Kingdom Come: Deliverance PAX South 2018 Coverage

Warhorse Studios’ upcoming historical RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance should be launching in less than a month, on February 13, 2018, and while initially I wasn’t particularly enthused about this title on account of me not being a fan of either historical or open-world games, the more I see of Kingdom Come, the more excited I get about it.

For example, here’s just shy of an hour’s worth of footage from Alienware’s PAX South 2018 livestream, featuring plenty of Kingdom Come’s exploration, questing, and combat, as well as the game’s beautifully stylish map. The relevant part starts at 2:41:10:

And here’s a PlayStation Access video that offers a detailed guide for Kingdom Come’s complex combat:

And if that wasn’t enough Kingdom Come: Deliverance for you, you can also check out this interview with Warhorse’s PR manager Tobias Stolz-Zwilling. An excerpt:

DYEGB: The game has seen a couple delays from its initial 2015 release window. How supportive and understanding have Kickstarter backers and fans been?

TSZ: Very supportive and very understanding. From day 1, we have been in communication with our backers and fans, as they have with us. With various posts and dev diaries, we keep the people up to date – talking about all wins and losses. It feels great to get all the love from the fans, even when we had bad news, like postponing the game.

DYEGB: I read that you hired a full-time historian to ensure KCD was as historically accurate as possible. How important was it for KCD to be as authentic as possible? How hard was it to find the right balance between realism and ensuring the game is fun to play?

TSZ: In the beginning, we thought that we’d need her only for some background research to assist with the development, but we quickly realised that she is essential for the entire development – the story, item selection, or working with languages and translations today. Realism and historical accuracy are two huge pillars of the game but are never forced on you in a way that you need to learn some history lessons or so. It’s rather implemented into the overall gaming experience to support and create “fun-gameplay” of course.

DYEGB: What are some of the game’s features you’re most proud of and excited for players to use?

TSZ: The combat system for sure. Even though Kingdom Come: Deliverance is not a fighting game, you can use combat to solve most of your problems. We put a lot of effort into this, as we invited professional swordsmen to the studio and recreated 15th-century fencing. Of course, we had some technical limitations but the result we created is the closest thing you can get to being a medieval fencer. We released a very detailed video about this (you can watch it below).

DYEGB: The combat system you’ve utilised is very unique. What made you go for this type of system opposed to a traditional first-person system (Skyrim etc.)?

TSZ: Mainly it’s about the physical collision. Our swords slide over each other, bounce-off of armor plates, and do not magically slide through your opponent. It’s a very complex system that effects even other features, like the armor system for example. Since we know exactly where you got hit, with which type of martial/armor part, we can calculate the exact amount of damage that is dealt to you or to the opponent. This is why it’s is important to customize your armor, try different armor types, layer different fabrics over each other, and create your own set(s). And it works like a stone-paper-scissors-systems, as different weapons are strong/weak against different types of armor.

DYEGB: The name of the game has heavy religious connotations. Can you tell us the role that religion played in the time period and how this translates to the player experience?

TSZ: Of course, a major one, but we decided that we are focusing more on the civil war that raged in Central Europe (Holy Roman Empire). Religion is a topic in the game, but just a minor one. However, you can enrol as a monk in a Monastery in Kingdom Come: Deliverance… but not to get closer to god ;).