More of KCD 1, but bigger and better!

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is great. Playing it on hardcore mode - so no fast travels, but soon as you get a horse, it doesnt really take very long to get places. It's also beautiful and kind of enjoyable just roaming around the massive open world, finding cool places, enemies, interesting characters, and some treasure! The scenery isn't necessarily awe-inspiring, but it does feel like wandering around in the woods, when you are doing so. Easy to get lost on hardcore, have to keep track of landmarks until you learn an area.

At first the game is a little brutal, wolves and stray dogs will kill you pretty easy. More than one enemy usually means your death. Takes a bit to get rolling, getting money and equipment. Though when you do, you can start taking more chances, taking on bandits and such to kill them and take their gear. Though depending on how well equipped your enemies are, it can still be incredibly challenging to survive fights against multiple enemies. Even dueling carries a good challenge. Partially because of the janky combat system, which may be slightly improved from the first but still is not very smooth. I think this entire game i've pulled off maybe 1 combo, in a fight, that wasn't the tutorial or training for said combo. I feel like the combat may work a bit better with controller, keyboard and mouse just doesn't seem to be the best. It can be pretty annoying when you are trying to position your sword for attacks and you look away from the enemy instead, or you are trying to look away from the enemy to one on your flank, but can't get the targeting off the first. Definitely gets a bit frustrating when you have those issues over and over, but the satisfaction from winning fights balances it out. You aren't supposed to be a superhero, and you have to pick your battles accordingly. A few well placed arrows will make all the difference before drawing your melee weapon, so it's a good idea to practice with the ranged.

Push through the first part of the game and it gets better, less slow and tedious feeling, definitely worth it to keep going in my opinion.

Of course there are plenty of ways to play through the game, fighting, using stealth, or straight up charisma. You will need to do a bit of everything, and become a master of many trades. Each style carries it's own satisfaction and dopamine hits, aside from alchemy, but the potions are incredibly helpful. Sneaking around can get the heart pounding as much as trying to take out an enemy camp.

There is an abundance of good side quests alongside the main questline. The game is rather large, and there is a ton of engaging story content and fighting to be done. It starts off a bit slow, the beginning definitely being the hardest and most tedious part of the game, as you are unskilled and weak, without gear etc. Ramps up though as you progress and by the time you get to Kuttenberg, you will be thoroughly engaged and invested.

It runs rather well on my PC which is a mid tier gaming rig that was maybe close to high end 4-5 years ago. Looks great, sound quality is top notch, giving it loads of immersion.

Leveling up stats and skills feels good and is paced pretty well, you don't get mega strong too fast, but also you can definitely feel the improvement in your abilities as you progress. Level things up by doing them, you don't get a level and have to choose where to place the point, you just progress in the areas you put your focus in doing. Sneak around alot, and progress in stealth rapidly. Go find people to fight, and progress in your warfare and strength. Concoct potions, and improve alchemy, etc. I really enjoy this style of progress, sorta like skyrim or morrowind even where you can improve by jumping around a lot.

The story is engaging and drives you to accomplish your goals to see the results, also, getting revenge! 90 or so hours in and im still very engaged and can easily get sucked into long play sessions, I still feel like there's a lot of content left and tons of places I haven't been. I'm trying to play other games to do other reviews, but I keep coming back for more of this game, and will undoubtedly end up completing the main story-line, which there are lots of games I never finish, so there's that in it's favor. I feel it has been a great value for the amount of time i've enjoyed it, and I still have plenty more left. It might not be for everyone, but I definitely recommend it to people interested. Overall a great RPG.