Talking Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 questing with Warhorse Studios

During the preview event for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, PR Manager at Warhorse Studios gave a presentation discussing the game’s newest features. He also sat down for interviews to give the press a chance to learn more about the game. Checkpoint had the chance to sit down with Tobias and discuss some of the details that weren’t covered in the presentation. Before the interview, Tobias also did a short discussion on the merits of weaponry in-game.

Our interview started by talking about Henry, the main character of the game. The trailer shows Henry as a knight and fighting in traditional European combat. During the preview quest, he was also capable of doing stealth takedowns that are usually not associated with knights. Tobias elaborated on the takedowns, mentioning that they are not guaranteed. The enemy has a chance to break out and you must respond to an input when it presents itself.

Knights don’t usually sneak around and takedown unaware enemies in Europe. Tobias elaborated on that by talking about the perk system. “You can unlock stealth by sneaking around and unlocking the perk that allows you to do these things. It’s a bit like the Skyrim system, you do the stuff and you get better at the stuff and unlock perk points. Those perk points, you can put into different skills.”

Tobias’s presentation talked about the setting of the game and how it’s an epic narrative. It will involve large-scale battles, politics between factions, and events that one single person can’t change. Henry, as your playable character, won’t be able to shift the narrative massively through his actions. However, the game also promises an immersive experience that makes you feel like your choices matter.

Both ideas can’t co-exist or you feel like nothing you do makes an impact. Tobias clarified what he meant: Henry isn’t going to change the world around him like an invincible hero. He can’t change historical events or stop something like a war from happening. However, his actions will have consequences that affect his story.

“If you think of the Witcher or something, then Geralt arrives and everyone is like ‘Thank goodness you’re here! Now go save my life.” When Henry arrives, people ask “Who are you, what do you want and why do I even care?” You’re not a superhero, they’re not waiting for you, you are part of a world that’s working around you.”

“By that I mean they all have a daily cycle, things are happening, and quests are timed. If they say they are leaving now and you don’t go with them, then they will leave without you. They will then scold you because you didn’t arrive on time. This is better for the immersion in our opinion because you feel like the world is real.“

“We want [the world] to be super reactive to what you as a player do. But, there’s no fail in the sense of you failing and then you reload. If you fail, this means the quest will play a bit differently. The outcome might be different and you just go with the flow, that’s fine. Just see what happens and deal with it.”

We also clarified what Tobias meant by saying that you can’t fail, though you can kill NPCs. Tobias elaborated saying that you can fail quests in some situations by going against what the quest giver wants. He gives an example during the preview quest where killing gets you the worst outcome and is considered a failure. However, killing can be a viable option for some quests and it won’t necessarily lead to the same outcome. But just like before, you live with the consequences.

Tobias paints a world that reacts dynamically to your actions, where you must be careful and think before you move. Henry will be a big player but not some grand hero who changes the course of medieval Europe.

Seeing the impact Henry will have on the people he meets is interesting, and more consequences will be explored when Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 comes out on February 5th, 2025.