Action RPG

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Is The Most Moreish Game Of 2025

BBG News

To my astonishment, I’ve found myself quite captivated by Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Despite having missed Warhorse Studios’ initial RPG, I opted to purchase the sequel when I noticed the positive feedback it was receiving. The critics were spot on with their praise. Since its release, I’ve been dedicating an hour each morning to gaming, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has captured my attention consistently during this timeframe.

Despite finding the game quite engaging, I was taken aback when I discovered just how much time I’d invested in it. While drafting an article on the game earlier this week, I initially estimated my playtime to be about a dozen hours. However, upon checking my PS5 clock, it revealed that I had actually clocked nearly double that amount, with 22 hours already logged and more to come. This discrepancy was quite surprising! It got me pondering: what is it about this game that makes the time seem to pass quicker than I’ve actually played?

Getting Good Takes Time

Much like many players of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, I’m choosing to skip the wedding. Despite the initial focus on attending this exclusive event being crucial early on, I’ve been leisurely exploring instead. I’ve discovered several spots where I can rest comfortably and find some food, managed to save my dog from a group of wolves, rescued a tipsy man trapped in a tree (also from wolves), and even told a shepherd that I killed a nearby pack of wolves (which was a lie). It seems that there’s quite a bit of wolf-related activities in this game.

Instead of Henry trying to coin the moniker “Wolf of Skalitz” for himself, could this be a tribute to Geralt of Rivia, who bears the titles “White Wolf” and “Butcher of Blaviken”?

Spending so much leisure time on lupines hasn’t given me a sense that I’ve explored very deeply yet. No matter how much time I invest, it seems like my advancement isn’t significant. To put it another way, the usual methods I use to gauge progress in games don’t seem as useful anymore. For instance, I might assess my progress by counting completed quests, tracking hours spent, or sensing when the end is near. However, this last one can be a bit vague, but if you’re familiar with gaming, you can often tell when the game is nearing its conclusion based on visual cues or story development.

Open Your Heart To Open-Endedness

In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, none of the indicators seem to be dependable measures of progress. Skill Up, a YouTuber, reported playing for over 20 hours and still not reaching the event signaling the end of the preview period, which was supposedly only 10 hours long. The game’s vast open-endedness and complexity make it challenging to gauge one’s position, leaving players uncertain if they are just starting out or nearing the middle.

Instead, I’m setting my own milestones to gauge my advancement. Clearing the fog of war from a part of the map indicates progress. Winning any battle represents progress as well. Brewing a potion correctly is a step forward, but even brewing one incorrectly and discovering that I need fresher ingredients for a stronger mixture counts as progress too. Both success and failure are forms of advancement because they both offer valuable lessons.

In my nature, I’m quite focused on achieving goals, often finding it challenging to appreciate the journey unless I feel like I’m making progress – even in video games. However, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 encourages a change of perspective. Instead of rushing through to reach the destination, I find joy in the tales told by characters like the man who spins yarns about a water goblin and a silver axe. These stories become their own reward. I also appreciate conversations with intriguing individuals such as the wanderer seeking his life’s purpose in an unlikely place, or the gravedigger sharing insights into his profession. In this game, taking time to listen and learn from these characters makes the experience worthwhile.

As a gamer, I’ve learned that while achieving tangible goals is important, it’s also crucial to appreciate the value of leisure time. You might think that this moment spent idly is wasted, but often, it turns out to be twice as much fun and learning experience as you initially thought!

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2025-02-25 00:04

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