Adventure games seem to be all the rage right now – and if you don’t believe us, just look at how many players picked up Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation VR this weekend. So it’s no surprise that other developers are giving the open-world adventure format a try, in the hopes of telling their own compelling tale. While that’s no guarantee they can match the level of Bethesda’s masterpiece, it’s always interesting to see what they try.
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Warhorse Studios is doing just that with Kingdom Come: Deliverance, an adventure that promises to be a huge one, with an open-world to explore and plenty of quests to take on, as you attempt to exact your revenge on the fierce leader that has ruined your life.
In this particular case, it’s a simple blacksmith who finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. A corrupt king has managed to usurp the throne from a weaker member of his family, and is abusing his power greatly, going as far as to murder said blacksmith’s family. But he makes a grave mistake by leaving him for dead without finishing the job, and the game follows this up-and-comer as he learns skills, teams with allies and eventually gets closer to getting event.
While we still haven’t seen too much of the game in action, Deliverance has a healthy dose of adventure to take on. The first thing you’ll note is the game’s wide-open role-playing system, in which you can increase skills in certain areas, such as becoming a better warriors, mastering your thieving capabilities (so you can get more gear) and maybe even balancing combinations of the two. These can work a number of ways for your character, and that’s the fun of venturing on, seeing how well they grow.
Get Your Skills In Order
Skills are just part of the picture, as you can gear up your character in a number of areas. You can actually dress up in various types of armor, across arms, legs and more, which can make all the difference in combat scenarios. There are also a variety of weapons you can use over the course of the game, including swords, axes, knives and hammers, as well as a trusty bow, if you’re looking to make a few kills from a distance. You can balance inventory over the course of the game, and new items to your advantage.
You need to take care of yourself as well, though. You won’t magically be able to keep your health going, as you’ll consistently need to eat to avoid doing damage. Sleep also makes a difference, and you can also save your game by taking a swig of alcohol. Like we needed another advantage to drink in-game.
This lends to the overall realism of Deliverance. If you’re expecting invincibility and magic spells to save your butt in combat, you’ve got another thing coming. Warhorse worked diligently on the game’s combat system so that it’s based more on realism, utilizing real-time physics so that each fight actually feels like a fight, instead of a game of “look at me dominate you with a sword.”
This will force you to proceed with caution in each battle, and work to find weaknesses with your adversaries, such as lighter armor. This can be chipped away at and eventually make them weaker, giving you an advantage. That said, it never hurts to keep an eye on your own armor levels, and protect your weak spots so you aren’t chopped down like a tree.
A Different King Of Adventure
You’ll be promptly rewarded with a number of quests that you can take on, which open up quite a bit depending on which choices you make for your character. As you go on, you’ll see a range of missions open up, from smaller quests to help you level up to full-on castle sieges, where you team up with other non-playable characters to try and attain victory.
Even when you’re not on a mission, though, you may be surprised how much your actions affect others. Characters live their day-to-day lives within the game based on what you do, and you’ll see the effects almost immediately. Try to execute a crime? Don’t be surprised if you have to fight for your freedom, or pay up with money (or torture) just to get back on their good side. And even then, some folks will still be suspicious of you.
And even if you fail, that doesn’t necessarily mean game over. Sure, you’ll have to live with some consequences, but you can always try something again. For instance, if you’re trying to get an item from someone and they’re not on the same level as you, you can do a number of things, like stealing it or fighting for it. And you’ll be able to bring others with you, in case you need an advantage. (Provided they’re on the same page as you, of course – you can’t trust everyone.)
While some people may look at this game as an alternate take on Skyrim (and, in some senses, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt), Kingdom Come: Deliverance looks to go deeper than that. It’s actually based on real-life locations from medieval history, and utilizes a much more challenging – and somewhat rewarding – combat system that will go the extra mile for fans of this sort of game.
We’ll get a closer look at Kingdom Come: Deliverance next month at PlayStation Experience, but don’t be surprised if this game makes a much bigger impact when it releases on February 13th, 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
