Kingdom Come Deliverance:
Time to Beat: 48 Hours
In 2018, first time
developer Warhorse
Studios released Kingdom
Come:
Deliverance
shortly before being bought by Deep Silver.
Starting in the hamlet of
Skalitz, Henry, the local blacksmith's son, adventures across Bohemia
in 1403. The developers designed a game based on historical reality,
and it spends a sizable period relating the historical background.
The Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV strengthened the throne and
invigorated the nation. But his son, Wenceslaus the Idle, wallowed
in in pleasure and debauchery, leading to the revolt of his brother
Sigismund. While Kingdom Come doesn't feature
Wenceslaus, Sigismund briefly appears as rebels surge across the
kingdom. The towns and hamlets that the player passes through
(Skalitz, Sasau, Rattay, and Talmberg), exist in the modern Czech
Republic, and the Lords Henry interacts with ruled the region, even
though their names have been changed from Hanus to Hanush, Racek to
Radzig, and Divis to Divish. But the protagonist, the villain, and
the specific events of the insurrection in the region are entirely
fabricated. Still, this historical backing binds the fictional
events firmly to the story.
The developers aimed for realism in more than historical detail. The
atmosphere of Christianity is pervasive and even stifling at some
points. It's livened by hints of Chaucerian and Boccaccioan
criticism of religious orders. Realism expresses itself in gameplay
as well. Henry eats and sleeps to maintain his health. Resting is
frustrating because the protagonist can only sleep in the proper bed.
Early in Kingdom
Come
the Miller of Ratty grants Henry the use of a bed. Latter the
protagonist sleeps in the castle of Rattay. Additionally, towns
include inns where two gold purchases the use of a bed for a night.
Food is easier to find. Hunting supplies raw meat, while grocers
sell fresh produce if the player wishes to purchase it. The best
method of sustenance is free. Scattered across the towns are fire
pits with food pots, which Henry may eat from as he wishes. With
these, its possible to go days without paying for food.
But
when Henry first awakes on that fateful day neither food nor sleep is
on his mind. Kingdom Come Deliverance
introduces Henry as a man child. His mother wakes him when he sleeps
in after a night of drinking at the local tavern. His father, the
blacksmith of Skalitz, asks Henry to perform his chores and return
aid him at the forge. But while he is supposed to be doing his
chores, his buddies convince him to throw feces at the house of a man
they dislike. Eventually Henry returns to his father where they
craft a sword for Radzig the local lord. A catastrophe forces Henry
to flee Skalitz and run to Talmberg for aid.
Early
on Kingdom Come
features an overreliance on in game cut scenes and cinematics. They
roll without player control, and some don't even involve the
protagonist, as Henry awkwardly observes royalty speak. The
decisions of Deliverance are decided during videos. Sometimes
Lords decide while Henry watches. Worse are the decisions Henry
makes, but the player has no influence over. For example, Henry
returns to Skalitz the day after fleeing even though the Lords forbid
him. The game doesn't offer the player a choice, but railroads Henry
into foolish decisions. The return trip is overly managed, with all
routes into town blocked by destroyed buildings. In the ruins of
Skalitz Henry sees his last remaining possession, the sword crafted
by his father, stolen from him, and is rescued from death by Theresa.
After his recovery, Henry begins his dual quest, to avenge his town,
and recover the sword for Lord Radzig.
Further
events reinforce the player's powerless state. After settling in at
Rattay, Radzig elevates Henry from displaced apprentice blacksmith
into his service. Radzig is surprisingly forgiving about the loss of
his sword, but advances Henry rapidly from patrol man to his right
hand assistant scouring the country side as the unrest intensifies.
In his first, and only day patrolling Rattay, Henry is challenged to
both a duel and archery contest by the local Lord Hans Capon. The
player is unable to decline either choice, because Henry seems eager
to accept. Later, while patrolling at night, Henry argues with the
same Capon. Henry needs to close the tavern, and Capon refuses to
leave. An open world game like the one Kingdom Come
purports to be, would either have let the player choose between
leaving Capon alone, or be an ass, mouth off to the lord and engage
in a fist fight. Instead the game forces the player to do the
latter. Throughout the entire game, Henry never makes tactical or
strategic decisions for the big battles. Radzig, Hanush, Divish, or
Robard always receive the information delivered by Henry, and decide
the battle plan. At one point, a Lord even asks Henry if he would
rather join an assault on the gate, or over the walls, and instead of
the player choosing, Henry makes the choice without a player prompt.
Even
six hours into an admittedly long game, Kingdom Come
Deliverance is still running a tutorial complete with
strong-arming and overlong cut scenes. Deliverance seems like
a deep, well thought conceived game, if only the developers would let
the player try it. While some of the cut scenes are useful to the
player, a significant number feature Henry talking to another
character about an event the player already witnessed. Henry
explains the events of Skalitz five times alone in his adventures.
Quests are completed haphazardly. Sometimes after completing a quest
the player travels miles to report its conclusion. Other times the
game automatically transports the player to their destination asking
permission, leaving loot on the ground, and possible quest
requirements unfinished. One cut scene even stole a horse.
The
combination of an overabundance of cut scenes without player
involvement, a railroading of decisions and gameplay, and a long
tutorial detracts from an otherwise historically grounded open world.
It denies the player the agency needed to keep them engaged. And
yet Kingdom Come Deliverance has other aspects
which elevate it over these faults.
More
to follow next week.
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