Kingdom Come: Deliverance PS4 Review
Posted on: 2018-02-21
Our rating:
An engaging RPG with fantastic attention to detail
When you think of a role playing game you generally think of either science fiction or a Tolkien style world with elves, dwarves and mages. However Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a grounded Medieval setting based on real European history during the 15th century, with survival mechanics that would usually irritate me but it makes sense in this game due to its middle age setting. The question is, is the game any good? In short yes, let’s get into it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes place in the region of Bohemia, where you play as a young man named Henry who is the son of a legendary Blacksmith who can forge exquisite swords. Henry wants to learn how to fight so he can explore the land, but his father does not share his enthusiasm. However it is not long until Henry’s village is raided by a rival country’s army, which leads to his home being destroyed and his family butchered, which leads him to go on a revenge journey. He is taken in by a knight who the proceeds to train him in combat, starting from the bottom as a guard in a town to a knight. The story is very interesting with excellent voice acting from the cast, plus it does help that Brian Blessed is guest starring in the game, I could give the game a perfect score for that alone.
The gameplay is a role playing game, where you live and breathe in a functioning world where you complete quests for the citizens of the world. You can get enjoyment by just walking around and taking in the atmosphere of a village, town or the beautiful European countryside. You have to look after your character as well, which at first I was hesitant because I thought it would suck the fun out of the game, but it doesn’t get in the way too much. When I say you have to look after yourself what I mean is that at some point Henry will get hungry, tired or if you’ve engaged in combat injured where he starts to bleed out. If you don’t sleep, eat or heal yourself this can effect movement, as well as your combat capabilities.
The combat is the meat of the game, which at first I was in two minds about as initially I felt it was rather clunky. However when I soldiered on with the game I found the combat was intentionally clunky, as it shoots for a realistic approach where you have to manage your stamina and your stance when you swing your weapon or block incoming attacks. Timing is important when it comes to combat because flailing like a mad man is a good way of having a sword jammed into your ribs, knowing when to block, parry and strike is important and is very satisfying when you get into a rhythm.
The presentation is great for the most part; the environments are what really standout in this game with beautiful rolling green hills and forests to the densely populated cities and villages with people going about their lives. Character models animate well in cinematic scenes, but during in game dialogue they are as stiff as a piece of wood with lip syncing issues. Another issue I have with the visuals is that clothing can clash with the character’s skin as it starts to clip through but it doesn’t happen too often. The game struggles to run in some sections, I played this on the base PS4 and not the Pro and it really started to stutter when I walked around in the busy city sections.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a beautiful game, with its attention to detail of early 15th century Europe, fantastic visuals, challenging gameplay and an interesting story. This is a must buy if you’re looking for a role playing game that is grounded in reality rather than the standard Tolkien inspired setting.
Article by:
Sam has lived in Bristol all his life. A keen cyclist he speeds around the city but video games are his bread and butter. Whether the old Nes and Snes games or the XBox One and Playstation releases he loves them all. Sam runs his own gaming blog called Bristolian Gamer where he had been reviewing indie games, doing retro reviews and venting his anger at the industry when it does wrong since 2010. Sam joined the 365Bristol team in December 2014.
