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If I had to sum up how I spent the opening hours of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 in one word, it would be walking. Henry definitely got his step count in and then some as I journeyed from town to town in search of food, groschen, and my loyal hound, Mutt. I felt like I was making progress very slowly because of it, but it also felt apt for a game set in ye olde medieval times. Everything really was slower back then, and through each trudging step down graveled paths and dirt roads, I was capturing that pace. I'll be honest here: for the longest time, I wasn't even aware you could fast travel in Warhorse's RPG. But even after discovering that fact, I've been actively choosing to avoid doing it. Nothing immerses me in the world quite like the long treks I was taking on foot to begin with, and now that I have my dear Pebbles back, I'm avoiding fast travel like the plague by venturing to and fro on my horse.
Not only do my long excursions on horseback make me feel like I'm really present in this world, but they also add to the sense of adventure by making every encounter or discovery feel more organic. In fact, it's taking me back to the magic of Red Dead Redemption 2, where I'd stumble across random instances that make the wild west backdrop feel so alive. Even if it's adding to my playtime significantly, I wouldn't want to experience Bohemia any other way.
Horse and Hound
Fast travel is a big time saver, and I don't blame anyone for using it to pop over to a town or place they've previously discovered in expansive open-worlds. But from Red Dead Redemption 2 to Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3, I almost always opt to travel to destinations myself in RPGs. This is partly down to how enjoyable I find the various means of travel. I'll never pass up the chance to drive through the neon-tinted streets of Night City, or gallop across the plains of old-timey fictionalized America (or any one of the Witcher 3's locations). But it also speaks to the way I want to engage with the worlds both Rockstar and CD Projekt Red created, and it's something I've been carrying over into Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
As Arthur Morgan, meandering though the map on my beloved horse not only lets me soak in the sights and sounds of the landscape, but it also allows me to make the most of the random encounters peppered through the world in Red Dead Redemption 2. From stumbling across an injured person, to offering someone a ride, and getting caught up in all manner of hijinks, each possible instance draws me into the setting by making it feel like it tangibly reacts to my presence within it.
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, I'm getting much the same feeling thanks to my refusal to fast travel. Whether it be the time I came across a bloke with an arrow stuck in his forehead during a casual jaunt with Pebbles and Mutt, or the instance that saw me meet a man who asked me to punch him to cover up the fact that he'd lost the message he was supposed to deliver for his lord, every encounter I've had so far feels like an organic discovery I've made during my travels.
Sights and sounds
In Cyberpunk 2077, driving around is one of my favorite pastimes, but it also gives me space to appreciate the sights of Night City. In fact, whenever someone else is behind the wheel and I'm riding shotgun, I never skip the journey; instead preferring to seize the opportunity to look out of the passenger window as the illuminated cityscapes pass me by. Similarly in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, you sometimes find yourself following behind another rider on horseback, and again I always turn down the option to skip it. On one occasion, I found myself following a character across a new region for so long, I was given a second prompt to skip the journey halfway through. But I simply would not have it. Henry says it best – "why rush?". So I sat back and followed along, appreciating my surroundings all the while.
As fast travel features go, I do appreciate that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's plays out like a choose-your-own-adventure system at times. Should you come across a person of interest, or a camp, you'll be given a prompt to decide if you want to stop and check it out or not, which means that you hopefully won't miss out on anything if you decide to make use of it. But even so, I still much prefer to travel across the world myself so that these occurrences feel like they're happening naturally.
So far, my stubborn determination to avoid fast travelling has only enhanced the sense of adventure for me in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. I really enjoy the slower pace it gives the whole RPG, which feeds into the time period perfectly. But more than that, it adds to the immersive feel and role-play experience in this medieval world. Just like Red Dead Redemption 2, taking things slow and not doing much at all can sometimes conjure the most memorable moments. So I'll keep hopping on the back of my horse and walking down paths unknown, because who knows where it might lead me next. But whatever happens, I know I'll have a great time finding out.
