Kingdom come Deliverance 1 Hardcore Mode

Kingdom Come Deliverance (1st chapter) originally released in 2018.

The version i am reviewing today is the 1.9.6-404-504czj3 from GoG (including all the DLCs).

KINGDOM COME DELIVERANCE 1 HARDCORE

It was a long time since i had written anything on my website…

Well i have been very busy in real life, professionally speaking as i passed 2 IT certifications lately (ITF+ and A+), but also because i completed a few video games 😁

1. Dragon Age: The Veilguard
2. Clair Obscur Expedition 33
3. A Plague Tale Requiem

I don't even know if i will create reviews of them one day… I have all the screenshots i need, but none of them gave me the envy to write an article. Even if Clair Obscur and Plague Tale were truly masterpieces! But that was really with Kingdom Come Deliverance that i needed to write one more time to express all my love 😍

Maybe i was just temporarily tired of feeding my website… But Kingdom Come Deliverance made me feel something i had not felt since… Since Witcher 3 ! Yeah i dare compare KCD to Witcher 3, because i have spent like 200 hours on KCD and never really felt bored. I usually get bored after 100-150+ hours, so that was a surprise!

KINGDOM COME DELIVERANCE 1 HARDCORE

Kingdom Come Deliverance got a Hardcore mode… and frankly ? It should be designed as a new standard 😍

Most important features of Hardcore mode are : No compass! So you never know if you're facing North or South, and when you open the map there is No marker to find your position either 😅 That means you literally have to rely on your sense of direction! Oh and i almost forgot… NO Fast Travel! 🤣 You want to go somewhere? Take your horse and ride!

Many times Fast Travel and all sorts of help in video games are taking the immersion out! Without these you have to rely on your own skills of wayfinding, like to recognize patterns and objects along the way, like to know you have to turn left after the burned house, or when you reach the place of an accident you have to turn right. It's incredible how a video game can become so interesting when you remove all of these “take my hand and let me guide you“.

Also Hardcore mode forces you to take 2 negative perks 😜 I have chosen Numbkull and Worm Eater, so i was gaining XP far slower than usual, and i had to eat twice as much in order to not starve! Actually these 2 perks highly contributed to the fact that i loved KCD! Because my skills were FAR from being maxed even after 200 hours, and my highest combat skill was at 14 on 20. So i never became a killing machine and stayed human by the very end of the game.

Even my horsebackriding skill wasn't maxed and i literally used it all of the time! 🤩

Speaking of Realism, even your own vision of the battlefield can be reduced if your helmet got a Visor!

That's why most of the time i relied on open helmets, even if they were protecting largely less… At least i could see what i was doing, even more when fighting a group of opponents! Because in Hardcore mode, your opponents won't hesitate to overwhelm you, they won't stand in queue waiting to be killed one by one 😌

The difference between a Full Helmet and an open one, your vision… your choice! 😎

It's also important to note that there is a perk called “HeadCracker”! Whenever you manage to land a hit on an opponent's head, you have a slight chance to knock him out! This perk is highly useful and even more when fighting multiple opponents, as it will give you time to fight the others while one or more of them will be lying on the ground.

And if it's only one opponent against you, headcracker means Free Kill ! 😈

Still… In Hardcore mode, whoever you'll face will try hard to hit you on the head! So… less vision or more protection, it depends on your ability to defend yourself, or to rely on the sole high protection of a full helmet (helmet with visor).

↓ Click! for a Discount ↓

KINGDOM COME DELIVERANCE 1 HARDCORE

The factor of Immersion in KCD is truly one of the best i have ever seen… (even more in Hardcore!)

Riding under the rays of a shining sun, exploring new towns and finding your way through a dense forest. As a matter of fact when you're dependent on your horse and no more on Fast Travel, you have to schedule all of your trips!

Why ? Because if the hour is late, the night will come! And you certainly don't want to travel through forests at night… And there will always be a forest between a Point A and B. So when you have many quests in your journal, it's a good thing to try to complete as many as you can in a certain area, before moving to another city.

You'll need to plan how much food you'll need, and wake up early to travel by day time 👍

There are many dangers on the roads, random small events like bandits or any kind of ambush can happen. And to remind you, in medieval times there were no public floor lamps! Even in cities it was mandatory to carry a torch by night 😅 So imagine crossing a dense forest by the sole light of your little torch… Frankly that's dangerous!

You can outrun any bandits on the road, thanks to your horse… But if it's night time… Even if you know the road well, sometimes in the heat of the race you can literally get lost! And if you take in consideration that in Hardcore you have no compass at all, to be lost in the dark after a wild race to flee the danger is not something you want!

Another good immersion is how the speech skill works!

Even if you have the perk to know exactly the challenge level of the person you're talking to, it will not guarantee a success! There are three kinds of way to speak to someone… Elevate the Voice, Speak like a Noble, or try the Rude attitude. But if you check the second picture below… You'll notice all the choices are of the same category 😁

That's because in KCD your speech success also depends of the context of a discussion… So it won't only be about the way you say things, it will also be about if it's relevant or not in the context.

