Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Developer: Warhouse Studios
Publisher: Warhouse Studios
Release date: TBA 2016
Author: S.A.
To be frank, Kingdom Come: Deliverance doesn’t look spectacular in it’s release trailer. In a world where smooth game play has become the norm, it looks clunky and underdeveloped so far. That said, I’m prepared to be woefully proven wrong in 2016 when the game finally releases. The story so far is simplistic in nature. The old king has died and his up and coming heir lacks the resources and power to secure the throne. With weakness in the air, and the opportunity ripe, the king’s brother kidnaps the king. With him out of the way, he begins to pillage the land with his own personal advancement in mind. Our story is that of revenge, as we dive into the life of a blacksmiths son, whose family was butchered by the invading army. The task from then on is simple, return the rightful ruler to the throne, and restore order to the land.
We will start as a simple lad….and turn into a hero.
The game will utilize a classless role play system, allowing the players to customize their characters however they wish. We can be a warrior, a bard, a thief or a combination of all characters depending on our abilities and equipment. Our development in the game will change depending on what the characters say or do when presented with certain dialogue trees. That said, be wary, conversations that involve development will be limited in duration and have an effect on their relationship with others. So think quickly on how you want the game to progress, for your actions will have consequences that will carry forward in your game play and future interactions throughout the world.
Character bodies and faces are created by combining a multitude of individuals pieces. The clothing system alone features 16 item slots, and even than those items can be layered. Each layer of clothing provides a different level of protection for the wearer, and all of them can get dirty, worn out and bloody through use. This has an affect on character appearance in the game, and is a reason for you to keep up on personal hygiene. Players will also have a variety of weapons available to us, ranging from swords, knives, axes, bows and so forth. This allows for a variety of gameplay decisions to be made on how you wish to encounter and deal with your foes.
Sword fights will always be my favourite way of fighting.
Horses are the players main way of travel, and designed to act on their own so that they can avoid small obstacles or dangers along the path. The game also allows you to fight from horseback, allowing you to run and gun as you rip through the world. We can level up and equip the horses with armour and attachments much like ourselves, so they now serve a purpose beyond just travel.
An interesting function of the game lies in the fact that you’re character doesn’t have seemingly endless stamina. Unlike other adventure games where we can go on forever, our player can and will get tired. In order to stay healthy we must eat and sleep to keep our characters condition at it’s peak. Your equipment and clothing will degrade over time and require repair or replacing. Even your food isn’t save from the eventual degradation of time, spoiling as it is left alone. However the real interesting part of this game seems to lay in it’s first person fighting system. In which both the speed and weight of a blow determines how well you will react. Not only that, but the weapons you choose will determine how well you make out in this encounters. Whereas a sword is meant for quick fights, it is useless against heavy armour and a bow is useless upon engaging in a close range fight. You must be careful with what you choose in this game, for a mistake will likely cost you your life.
All in all, the game looks like it has some serious potential but I’ll remain reserved in my hopes. To many games of a similar nature have left me disappointed with their clunky fighting systems and less than stellar in game mechanics.
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