Any day that gives us more info about Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a good day. Today is one of those days. In a "The Good, the Bad, and the Sneaky" video, developer Warhorse Studios shows us the beautiful countryside of Bohemia 1403.
In a world where Destiny is celebrated for its skyboxes and The Witcher can shape every turn into a picture perfect portrait, it's sobering just how...sober...the land and sky is in Kingdom Come. I mean, looking at this video, there's no sprawling Hanging Tree to navigate by. There's no distant, lustrous castle on a mountaintop to guide your horse. This is historical fiction in a medium dominated by fantasy fiction. For exploration-heavy players (like myself), this is more like playing GeoGuessr while wearing plate mail armor. Historicity isn't known for racking up too many points on Metacritic. I mean, unless you're an Assassin's Creed rendition of a particular vacation spot you'd enjoyed visiting in the real world.
But just look. The stonework on the buildings is practical. The lack of decor on the rooftops is practical. The armor and weapons are so practical they almost make you wonder what's so cool about medieval armor and weapons in the first place.
Except for the fact that medieval armor and weapons are, in the first place, awesome. That's that realness, son.
What unexpected in this video is how much of a murder-mystery Kingdom Come starts off as. But, as I'd hoped, the game isn't going to hold your hand a whole lot in solving this early-on mission. You don't get Witcher senses to point out some glowing footprints through the woods. You don't get a clairvoyance spell to highlight a sparkly breadcrumb trail leading you to the murder weapon. You get to open your eyes, question some witnesses, and do a little pixel hunting. This game may ask more of my patience than I was prepared for. I love it.
Also, lest I forget to mention, I want to highlight that menu/map screen. The map looks like an honest-to-God medieval pen-and-ink mural. I am going to just die now. I'm dead.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance will absolutely dominate the conversation in the RPG community when it launches in three months on February 13, 2018.