On the left i tried to speak my way out of troubles, and on the right… well it depended on the context 👍

And finally still on the Immersion level, you can enjoy all the good things of life 🥰

Having a beer ! Drinking yourself to oblivion and waking up in a place you've never seen before 🤣 Or again… having sex with a few women ! You know… These were different times, but girls still love a big strong… Man!

You were expecting a different word ? 😜 And don't worry… It's only Eroticism… There is NO Porn in KCD.

Having a drink with the local nobility, and making sure Theresa will remember this night 😎

↓ Click! for a Discount ↓

KINGDOM COME DELIVERANCE 1 HARDCORE

There is a LOT of excitement to be found in KCD !

Investigations of scene crimes, questioning the villagers and trying to unearth any clues, following the hints given by someone or by a piece of parchment, sabotaging an execution to restore the honor of the local executioner, participating in a sermon to motivate a village, or be the lawyer and witness for your friend accused of heresy by the church!

Even if Warhorse don't have the same resources Cd Projekt Red got, they're definitely playing in the same yard!

KCD is a realistic game, anyone can be the victim of bandits… men and women alike.

Public executions are a thing in these dark times, as well as public punishment by the church!

You can also decide to embrace a short but rewarding Thief career 😏 Let's face it… In these kind of role playing games, even more when playing in hardcode mode… You have nothing and everything is super expensive! So… A pair of lockpicks, some black clothes and some skills in stealth will help you to get off the ground 😈

KCD is doing a very good work regarding stealth, as there are several factors to take in consideration. Your clothes or armor can make some noise, so you can be very good in stealth but the noise you'll make will attract everyone around! Also think about the color of your clothes and if they can blend well enough in the context.

To be honest the lockpicking and stealth skills are a MUST have in any RPGs out there…

Check your map then travel to discover a secret, and sometimes stealth is not enough to get what you want…

Remember you're no Hero and if you break the law, you'll be subject to punishment if you're caught…

↓ Click! for a Discount ↓

Kingdom Come Deliverance 1 Hardcore

Medieval Times also means Mass combat !

There will be some battles to participate in, though not enough to my taste.

Speaking of that, if you decide to play in Hardcore mode you have to know that the computer will try anything to kill you… but also the people you should be protecting! As an example in the DLC Band of Bastards, the difficulty won't be about surviving… but to manage to make your whole team survive!

Don't hesitate to run at the front before your team, and act as a temporary meat shield… 😅

You have several ways to practice your weapon skills! You can train with the local weapon master, but also pay to improve your skills… (I never done it… I like to grow by practicing not by paying), and finally there is the Rattay Tourney on every friday 🥰 It's a DLC but really a good one! as it's an excellent way to practice all of your combat skills. And every time you manage to win the tournament, which is a succession of 3 fights, you'll win a piece of armor and then weapons.

To become better in real situations like on the left, participate in the Rattay tourney on the right 👍

Ultimately all of this will be to avenge your dead father, and make him proud!

Follow in your Dad steps, and take the right decisions during your adventures!

↓ Click! for a Discount ↓

Kingdom Come Deliverance 1 Hardcore

There will be many challenges to ascend from a local farmer to a reknowned hero!

But remember than even heroes can die if ambushed by a group of highwaymen!

Don't hesitate to drink potions before a fight if you really have a hard time to survive, especially during the first dozen of hours. Because until you reach a skill of “at the very least” 10 in your fighting skills, you'll be a weakling! Even if you understood how fighting works, your levels of skill will always be there to remind you that… There is better than you in terms of skill levels, and even if you press the button at the right time… You'll still fail to defend or to attack.

This is why many players complained… They're used to Dark Souls where it's only about “your own mastery of the gamepad”. In KCD it's a combination of both… Your mastery of the gamepad and your avatar skill levels.

You'll be very closed to Nobility during your adventures, and even become one if you're wise enough!

Then of course along the way there will be tons of fun stuff to accomplish! 😅

Like Armwrestling with an unusual monk, and brawling like in Fight Club! 😉

But the path of a hero is not always without dirt… You'll have to fight your way and be Brutal!

Killing, Killing and more Killing! Even if the guy is on the floor begging for his life, No Mercy!

The Church says to let your opponent survive if you managed to get the better of him…

I say don't give him the opportunity to live another day to come back for you!

The path to Greatness is often composed of bright armours and dark stories…

Kingdom Come Deliverance is a MUST PLAY for every Fans of the Medieval times. This game is only the first chapter as there is now a sequel released in 2025 which is following the events of the first game. I installed it and this sequel has of course an improved engine, and the texture loading issues like the low framerate are no longer an issue 👍

+ It's not every day that i spend 200 hours on a game…
+ Hardcore difficulty should be the new standard 😍
+ Realism at its peak! You're no hero, just a peasant!
+ Oh man i sure enjoyed riding my horse for hours!
+ Once you begin to understand the fighting system…
and become good at it… You'll LOVE this game! but…

– …At first fighting will be HIGHLY INFURIATING 😅
(only at first… and then you'll accept that you're NO hero)
– You'll need a strong computer to run it with HD Textures
(And even with that… You'll experience slow texture loadings)