Summary
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 emphasizes realism in stealth, requiring players to wear dark and soft clothing to avoid detection.
- NPCs in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 react dynamically to players' stealth actions, increasing the challenge.
- In this RPG, players must plan ahead and make thoughtful choices in stealth gameplay, unlike waiting for a detection meter to reset.
Stealth gameplay isn't necessarily universally valued by gamers, as some might not like the patient, slow-paced playstyle that stealth mechanics require. Nevertheless, those that do enjoy stealth gameplay likely crave an immersive, rewarding experience that raises the stakes, where it is truly necessary to remain hidden at all costs. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is one such RPG that gets a lot of things right about stealth gameplay, despite not technically being a stealth game by definition.
Stealth mechanics in RPGs often adopt predictable, static, and unrewarding mechanics: crouch, stick to the shadows, and watch the detection meter. While games like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Cyberpunk 2077 incorporate stealth to some degree, they are often unrealistically portrayed, like being able to crouch right in front of someone without being detected. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, on the other hand, takes stealth gameplay to a level that many other RPGs neglect by hinging everything on realism, from the way players are dressed to the way NPCs interact with those they catch sneaking around.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review
With Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Warhorse Studios delivers one of the first great games of 2025.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Stealth Gameplay Is Unmatched
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Stealth Mechanics Rely on Immersion and Realism
Just as the rest of its mechanics do, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's stealth gameplay relies on immersion and realism, and while that ultimately increases the challenge found in it, it simultaneously increases the reward. Firstly, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 emphasizes the importance of wearing dark clothes, as doing so decreases the player's visibility to NPCs. The lower the player's visibility, the closer they can be to NPCs without being seen and the less likely they are to be detected in general, so long as they remain still.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 takes stealth gameplay to a level that many other RPGs neglect by hinging everything on realism, from the way players are dressed to the way NPCs interact with those they catch sneaking around.
Secondly, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's stealth wants players to be conscious of their noise level as well. However, whereas most RPGs simply encourage players to move more slowly in order to make less noise, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 requires players to wear softer clothing in order to reduce the noise they make when mobile. This is even heard when players are running around in heavy armor, as plates and chainmail can be heard clinging and clanging with every step. In short, the softer and darker clothes players wear in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, the less likely they are to be detected by NPCs.
NPCs Dynamically React to Stealth in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Where the challenge truly lies in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's stealth gameplay is in its reactive NPCs. Here, players don't only have to worry about guards and other authorities as they do in many RPGs. Instead, they need to be constantly abreast of the location of every NPC in the world, as getting caught one too many times can subject them to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's crime and punishment system.
If an NPC even sees players crouched in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, they will immediately become suspicious of Henry. If something is reported stolen after that, the guards will immediately suspect Henry, since he was seen sneaking around at one point. Players also need to remain aware of what is and isn't private property, which is actually tough to do in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. In most modern RPGs, players can barge into just about anything that has an open door without consequences. In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, however, homes are almost always private areas, especially after dark, and being caught entering said areas can lead to punishment if anything there has been tampered with.
Even if all players do is pick the lock on a chest and never steal anything, if they are caught in the area, they can be accused of theft.
By emphasizing elements like clothing, sound, and reactive NPCs, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 offers a stealth experience that actually makes players think and plan ahead, rather than simply crouching in a dark corner and waiting for a detection meter to reset. Every choice in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 carries weight, from the clothes Henry wears to the way NPCs remember his suspicious behavior, making stealth feel both challenging and rewarding.
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- Top Critic Rating: 90/100 Critics Recommend: 96%
- Released
- February 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
