Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is set to release sometime in 2024, and that means fan discussion is beginning to ramp up. Amongst these discussions are the usual laundry lists of hopes for features. So what features do fans of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 want in the sequel?
Well, as only fans of a game like Kingdom Come Deliverance could, their hopes and dreams for the sequel are about as grounded as the games themselves. Seriously. The top comment on one of the many feature discussion threads is perhaps the most humble request I've ever seen.
The ability to talk to NPCs whilst on your horse. Firstly, I agree, having to dismount with a lengthier than I'd like animation any time I wanted to have a quick chat with someone did get a little grating after a while. Secondly... come on, man. Surely you guys can ask for a little more from the game you've waited six years to get your hands on.
But alas, Kingdom Come fans continue to ask for only the most minor of quality of life features you could imagine, and I think above all else it serves only to speak to the quality of the original title. If I could describe Kingdom Come Deliverance as anything, it would be slow, but purposeful. There is genuinely not an experience like it; a gritty and grounded RPG set in a predominantly historical setting, as opposed to the typical high fantasy.
So what other features does the player base yearn for in the sequel? Well, one I found particularly interesting was this comment about the use of daggers.
This is genuinely a great idea, as with the semi-realistic approach to combat Kingdom Come takes, the use of daggers presents a slew of potential mechanics. Imagine you're in one of the typically protracted battles you'd expect from the original game, and find your weapon growing dull. Switching to a simple sharp dagger to deal with a bandit dressed in little more than farm clothes would be enough to finish the fight, but daggers can go further.
In conflict with better equipped enemies, perhaps you could switch to something like a Swordbreaker (or Parrying) dagger, which were used historically to catch the blades of opponents to allow the user to get a strike on their now off guard opponent. Daggers can offer more than a simple new weapon type, especially in conjunction with a game that takes its source material (you know, real life) so seriously.
Another comment that got my neurons firing was this one discussing the connection between cleanliness and disease.
One of my favorite quests from the original was the one in which you had to visit a village affected by a plague, and depending on how you went about the investigation, you could elect to seek out aid for the village. Sadly, I didn't realize that this would be the moment when my inability to read would come into play, and I totally botched everything and a whole bunch of people died. It sucked, but having a such a major consequence of my direct inaction was something I hadn't experienced in a game in quite some time, and I feel this could be doubled down upon in the sequel.
Let's say you spend a good few weeks going on the hunt, you've taken some hits, you've gotten yourself good and bloodied, and you've come down with a nasty infection. You seek aid, but the best you can get is a list of ingredients for a simple potion. You've then gotta put everything on hold to go and seek out the ingredients for this potion, all because you didn't clean your wounds, and wore dirty clothes too long. Gameplay mechanics that are punishing but ultimately avoidable are a great way to get people to interact with more pre-existing mechanics. Bath houses in the first game were hard to find, and frankly, not all that useful, but here they could be given far more weight if they could be used to keep infection at bay.
One more comment to come from this thread was this one about the introduction of a cooking mechanic, but with the same level of complexity as the blacksmithing and alchemy systems from the first game.
Not only would this be a fun addition for people who simply enjoy the fine art of gastronomy in video games (like myself), but it would lend itself well to other mechanics, like disease, or your general strength. Henry is a wee farm boy turned brave Knight, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need a full stomach to go on the warpath. Nutrition plays a vital role in fitness, but also in the prevention of disease, both of which are rather important for a game set in the 15th century. And once again, it opens itself up to interplay with other systems. Hunt for your own meat, or elect for the pricey option of a butcher in a major town? Go for a butcher in a major town, or trust the dodgy roadside meat wagon selling fine cuts of 'something red'?
In our piece on things we want to see in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, we discussed wanting an improvement to the stealth system. I'll be the first to admit that I am not a stealth guy, and if I have the option to not do it, I won't. But, if the system behind it is not only engaging, but balanced, I'm all for it. Take Metal Gear Solid, for example; I'm fine sneaking around in that because so much work has gone into making it fun and balanced. In Skyrim, I hate it. Because not only is it boring, it's broken. Kingdom Come Deliverance sort of walked the line between okay, boring, and broken, so some improvements would be appreciated in the sequel.
One such improvement idea comes from this comment, which discusses how clothes could be improved to offer multiple benefits.
Having clothing sets that allow for buffs to certain actions is a great idea, and once again, it encourages one to put in just a little bit more effort. Stealth will always feel more rewarding if you've gone to great lengths to make yourself better at it, as opposed to simply crouching against a certain wall in Dragonsreach for about 45 minutes, like in Skyrim. Clothing, alchemy, the aforementioned cooking, and daggers all come into play in an improved stealth system.
What ideas do you have for the Kingdom Come Deliverance sequel? Personally, I'd really enjoy the ability to do something not bloody miserable for a bit. Like fishing, or knowing Kingdom Come, something that requires dozens of hours to learn and has an entire skill tree... like knitting.
Either way, if you're looking for more Kingdom Come Deliverance content from us here at Pro Game Guides, check out our piece on how Despite doubling in size, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 team maintains its punk roots, or our piece on how Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 brings back everything you love and adds guns just in case.
Published: Aug 14, 2024 05:04 am