Fans of the first game have some good news as early reviews for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II are giving it praise. Warhorse Studios lifted the preview embargo recently and media outlets have begun posting their first impressions of the sequel that is set to launch on PC and consoles on February 4. While early reviews for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II are positive, reviewers explain that they are using an early build of the game and the final release could differ in some ways. Reviewers were not allowed to reveal story details other than that the game picks up right after the ending of the previous game from 2018.
Per PC Gamer:
“20 hours in, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a mad, systems-driven sandbox that captures some of the best parts of games like Stalker”
Per VGC:
“When compared to the first game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 feels like a prestige drama that received a huge increase in budget for the second season. Everything about it is tighter, looks better, and is more accomplished.”
Per Rock Paper Shotgun:
“After five hours, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a beautiful and blundering Boy’s Day Out in Historyland”
Per The Gamer:
“About ten hours into the sequel, I can say that while this feels very much like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, it’s much more polished than the original game, with a tweaked combat system, some truly gorgeous scenery, and no quest bugs to note so far.”
Game GPU has provided a more technical review using an assortment of modern GPUs from all three manufacturers at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II supports DLSS, FSR, and PSSR on PlayStation. Their review also includes an assortment of images with slider comparisons for PC using SMAA/FSR/DLSS. The game seems to scale well across different hardware configurations but those hoping to play at native 4K resolution using Ultra settings will need at least an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, which achieved sub 60 FPS to upwards of 70 FPS in select areas. An AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX would likely also perform well at native 4K.
There’s an experimental setting that raises graphical fidelity further but costs roughly another 10+ FPS to enable. The good news is that the game does not currently seem to be VRAM intensive as testing showed it using roughly 10 GB at 4K.
Per Game GPU:
“Clothes and armor are designed to the smallest detail, reflecting the historical features of the era. Moreover, every detail of the environment, from the stones on the pavement to the leaves on the trees, has its own unique textures and interacts with the lighting.”
While early reviews for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II do hail it as a worthy successor with its beautiful graphics, improved gameplay, and expanded area, there has also been some criticism for its pacing. Some players have complained about its slow-burn approach and perhaps being too tedious in its attempts at realism but that too was also an appeal for others with the first game.