With Erik not in Vranik bug squashed due to 1.4.3, I’ve been able to move forward with the MQ. And, some hours ago, the End of Game (EOG) has come to pass…
Now for my thoughts, assessments, opinions, etc.
Overall- rock solid 4/5.
Positives: it was a well crafted narrative with lots of creativity and plenty of variety and surprises (Henry being Radzig’s son wasn’t one of them). the combat system was a refreshing paradigm shift away from attack spamming and supernatural powers (earthquake strike, etc). the git gud demands at begining of gameplay added a much appreciated sense of desperation and the need to focus. the landscape is simply beautiful and has an authenticity to it (minus the overabundance of strip fields planted with flowers). the attention to detail in the buildings and the clutter therein make KCD settlements feel like genuine living spaces. having over 2000 enemy kills, i can say i’ve never enjoyed grinding so much
overall, to me, the dialog is on par with a quality movie/TV show. at times, the banter is top shelf which is noteworthy as repartee doesn’t always translate well because of different language and cultural sensibilities. so, long story short, the translators and original writers deserve a ton of credit
the ending was a huge letdown or disappointment for others. i’m in the minority here as i actually enjoyed it. to me, there was enough content in dealing with the immediate threat in Bohemia and i don’t think it’s because I did so much grinding. additionally, the cutscenes at the end did a good job of explaining the sociopolitical dynamics involved in Sigismund’s and the nobles’ actions without being stale or cartoonish… or taking the easy way out a presenting us with a wall of text.
lastly, the game has made me invested in Henry. i’m there. Henry’s made through more than baptism of fire the quest, he’s made it through the baptism of fire of life during a time of war. ignoring my thoughts as the RPG career manager (eg what skill/role could Henry possibly develop in next game), I’m eager for the next chapter
Negatives the AI is functional but crude. on the surface, the animals and people act well, but dig deeper and they behave less well to poorly as individuals and as groups/teams.
after grinding away with ~2k kills at ~450h, i’m still not lvl 20. this underscores a fundamental weakness in leveling in KCD: it’s not scaled right. weak in the beginning is fine even perfect, but once Henry gets to mid lvl, Henry is overpowered and his development plateaus. on one hand, the plateauing is a blessing in disguise as it prevents Henry from being godlike in battle. on the other hand, the value of developing from mid to high lvl seems lost. ideally, this should be the making of an expert. think KCD comes up short here
there are definitely quests and missions that make Henry invested in the various settlements. that investment is superficial. after literally saving Merhojed in the Pestilence quest, the reputation stayed around 50 for a while. it doesn’t make sense as does the lack of meaningful interactions/dialog after the quest. similarly, giving food, jobs, alms, potions, etc should be a source of much meaningful investment in specific individuals (with names) and settlements. while there’s some (food and job quests for Skalitz refugees), it doesn’t appear impactful beyond in-game achievement collecting.
the crime-reputaion system is cryptic at best. by the time you git gud at lockpicking and pickpocketing, you’ve probably already accumulated enough money from loot. so there is no financial incentive, just pleasure in stealing from others. this also points out a larger problem, the economy is perverse. food and goods in pillaged province are abundant and a huge stash of money can be accumulated (eg +900k) but nothing can be done with it
the graphics when still and at some twilight vista with a (mostly) clear sky are splendid. on the move and through settlements, the graphics are a noteable disappointment. perhaps 1.5 and the future patches will fix some of the issues, but as things stand right now with 1.4.3, there are problems. Heavy rain is still straight out of Missile Command. Clothing texture recon for 1.4.3 is absolutely the worst among all KCD releases. sometimes NPCs close up look silly for about 3-5 secs at the layers reconcile and resolve. at times, the facial detail of NPCs in cutscenes lags so they briefly take on the texture of gummy bears. the game still cannot handle the Rattay race so more than 50% of the time Warhorse Jenda races into an incompletely rendered landscape including the bridge under hoof
change mgmt including post go live communications have been problematic. being small is no excuse. please cease mentioning it. it makes you look unprofessional or in over your head. neither are a good look
topical thoughts will be posted as replies below
fwiw, @WH_janrucker @DrFusselpulli, I welcome and appreciate some of the recent WH changes. I hope you keep up the momentum
I have 185 enemies killed with a headshot… sniper is my rarest trophy (0.5%) and that’s 50 headshots
. They’re here to kill, pillage and rape. Not having that in this playthrough.
In the beginning, I mistook traders at battle spawn points as hostile. Also, inadvertently hit some guards when trying to outflank and hit bandit/Cuman. Some guards won’t let you surrender; they want you dead. Not happenin’
♂️… or wait till WH rolls out a battle sandbox (pls Santa Daniel Vavra Claus pls 
- bandit fort, Cuman fort, marauding bands of enemies attacking settlements to be defended against by Henry and settlement guards, etc)