Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.

The Gavler Review.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Review: The Thinking Player's RPG of the Year

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II ranks number 3 on Gavler's Best Games of 2025 list with an 8.8, and it earns that spot by refusing to compromise on the thing that made the original divisive in the first place: uncompromising, grounded medieval realism. Warhorse Studios kept the no-magic, real-consequence design of the first game intact while fixing nearly everything critics pointed to as rough edges — GameSpot called it "a massively improved sequel in every other area, with better combat, quest design, and none of the technical issues that plagued the original." Buy it if you want the deepest, most systems-driven RPG released in years. Skip it if you want a more forgiving, streamlined RPG experience — Deliverance II asks a lot of its players, deliberately.

What it is

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II continues Warhorse Studios' singular pitch in the RPG space: a medieval world built on realism rather than fantasy power fantasy. No magic, no supernatural creatures, no easy answers — just a sprawling, historically grounded 15th-century Bohemia where your reputation, your choices, and your ability to actually fight, negotiate, or sneak your way through problems all carry real, lasting consequences.

The sequel expands the scope of the original considerably — two large open regions rather than one, deeper systems across nearly every dimension of the game — while addressing the technical and design rough edges that kept the first Deliverance from broader acclaim at launch. It released February 4, 2025, across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows.

In use

The critical consensus is unusually direct about what changed and why it matters. GameSpot's review put it plainly: "This is a massively improved sequel in every other area, with better combat, quest design, and none of the technical issues that plagued the original." That's a specific, substantive claim — not vague praise, but a direct acknowledgment that Warhorse identified the first game's real weaknesses and fixed them rather than simply making a bigger version of the same experience.

IGN's assessment reinforces the same conclusion from a different angle: "Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is one of the best RPGs in years." That's a big statement in a genre that includes some of gaming's most acclaimed releases, and it reflects how thoroughly Deliverance II's systems-driven approach — directional melee combat with real weight and timing, branching quests that track your reputation and choices across the whole game, historically detailed environments — has come together into something that feels genuinely distinct from its RPG peers.

The reworked combat deserves particular attention. Directional sword fighting and meaningfully improved enemy AI make one-on-one duels far more readable than the original's often-criticized combat system, rewarding real timing and footwork rather than button-mashing. That shift matters because combat is where the first Deliverance drew its harshest criticism — Warhorse's willingness to substantially rework a core system for the sequel, rather than patch around it, is a large part of why the reception has been so much stronger this time.

Where it shines

• Substantially reworked, more readable combat. Directional melee and improved enemy AI make duels feel skill-based and satisfying rather than punishingly opaque, a direct answer to the original's most common complaint.
• Two large, historically detailed regions. A meaningful scope expansion over the original's single-region setting, all built on period-accurate 15th-century Bohemia.
• Consequence-driven branching quests. Choices and reputation genuinely ripple through later encounters, giving stealth, diplomacy, and force all real, distinct paths through the same content.
• Technical stability the original lacked. GameSpot's specific note that Deliverance II arrives with "none of the technical issues that plagued the original" reflects real, hard-won development discipline.
• Uncompromising realism. No magic, no easy answers — a genuinely distinct identity in an RPG landscape dominated by fantasy power fantasies.

The trade-offs — who should skip it

Deliverance II is one of the year's best RPGs, but the honest caveats are specific:

• It's demanding by design. Realistic combat, survival mechanics, and consequence tracking mean mistakes carry real weight — players who want a forgiving, streamlined RPG experience will find this deliberately unforgiving.
• The pacing can feel fiddly. Realism-first design occasionally means friction in menus, inventory management, and travel that a more conventional RPG would smooth over.
• No fantasy elements at all. If part of the appeal of RPGs for you is magic, monsters, or supernatural power fantasy, Deliverance II's grounded historical setting won't scratch that itch.

How it compares

On its own list, Deliverance II sits just behind Hollow Knight: Silksong at rank 2 — a genre and scale contrast that says a lot about 2025's depth: one is a sprawling, systems-heavy open-world RPG, the other a tightly-crafted 2D action-platformer, and both earned top-three spots on pure design merit. At the top of the list, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 rounds out a trio of 2025 RPG-adjacent releases that, together, made a strong case for the genre's health this year.

The Gavler verdict

An 8.8, backed by 9/10 scores from both IGN and GameSpot and a clear critical consensus that Warhorse fixed what needed fixing without diluting what made the original distinctive. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is the thinking player's RPG of 2025 — demanding, occasionally fiddly, but unmatched in how convincingly it renders lived-in medieval life. For players willing to meet its systems on their own terms, it's an easy, confident recommendation.

Common Questions

Is Kingdom Come: Deliverance II worth playing?

Yes, if you want the deepest, most systems-driven medieval RPG on the market. It ranks number 3 on Gavler's Best Games of 2025 list with a 8.8, and both IGN and GameSpot gave it 9/10, with GameSpot specifically praising the massively improved combat and quest design over the original.

Do I need to play the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance before this one?

It isn't required, but it helps. The sequel continues protagonist Henry's story directly, and knowing his background from the original adds emotional weight — though Deliverance II does enough scene-setting that newcomers can follow along without the first game.

What was fixed from the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance?

GameSpot's review specifically credits the sequel with better combat, improved quest design, and the elimination of the technical issues that plagued the original at launch — Deliverance II addresses the first game's most common criticisms directly rather than simply expanding its scope.

Is there magic in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II?

No — like the original, it remains committed to grounded historical realism with no magic or fantasy elements, set in 15th-century Bohemia. Combat, politics, and survival all operate on realistic, consequence-driven systems rather than RPG power fantasy.