As the most important medieval city in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Kuttenberg was a gathering place of power at the time. Swordsmanship master Menhard hoped to teach Henry from Skalitz some sword techniques, but this swordsmanship lesson was interrupted by officials from the fencing guild of Kuttenberg. Although Menhard had a license from King Wenceslaus, they still didn’t allow him to teach the technique of pommel strikes. What’s worse is that they were also planning to fine Menhard for violating the local regulations.

The situation became tense, with a bloody conflict seemingly about to break out at any moment. Henry quickly said, “Menhard isn’t giving me a lesson. I have tarnished his honor, so we’re about to duel.”

The guild leader didn’t believe it and questioned why I wanted to duel. The game then provided a few options for Henry to respond. I quickly decided to have Henry say that he had slept with Menhard’s daughter. I didn’t know if Menhard actually had a daughter, but I thought this would be the kind of thing that would cause a duel in medieval times, so I chose it.

It worked. The guild leader believed the lie I told and decided not to impose a fine, but still prohibited Menhard from teaching swordsmanship in the city. Having avoided a battle, I turned to Menhard, expecting him to thank me, but he was furious. Menhard did indeed have a daughter, and Henry’s claim of sleeping with her had truly damaged his honor. Unfortunately, now the relationship between the two is strained, and Henry must first appease the angry sword master before they can work together on more pressing matters, such as planning how to get revenge on the fencing guild of Kuttenberg.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will be an even more grand RPG than its predecessor. In this over 100-hour-long epic, not only are there large-scale battles, but it also showcases the local cultural scenery of Bohemia and features a fully simulated medieval urban life. At this demo event hosted by Warhorse Studios in Kutná Hora (the modern name of Kuttenberg in Czech), it was the meticulous attention to detail that impressed me the most.

Warhorse stated that every decision the player makes in the game will have a certain impact. From the angry reaction of the swordsmanship master due to the random choice I made, it already feels like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will deliver on this promise.

However, before entering such an open world of choices, players must first go through a few hours of the prologue. Warhorse prepared two different segments for this demo, and the first part I played was the beginning of the game. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 opens with a flashback, where you must defend the gate of a castle using a crossbow and longsword.

Warhorse claimed that there would be much larger-scale battles in this installment, and the game starts by letting players experience a massive battle right away. We had to not only topple siege ladders on the castle walls but also fire crossbows at the enemy soldiers attacking the gate.

After this exciting opening, the story picks up after the ending of the first game. Henry is tasked with delivering a letter alongside his friend Sir Hans Capon to Lord Otto von Berg of a nearby region. The mission structure of the opening part is very linear, with a lot of cutscenes. However, this segment lets players fully experience the friendship between Henry and Hans.

Like the first game, the dialogue in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has a humanistic style. Henry is still the naive, kind protagonist, and his role as Sir Hans’ squire adds some fun little conflicts to their brotherly bond.

They both exude a youthful enjoyment of life, revealing the privileges and freedom that their noble status affords them in medieval society. But their good times are short-lived. An encounter with a knight serving Berg makes them realize the dangers lurking all around them. They must convince the armored knight that they are not thieves or bandits. This is where the game’s first rich dialogue options come into play, giving players a lot of choices for conversation and explanation. While the dialogue in the first game was generally interesting, at times I felt the writing wasn’t outstanding.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's gameplay builds on the events of the first game. Therefore, the prologue has many tutorial elements reminiscent of the previous game. For example, a friendly duel between Henry and Hans helps reacquaint you with the series' unique sword combat system. The combat system in the sequel has been refined, reducing the number of directions you need to focus on during battles from five to four, making actions like blocking and counterattacking easier to perform.

Although it’s been a long time since I played the first game, after a few minutes of tutorial, I was still able to hold my own against Sir Hans’ attacks. This reflects how Warhorse Studios has simplified the combat, lowering the barrier for new players. Additionally, non-blade weapons like maces have been added to the combat system, giving players interested in blunt weapons a chance to shine.

The prologue's climax comes when Henry and Hans are bathing by the river and are quietly drawn into the reeds by nearby peasant women. However, the mood quickly darkens when bandits attack their camp, forcing them to flee into the nearby bushes, wearing only their underpants. This part of the game swings between serious and humorous tones, with the music seamlessly following the changes in atmosphere.

Despite all the unfortunate events, Henry and Hans are eventually taken in by a local peasant woman. Here, we see the more leisurely side of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. One of the strengths of the first game was its ability to immerse players in the game world, and the sequel continues this trend. Whether it's taking food from a stew pot or gathering herbs, every first-person animation is crafted with meticulous attention to detail.

In the game, you'll tread through lush Bohemian forests, accompanied by birdsong. During the demo, I got to try out the new alchemy system, which is more detailed and engaging than in the previous game. You'll need to put raw materials into a large pot and use a nearby lever to adjust the height of the pot, thereby controlling the temperature. Later, Henry killed a few bandits who had come looking for him. There’s a side mission where you can choose to bury their bodies far away from the woman’s house. One by one, I carried their corpses to give them a proper burial.

Everything in the first part of the demo indicates that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will offer the same level of freedom as its predecessor, allowing players to shape the story. However, the opening sequence didn’t showcase many new features. The second demo segment had plenty. Fast forward to around 50 hours into the campaign, Henry arrives in Kuttenberg, the largest urban area in the series. This bustling medieval city is filled with rich environments where every NPC has their own life schedule and behavior patterns.

It’s here that Henry encounters swordsmanship master Menhard and becomes involved in the aforementioned dispute over sword-teaching rights. To resolve the issue, Menhard devises a plan where Henry must steal the fencing guild’s official sword and hang it on the wall of the town hall. Menhard explains that this act is a way of issuing a duel challenge to the city, where Menhard will prove his superior swordsmanship.

Of course, this means you'll need to sneak into the fencing guild’s territory, which is filled with master swordsmen. Menhard suggests going at night (though you can attempt it during the day). Even under the cover of night, theft in Kuttenberg is highly risky. Everyone walking the streets at night must carry a torch, and if the guards catch you without one, they’ll immediately become suspicious. After successfully evading the patrolling guards, I had to scale the guild’s wall, pick some locks on potential entry points, find the sword, and escape.

In this mission, the open-world nature of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 becomes fully apparent. It feels less like the earlier linear levels and more like Dishonored. My first attempt at the theft went wrong quickly. I picked the lock but alerted a night watchman, who searched me and then locked the door again. I picked the lock a second time, but after just a few steps inside, I was discovered. I tried to fight my way out with fists, knocking out one guard, but his companion alerted the city watch, and they quickly cut me down.

On my second attempt, I was much more careful, successfully stole the sword, and hung it on the town hall wall. Normally, the mission would end here, but there’s more. After the successful theft, multiple sword-fighting matches between Menhard and the fencing guild begin.

You can represent Menhard in these matches, defending his honor and his right to teach swordsmanship in the city. The outcome of the mission depends on your dialogue choices and gameplay. For example, if you’re caught stealing the sword, the guild will accuse you of theft during the duel, and their fighters will wear heavier armor, making the battles more difficult.

Such complex mission structures don’t surprise me, as the first game excelled in mission design. However, everything in the sequel, which takes place on the bustling streets of Kuttenberg, feels on a higher level than the first game. If Menhard’s mission is representative of the average quality of the 100+ hour campaign, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is bound to be a truly unique game.