You’ve probably seen a bunch of really high scores for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which is out now. But as exciting as all the reviews and hype for this game is and will be, I’m here to let you know that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 isn’t going to be for everyone, and it wasn’t for me — which is totally fine.

When you have reviews like Khayl Adam at Push Square writing that the game: “transports even the most grizzled genre veterans back to a time of truly immersive video game experiences.“ Or over at Tom’s Guide, read that “the game’s commitment to authenticity is remarkable, and its focus on realistic gameplay makes it one of the most immersive RPGs ever.“ You’re bound to want to jump into and check out the first BIG release for 2025, a game that many people are bound to be talking about for the rest of the year. But I’ve been reading these reviews for the last 24 hours, just wishing I could have pushed past all the cogs-turning within Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 that were pushing me away so I could enjoy the game as much as these other critics.

I hadn’t played Kingdom Come: Deliverance and chose to dive straight into this sequel with limited knowledge of the first game. I watched a few YouTube videos summarising the plot of the first game, but from the outset, I was struggling to get my head around the politics and historical setting. The game also does little to help new players understand the backstory of the character you’re playing as, but I don’t really mind that — this is a direct sequel; if you want the best story experience, it seems the best advice is: make the time to play the first game. The setting, however, is not one I’m well acquainted with, and this game, at times, can go deep into the historical rabbit hole, so be prepared.

But it’s not the realistic depictions of Kings and others that make the game dense and hard to get into; it’s the game’s core systems, which simply won’t be for everyone. The protagonist, Henry, needs to eat, sleep and even needs a potion to save the game (though there’s still autosave progression). Moving around the map between quests, you’ll often need to think about ensuring Henry is well-rested and fed before any big missions or even talking to a quest taker. The clothes he’s wearing affect how people treat him; you won’t be able to rent a night in an Inn if the owner doesn’t like the way you look, and having the blood of freshly slain enemies or animals over your face isn’t going to help you with any of the game’s conversations. As my research into the first game found, all of these systems were part of the first game, and they’ve apparently been toned down somewhat or at least made approachable here. But they do just get piled on with weapons and armour, needing constant attention to make sure they’re in the best condition for battle, and some quests seemed to rely on me having to keep my own notes, even though the game does have a journal and quest book which was sort of, odd.

As methodical and requiring thought as the base systems are, combat is just as purposeful. You can aim your sword in one of four points to swing at enemies and must block your opponent’s strikes if you don’t want to be dead and finished within minutes. Combos can be learned and initiated with up, down, left, left inspired swings, though they’re not super-easy to pull off with enemies swinging back at you. Whenever you’re faced with more than one enemy, the fights can get hard pretty fast. As it would be in life, taking on multiple foes with just a sword and keeping track of all of them is hard. In fights with multiple enemies, I found myself looking for ways to cheese the game rather than ‘getting good,’ as I simply didn’t find the later option something that would bring me much joy.

All of these systems are great for a certain player base that does want to feel like they’re living in this world and wants challenging and realistic sword-play. I point out that they’re difficult or require planning and thinking solely to note that this isn’t an open-world game where you simply run off into the world and have a grand adventure. “It’s Skyrim without magic“ seems to be the redundant way to describe Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2; however, it’s far from it. Everything in this game is designed to be as close to its medieval setting as possible and get you as close to feeling like you’re a part of this, at times, dull world without ruining and pulling back the fact it’s still a video game. The long horse-back moments with characters just talking back and forth with Henry as you travel across the country are a testament to this: they’re bound to bore anyone unable to get through a movie without scrolling TikTok, and yet it’s hugely part of the mood and table setting for this game.

There are reportedly hundreds of hours of game here, and I believe it. I’ve barely touched the surface, and I know it. And considering the rave reviews and the year ahead, it’s sure to be on many critics’ best of‘ lists. I am sad I couldn’t force myself to adapt to its systems more and learn to enjoy them. But every action just ground against me and pushed me back and back, and every time I thought I was getting into the game and finally ready to welcome myself fully into the world, I was pushed back by some new system. My final moment came with a lockpicking mini-game of all things. An ‘easy‘ chest that I broke five of my hard-to-come-by and earned lockpicks was the straw that broke the camel’s back for sure, but also as perfect a moment for me to say: “you know what, this isn’t for me.”

If you’re jumping aboard the Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 train this week, come in knowing that it is a hardcore systems video game with a deep historical setting, and it might not be for you. It wasn’t for me, and I can accept that. And sometimes, that’s perfectly okay.

(Review code provided to Explosion Network.
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