I don’t want this topic to turn into a hatefest, so I’ll start by expressing my praise for the game.
First of all I’m grateful to Warhorse for making this title real, I always wanted a medieval-themed non-fantasy RPG.
Kingdom Come is a very ambitious project considering how many non-standard mechanics the game implemented.
I appreciate the artwork, the graphics, the storytelling. I think the amount of effort Warhorse put into making this game consistent with available historical sources. I appreciate the complex combat system, the departure from standard tropes (when you start in a village and get a quest to kill low-level mobs inside a cellar or cave), I appreciate the continuous support for the game. On the other hand, here are some things that make me mad the longer I play the game:
1.The combat system takes visible shortcuts to make up for mediocre AI
1a. Ripostes seem to have been significantly nerfed since I first played the game (I have a box edition). As of now many ripostes (despite obviously showing the player character hitting the opponent with their weapon) inflict very little damage, even less so than standard hits to the same area. This mostly helps the AI, as players engaging multiple opponents (which describes 95% of all fights in game) in melee have to adopt a more defensive approach, which would naturally rely on blocking and riposting. Some of the ripostes have very limited usefulness (for example the one where you kick back your opponent so far it’s impossible to follow up with a fast strike), while some other are counterproductive (the throw around riposte is only good to make yourself surrounded, swarmed and killed, it would have some dubious utility in a duel, but in skirmishes it’s litterally worse than failing to riposte and only doing a perfect block).
1b. The AI knows. Let’s be honest, after being in so many fights I won’t be told that each time my character runs out of stamina enemies get a sudden spike of aggression by pure chance. The player character has no way to assess for enemy stamina (considering AI has a stamina stat, which isn’t very obvious judging by how quickly they can recover from receiving multiple hits), enemies on the other side ALWAYS know when your stamina is low and they keep swarming you like suicide attackers until it regains 25-30% of its maximal value.
1c. Combos are only there to allow low-level mobs to kill you despite your good armor and their poor weaponry. Most AI opponents seem to be able to execute flawless several hit combos (because lousy Cuman stragglers and bums from the nearby village armed with improvised weaponry spend all their time at fencing school), and these combos defeat the purpose of any armor. Only yesterday a fight with a Cuman veteran left me with ~15% health and a bleeding wound following one (1!) combo, despite being fully-encased in high-level plate, chainmail and quilted armor. The game simply lets late hits during a combo to ignore armor. I survived the fight, and none of my equipment was below 90% durability (most were in the 94-100% range), my enemy used a blunt Cuman axe. This mechanic works solely for the purpose of the AI, because being permanently outnumbered it’s near-impossible to execute a combo without being swarmed and killed by other mobs. Nothing explains how my enemy’s blows magically bypassed 3 layers of armor without causing enough damage to debuff its defensive properties. Also combos are impossible to avoid once your stamina is low, you can’t even step back, you can only watch your health drop, because so. Even if you consider combos to be an equivalent of an aggressive fighting style, they still make little sense until very late in game, as most opponents appear to have very high defense and warfare, making it difficult to chain strikes against them.
1d. Autoaim is more bad than good. Countless times the game made it hard for me to change target and maneuver the battlefield. The feature of locking aim on a specific target is really counterproductive, for what reason would I be interested in locking on a specific target on the battlefield, when the most important target is the one standing there in front of me trying to kill me?
1e. Enemies’ ripostes teleport them toward you, which is ridiculous. The games shows perefectly that the step I take back right before an enemy’s riposte is followed by them hovering over (not lunging!) to me to kick my ass, meanwhile my own ripostes kick them out of my attack range, because so.
1f. AI allies are more bad than good. Countless times I’ve been fighting a band of brigands alongside guards from the local garrison, only to have one of the idiots (city guards) walk into my lunge/cut, get hit, and turn hostile. Only yesterday I’ve seen 3-4 guards follow a single brigand approaching me like a circle of living shields, hesitant to attack him, even that one of them were at his blindside.
1g. Blindsiding works only if your name’s AI. If you want to hit an enemy in the back (during skirmish) you have to cheat the game by lunging/swinging beside him, then aiming at him after the attack is launched. It’s near impossible to follow up with additional strikes. The same is real for enemies switching from bow to melee, your aiming reticle simply disappears and attack controls are unresponsive. Apparently Henry’s chivalrous, but his opponents don’t mind hitting him with a combo to the blindside.
2. The trading system is becoming more and more worthless
2a. Initially one could increase reputation with merchants by successfully haggling or tipping them, now you can only lose reputation with merchants.
2b. Up to a recent patch merchants with whom you made regular business became increasingly wealthy which allowed you to trade heaps of loot for coin, not anymore.
2c. The merchants’ stock is utterly unimpressive. Some of the best equipment can only be looted from renegades who creep in the bushes because apparently they have little to eat and no coin to spend. This is most painfully obvious in regard to high-level swords and armor. I understand some pieces are expensive and hard to sell, but I’d pay in advance to have them made or imported. Considering merchants are not there to sell me good stuff or buy stuff for me, why does Warhorse bother placing them in game?
3. Some items/mechanics are illogical or constitute a departure from historical knowledge.
3a. Why does Sir Radzig Kobyla’s sword reflect the offensive capabilities of the merchant’s sword with only half the durability? If this is the finest sword Martin ever made, he’s probably better off forging horseshoes.
3b. Why do some swords feature absurd durability (namely Magdeburg and Fearnot) with only mediocre offensive capacity? Can’t they be sharpened to a narrower angle to exchange some of this durability with cutting power?
3c. Why do some longswords feature gems in the pommel? How many swings would it take for the damn thing to fall off?
3d. How come the Herod sword can cut through plate and mail, but is incapable of piercing it? Is it a lightsaber? Is it a blunt-tipped executioner’s sword? Is it both?
3e. Why does mace training occur with an actual weapon (aka bludgeon)? This makes leveling the mace a chore, because (as long as you’re doing well) Sir Robard gets pommeled into a pulp once a minute and you need to start training once again. Couldn’t people use padded sticks to prevent injury?
3f. The “revenant” perk was nerfed. Good job. Once I could use it to get healed during traveling, now it’s only useful for minor wounds (~10HP) or resting without a bed.
3g. Falling for a medium distance while mounted causes disproportionate damage, falling off the horse doesn’t, because so.
3h. The upgrades around Pribyslavitz make no sense. One can earn 2000 groschen per day from the settlement until they renew the rathaus and church, except for completing the quest this gives the player NOTHING in return. You’re basically expected to permanently lower your income from the city for nothing in return. It would make sense if renewing the church fully attracted more folk allowing the player to build previously excluded structures (for example, previously you could only build stables or a guardhouse, but the renovations brought in more settlers making it profitable and possible to have both).
In conclusion KCD is a great game, I spent nearly 300h to this point playing it, in comparison I’ve played the Witcher III for 140h, Skyrim for 310h, Fallout NV for 160h and Fallout 4 for 600h. It’s not a bad game by any means, but it has some irritating and senseless mechanics and features that become even more so the longer it is played.
I’m curious to read your opinions on the matter, as well as have my points rebuked.
