Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has more than two and a half times the peak concurrent player count the original game ever achieved, an impressive feat for any direct sequel.
Sequels are a tricky business. On the one hand, they allow developers to reuse assets and get a game out of the door faster, and if the original game was a success, it's comforting for investors to know there's already a fan base. On the other hand, if a sequel relies on you having played its predecessor, it can alienate some and lead to fewer sales. Well, it seems you're all much more interested in dense RPGs now than you were in 2018.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance had a peak concurrent player count of 96,069 when it was released in February 2018 - a very respectable number. But the sequel got a staggering 256,206 over the weekend. As noted by one redditor, this means the game is in Steam's top 50 chart for all-time peak concurrents. There's already a roadmap and post-launch plans, so all of you enjoying it now have more to look forward to.
Our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 review noted that while the game has a lot of friction, "its realization of medieval life remains utterly absorbing." System-heavy RPGs seem to be making a comeback in the wake of games like Baldur's Gate 3.
The Kingdom Come: Deliverance series is notable for not giving you a super-powered hero right off the bat. You play as Henry, the son of a blacksmith thrust into a war who needs to learn all the skills a medieval worker would. Want to read a book? Better learn how. Want to fight a knight in shining armor? Do you even know how to swing a sword properly?
This means "progression can be a more pedestrian affair," but "having the patience to meet the game on its terms makes for a more genuine form of role-playing." Our Features Editor is a very bad thief and now has to pay a hefty fine or live life as a criminal. You can't just do what you want, this world reacts.
In recent years, I realize my taste in video games has shifted to these slower, more deliberate ones, where I have to invest in my character to navigate a hostile or indifferent world. I love Dragon's Dogma 2 and Stalker 2, games where I have to plan before I set forth on a journey.
If you want to play more games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, check out our list of the best RPGs.
Horizon Zero Dawn star Ashly Burch responds to Sony's controversial AI Aloy by pushing for actor protections: "You have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you're using this AI"
Oblivion remake leaks suggest Skyrim's cooler sibling is making a comeback, but I'm worried a modern makeover could bulldoze over the weirdness that makes it great
