Kingdom Come Deliverance II: Let the realm of the sword come... again!

Kingdom Come Deliverance II, playable on Xbox, PC and PlayStation 5, throws us back into the Middle Ages, an era full of light and shadows where deceptions, betrayals, and field battles for the conquest of power and plots of land were the order of the day. Almost seven years have passed since Deep’s first work, and everything we have already been able to see in preview confirms what we knew (and hoped): the epic story begun in the first chapter of ascent, redemption, and indomitable courage will be brought to completion, finally closing a narrative arc in a complete way.

Set in the fifteenth century in that evocative Bohemia torn apart by a bloody civil war and a crossroads of many destinies, not only on a personal level but for an entire nation obviously, Kingdom Come Deliverance II retains the cornerstones that have made it famous and appreciated by the entire international gaming community: developed by Warhorse Studios (a name that already says it all) and an action RPG to the core, with the possibility of fully customizing our character and allowing him to follow the path he deems most appropriate, this title will not give up on multiple choices in dialogues that we will face with various NPCs during our wanderings. Being an open world, we will be able to roam far and wide, essentially living as nomadic warriors: hunting, cooking, and making full use of our martial skills will be just some of the options that will allow us to fully immerse ourselves in the tragic existence of Henry, the blacksmith protagonist of the previous game who returns here, driven by an unstoppable desire for revenge that can only be quelled in a single, violent final act in the name of blood.

Il narrative sector looks top-notch: every action will have consequences that will have repercussions not only in subsequent interactions with other non-player characters, but on a much broader level, with entire cities and villages reacting to any choice we decide to make, whether small or large. The game seems to want to follow a very specific direction and will focus especially on Henry’s inner journey and his role within the gears moved by powers greater than the individual: the parabola of the ordinary man forcibly dragged into a broader story, an archetype that has always been the protagonist of thousands of stories and legends, in which lies a timeless charm because it develops a powerful empathetic bond, whether you are readers of historical or fantasy novels or video gamers with a controller in hand instead of a bastard sword.

Personally, I have high expectations for this title: role-playing games inspired by real-life events can be counted on the fingers of one hand, especially if we are talking about modern titles (from 2000 onward). Moreover, the search for historical accuracy, which can be refined after the experiment, in any case successful in my opinion, of the predecessor, is one of the goals of Kingdom Come Deliverance II, and I am fairly sure that the guys at Warhorse Studios have learned the lessons they needed to deliver us a product of fine craftsmanship: a bit like the apprentice of a blacksmith, young and impulsive, who helplessly watches the collapse of the world in which he has always lived and who must find the strength and will to survive what comes next.