`wh_pl_showfirecursor 1`
and you'll get a crosshair. Now it's actually much easier to aim.
Other Activities
One of my favorite activities was lockpicking. It's not just "press X and the chest opens." You actually have to solve a small puzzle-like mechanism. It's hard at first but gets much easier with practice.
Then comes brewing, where you make potions by reading recipes, grinding herbs, boiling ingredients, and following each step. It's surprisingly detailed and fun.
There's also pickpocketing and using the grindstone to sharpen swords, but I rarely used those.
Achievement Hunting (Platinum)
The achievements in this game are very frustrating.
Most of them are missable, and many are tied to the DLCs. Some quests have two achievements, but you can only earn one in a single playthrough. To get the other, you'll need to reload an earlier save and make different choices.
The problem is that you'll never know this unless you already know what the achievements are. Many achievements also require weird combinations of tasks that almost nobody would figure out without a guide.
So if you're planning to platinum this game, you'll definitely need this guide:

Final Thoughts
Honestly, I don't even know what else to say about this game. I don't even know why or how it hooked me for so many hours despite being investigation and dialogue heavy for more than half of the game.
The characters are memorable. Each one behaves differently, talks differently, and has their own personality, which I really liked.
One more thing... I don't think this game is aesthetically beautiful in the sense that you'll want to stop every few minutes just to press F12 and take screenshots. It focuses much more on realism than visual beauty. Personally, that wasn't really my thing, but I can see why others might like it.
I'd definitely recommend giving this game a try if you have the time.
The story continues in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, so if you enjoy this one, there's more waiting for you.
My rating: 8/10.
For me, it's an 8/10, but I can totally see it being a 10/10 for someone else. Just give it a try.

I got kcd for $3 and felt so bad after some hours of gameplay because I realized it deserves to be purchased full price. I fell in love with this game as it really shows how the devs put their hearts in it. Beautiful art and soundtrack, tons of content, choices really matter in a lot of quests, almost no fantasy elements which is a breath of fresh air for me, excellent voice acting and the freedom of doing things my own way. It has the perfect amount of realism without sacrificing things that make games fun to play. It would be super boring if it was too realistic, as in having no alchemy, no fast travel, no infinite weight capacity (you can carry a ridiculous amount of inventory but you walk very slow), for example. It's fun to talk to npcs because writing is just that good. You can go everywhere and do whatever you like between main quests.
My second favorite game after kcd2 of course. I will never shut up about this game until the day I die!!

The longer you play it, the better you get at playing it.
This is a game where you really have to make an effort to be good at it, and once you are, the experience exponentially increases.
Great game, recommended for those who enjoys a long game and a good story.

Great game. There was a time when finishing a masterpiece like this would've been inevitable.
Sadly, now, finding the time is the hardest part for me.

For reviewing this insanely intricate and complex game we have to look at it through the eyes of 3 different types of players that might play it:
1. The Casual Gamer
The grounded story is cool, but trying to enjoy the beautiful open world gets constantly bogged down by annoying survival chores, a frustrating potion-based save system during quests, and clunky, punishing combat where you just run away for the first five hours.
2. The RPG Lover
A historically authentic masterpiece where your choices in quests actually matter, set in a deeply immersive open world with complex NPC routines that perfectly complement the highly rewarding, stat-driven combat system as your character slowly grows from a peasant to a knight.
3. The Hardcore Challenge Lover
An absolute triumph of brutal survival where the gripping revenge story is amplified by an unforgiving open world with no fast travel, forcing you to navigate complex, marker-less quests and engage in deadly, realistic combat where a single mistake means death.
In short i would just recommend this game to anyone who wants to experience a very immersive medieval open world through the eyes of a peasant.

I went into Kingdom Come: Deliverance expecting a medieval Skyrim, but instead I discovered a muddy, grounded, and deeply human RPG that I did not realize I had been craving for years, one that treats the Middle Ages like a place people actually lived, where food spoils, reputations matter, and armor has weight. Bohemia feels like a functioning place with its own rules, routines, and logic rather than a backdrop built solely for quests. The world constantly asks me to think like a person living in it. Quests rarely feel like video game errands, and even simple tasks make me consider who I am, how I look, what I have done before, and how others might react to me. Over time, I naturally started planning my days by washing up before town, repairing gear, and grabbing food, not because the game forced me to, but because it felt right. The realism works as a tone that makes the world feel lived in and believable.
Combat, especially early on, was honestly rough, and that is exactly why it works. The first hours made me feel like I was holding a sword for the first time in my life, which makes sense because Henry basically is. Fights feel awkward, slow, and punishing at first, but as I learned timing, parrying, stamina management, different techniques, and how to properly chain combos, combat gradually became rewarding. Winning a fight felt earned rather than handed to me, and that slow sense of mastery made every improvement satisfying. However, I must say that fighting against multiple enemies can be a real pain, but in those situations… Mutt ;)
The DLCs are relatively short, but I enjoyed them and appreciated how they fit into the existing world instead of pulling me out of it. I especially liked A Woman’s Lot, particularly Johanka’s mission, where decisions mattered a lot and the consequences felt heavy. Before picking any option, I genuinely felt the need to gather as much information as possible so that I did not ♥♥♥♥ up the situation.
By the time I finished Kingdom Come: Deliverance, it felt less like I had played a game and more like I had lived through a long, messy chapter of someone’s life. It is demanding, sometimes unforgiving, and a bit slow, but that is exactly why it left such a strong impression on me. Without exaggeration, this is one of the best RPGs I have ever played.