The Nest

My recent fascination with Central European history the past two months has been inspired by the game Kingdom Come Deliverance. I've heard of the game for some time (released in 2018), and knew it was a highly regarded open-world game. I also knew it was a medieval setting during the early 1400s in the Kingdom of Bohemia. Since I love the Assassin Creed games mostly because of their historical open-world format, I knew I would enjoy this one. Especially because I didn't know too much about this historical region of Bohemia. To be fair, even though I visited Czechia I was never aware that it was once referred to as a Kingdom of Bohemia.

This game dives into the rural parts of Bohemia, following the death of the great Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. It deals with the brotherly succession dispute between Wenceslaus IV and Sigismund. Sigismund has enlisted a Hungarian army of Cumans to lay waste to the Bohemian countryside. Also in the backdrop is the rising reformation movement led by Jan Hus (However the Hussite War does not happen until 20 years later). The game offers a great fictional story of a hero's rise from rags-to-riches amidst this fascinating historical period. The game provides great insight into what life was like during this medieval time in Bohemia, the Holy Roman Empire, and early phase of the Protestant Reformation. 

The Story

The game is mostly set in the rural region of Czechia referred to as Rataje nad Sazavou (about 25 miles from Prague). The game offers many real towns in central Bohemia during the early 15th century known as Skalitz, Talmberg, Sasau, Uzhitz, Merhojed, Ledetchko, and the booming trade center of Rattay. Sadly Prague is not included in the game, but it's quite refreshing to get the full-on rural experience. The protagonist of the game is the son of a blacksmith named Henry who lives in the mining town of Skalitz. He seeks adventure while his father is passionate about the blacksmith trade. At the beginning of the game Henry must help his father build a new sword for their nobleman Sir Radzig. However the town is then attacked by Sigismund army of Cuman soldiers. Both of Henry's parents are killed and he must flee to Talmberg. There he finds favor with the nobles of Talmberg, which include Sir Davish, Sir Hanush, and Sir Radzig.

Henry recovers in Talmberg for some time, before returning to Skalitz to bury his parents. The town is completely ruined and Henry is ambushed by a group of bandits led by Runt. He is saved however by a fellow Skalitz refugee Theresa, and a band of Talmberg soldiers led by Captain Robard. Both Henry and Theresa find refuge in the outskirts of the city of Rattay with a miller named Peshek. Henry finds work as a guardian of the city of Rattay and must escort a noble price Lord Hans Capon on a hunting trip. During this trip Capon is assaulted by cumans and Henry is able to save him. This heroic act wins him a higher rank and he begins working for Sir Radzig and Divish.

One of Henry's first investigations is to locate a bandit camp that is leading an insurgency with the Cumans against the local noblemen. Henry eventually finds the camp in Pribyslavitz and joins Radzig on the assault. During this battle Henry faces Runt, the bandit who stole his father's sword (but after defeating him it is discovered that Runt no longer has the sword). However the vengeance story gets overrun by the historical story as Henry becomes more of a prominent player in the military affairs. He is then assigned a new mission to locate an insurgency operating near Sasau. He discovers a complex plot of counterfeit coins and must infiltrate a seminary as a priest to uncover more information. When Henry finally discovers the bandit camp led by Toth, he is captured and tortured. However he is freed by a fellow Skalitz native.

Henry escapes to Rattay to share what he found with Radzig. At this point it is revealed that Radzig is Henry's true father, and thus Henry is of noble-blood. Henry joins his father Radzig and Sir Divish on an assault of the bandit camp, however it is mostly empty. It is a ploy which leaves the fortress of Talmberg open for Toth to capture with his bandit army. Sir Divish is furious and commissions a trebuchet be built to lay siege to re-capture the fortress. After some time and preparation Henry joins Divish to recapture the fortress. It is another bloody battle, however Toth escapes with Henry's father's sword. Although Talmberg has been captured the threat of Toth, Sigismund, and recovering his father's sword have been unresolved. Henry is welcomed to a noble's counsel at the end of the game to seek a new alliance. In the epilogue he must journey with Hans Capon to further discuss this new peace treaty. The ending is clearly leading to the sequel game which just came out this year. 

The Gameplay

I put in about 100 hours in this game, and honestly I did not like it at first. I enjoyed the historical setting but I just hated the game format. It was just quite different in general than what I was use to with the AC games. I think what I especially disliked at first was the 1st person view. However with all new things, I know there is a learning curve, so I stook with it and eventually got over this hump. (I remember it was a similar case with Elden Ring where I was just too unfamiliar with the Dark Souls format). While this was an open-world format game it had a much heavier emphasis on the RPG genre. I've never played such a realistic role-playing-game. Where time, sleep, cleanliness, and eating are essential (aside from the usual health bar). Even the NPCs are running on their own realistic schedule. While this can be somewhat annoying it does offer a unique realistic aspect once you get use to it. I would say this is definetely an appeal for someone who truly wants to submerge themselves in a gaming environment. 

Another part that really drove me crazy at first was the saving mechanism. Most games these days will save atomically as you play or after you complete a big quest. However that was not the case for this game and it took me some time to understand that. In this game, you had to buy save potions or sleep in certain area. Saving strategy was key to move your development along. It also took me some time to get familiar with the fighting format where defense is just as essential as attack. Of course there is also training and leveling-up that is required to improve Henry's combat skills. Plus good armor and weapons can make things much easier.

Henry is a likeable dimwit and I just love the finger-wagging throughout the game. He has many skills in the game that need constant upgrading. This ranges from speech, combat, pickpocketing, lockpicking, stealth, hunting, hound-master, blacksmithing, herbalism, alchemy, horsemanship, and even drinking (Czechs are notorious for their beer consumption rate after all). In order to improve these skills you must practice them throughout the game, and then meet with an expert to officially advance your level. The character also has main stats consisting of his strength, agility, vitatlity, speech, and even reputation. As well as combat skills ranging from sword, defense, bow, axe, mace, and even unarmed. My weapon of choice was the sword but I also did pretty good at the unarmed boxing quests. I found archery and hunting to be very challenging in this game. I was bare essential with the locksmith/pickpocket/stealth components. But I did enjoy the horse and dog companionship elements. 

I always love a resourceful game, and this game certainly had it's business element to it. Henry has various ways to acquire tools, weapons, or resources that will aid him on his journey. This ranges from armor and weapons, but also to food and potions. He can collect herbs and use alchemy to brew potions that can improve his health or save the game at any point. The game has many merchant categories (especially in Rattay) ranging from swordsmith, armorer, butcher, apothecary, cobbler, tailor, baker, grocer, horse trader, innkeeper, and bathhouse maids. I always enjoy a game that offers a trade component where you can buy new gear but also sell acquired resources. The game even has a town-building element but I only got about half-way thru developing Pribyslavitz. 

All-in-all what I most loved about the game was the historical setting. It's no question the developers put a lot of thought in the setting and the historical content of Bohemia. What I didn't like however was the 1st person view. The graphics were decent, but I just like to see my character in action. A lot of times the character's movement was limited, blocked, and even parts where he would just get stuck in general. Granted this is an older game from 2018 and it was a PS4 game playing on a PS5 console, but still it was a bit on the quirky side. But I eventually did get the hang of it, and can truly say I enjoyed it overall. I'd say the biggest challenge was getting familiar with the format and all it's RPG rules. It's a game where survival and decisions were more important than sheer combat. I don't think it would make my top 25 all time games, but it was a very entertaining gameplay, especially from the historical aspect. I will most definitely play the sequel at some point.