Hands-On: 2025’s first big sequel seems like it was worth the wait

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a bigger and bolder RPG every single way, and after playing the game’s opening few hours, we’re hungry for more.

The game opens immediately following the end of the first, with Henry and Hans Capon setting off across medieval Europe to deliver a message. Things quickly go wrong after Henry’s group is ambushed by traveling bandits. Hans and Henry manage to escape with the help of a local medicine woman, but Henry’s badly damaged in a fall, thus setting the player up to lose most of what Henry leaned in the first game.

It’s a bold opening that both establishes Henry and Hans well and resets the stakes so that the player can build a character again. Henry, Hans and the rest of the group sit around the campfire in the game’s opening hour recounting their past adventures, which brings new players into the game, and also allows players to decide early what kind of person they want Henry to be.

The combat system will be familiar to fans of the first game, as the angle-based deflecting and riposting returns. In the early hours, it’s somewhat clumsy, but from previous experience playing the game at a preview event, we know things get much smoother when Henry regains his confidence. Plus, these guys are medieval warriors, not expert samurai: some rough and tumble in the combat is more than welcome.

The game runs extremely well on PS5 Pro from what we’ve played. Those with a VRR display can attempt to run the game at 4K via PSSR with a variable frame rate. Mileage will clearly vary based on the density of the scene itself, but we’re pleased with the performance so far. We’ve ran into a few glitches such as awkward movement and character dialogue playing incorrectly, but these are things that Warhorse has specifically told us they are targeting in a Day 0 patch.

Visually, the game’s countryside setting is absolutely beautiful. The game’s lighting system manages to capture the look of a European forest as the sun is setting as well as any of its contemporaries. When traveling between missions we’ve been struck by how much we’re enjoying staring off into the horizon to pass the time. The brief glimpse we were given of the game’s first main town also shows off a high level of detail, and plenty of authentic set dressing.

When compared to the first game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 feels like a prestige drama that received a huge increase in budget for the second season. Everything about it is tighter, looks better, and is more accomplished. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 feels like the game the team was trying to make with Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

The game is full of dialogue, with a surprisingly fleshed-out speech system. Your success or failure on a speech check isn’t simply about gaining enough skill points in a specific level in order to pass it, instead, the game takes into account the class of who you are speaking to, how you are dressed, and whether or not you are covered in blood.

The game’s speech system also doesn’t feel frustrating and binary, even if you fail the checks, new options open up because of that. It doesn’t seem like this will result in players having dramatically different experiences, but there are certainly bonus quest rewards and other optional elements that are tied to whether you’re silver-tongued or not.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s strong opening has us excited for more. It’s a visually beautiful game with a seemingly massive world to explore. Henry and Hans are still in fine form, aided by writing that thus far feels like a marked step up from the first game. The opening may feel slow to some, but there’s a lot to explain, and the game does its very best to have players on the correct footing before heading out into the wilderness.

As the area we’re allowed to cover in this preview came to a close, Henry and Hans found themselves in the first of what we’re sure will be many fistfights. There’s a grimy, authentic rough, and ready attitude running through Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and we’re excited to play more.

The wider world feels ready to open up and offer the deep RPG that made so many fall in love with the first game.  We’ll get to that after Henry and Hans enjoy their night in the stocks.