Look, I enjoy a gaming challenge as much as the next person. Well, maybe not if the next person is a Soulslike fanatic. Maybe as much as the person next to that person, assuming that person likes to be challenged without slamming their head into a brick wall over and over. Basically, I enjoy a challenge that feels possible to overcome. I don’t enjoy trying the same boss fight for five hours, hoping that ‘this might be the time.’
To this end, I loveKingdom Come: Deliverance 2. It’s a challenging game and I enjoy the many obstacles it throws my way. I like that brewing potions is a complicated process, I like having to empty my pockets out because I can’t travel while encumbered, and I like being a scrub and having to work my way up to being… less of a scrub.
Making potions is extra challenging because I need to get new glasses and straight-up can’t read the screen unless I stand next to the TV like a dad engrossed in Heat on TNT.
You might notice that I didn’t mention the difficulty of the combat as a positive, and that’s because it isn’t. That’s why I will never in a million years touch theHardcore Modethat developer Warhorse Studios recently added to the game.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Is Challenging Enough Already
The recently added Hardcore Mode doesn’t decrease the damage you deal or increase the damage your opponents do, but, it does make it far less readable in the name of immersion. Instead of getting an onscreen marker that tells you what direction your enemy is attacking from, you need to observe and react without any guidance. Given that I already find the game’s combat ridiculously difficult by default, that sounds truly awful. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s swordplay mechanics are tough to get to grips with — to the extent that, even 30-plus hours in, I just avoid every fight I possibly can — and making them more difficult would be a hellish experience.
Whenever Idoget into a fight, I tend to have a bad experience. I empty my stamina bar too quickly, I swing at the wrong times, and I block too often. And I’m happy with how I get by. When there’s more than one enemy in the fight? Forget about it. I have no need for Hardcore Mode. The base game’s combat is already hardcore enough.
Hardcore Mode Minus Combat Modifiers Would Rule
It’s a shame I can’t get to grips with a harder version of the combat because some of the other things Hardcore Mode adds are pretty cool. It gets rid of directions on the on-screen compass and removes your location from the map, so you have to find your way around by paying attention to the environment or stopping to ask NPCs for directions.
Another cool system Hardcore Mode adds is the requirement that you choose at least three nerfs (from a list of ten) to put your Henry at a personalised disadvantage. Henry’s food might spoil faster, he might be scared to talk to strangers, and he might get really hungry really quickly. One of the best of these ‘anti-perks’ has him getting tired 40 percent quicker and even sleepwalking (potentially into dangerous locations) when resting.
The pretty funny nerf, Sweaty, causes Henry to get dirty faster and doubles his stink radius, making stealth much more difficult. A bad combination with the Heavy-Footed nerf, which makes Henry much noisier.
All of those options sound like theycouldmake the game more interesting, but I still have no interest. KCD2 is all about friction, and anything that adds to its sandpaper-like qualities has the potential to improve the experience. But I’m just not interested in anything that makes combat harder. I don’t want KCD2 to be a walking sim or anything — the risk of combat keeps the game tense and interesting. But I’d be happy if it could remain a threat and never become a reality.
