Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Developers Welcomed Negative Tester Feedback
While Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was still in development, testers gave unfavourable feedback on the game's level of difficulty and some were even predicting its failure. According to Prokop Jirsa, lead designer at Warhorse Studio, that isn't a problem in their eyes, because they not only expected this negative feedback, but indeed wanted it.
A Conscious Design Philosophy
"Early playtests drew a whole lot of complaining," Jirsa explained. He said that if one of the testers were arrested after making a mistake, they would fill the skies with negative commentary, which is something welcomed by the team.
"We found the strength to say, 'Yes, that's exactly what we wanted.' We want the player to feel incredibly weak at the start. Because when you become truly strong, you realize you deserve it," Jirsa said.
Discussions in the design team concerning this approach included questioning whether one really did need some of the components essential to survival and the very harsh opening conditions of the player, even taking away a place to sleep.
Sequel More Accessible Than Original
However, with regard to how the sequel was going to start, the end product developed Kingdom Come: Deliverance II purported to be more user-friendly than the first game. Developers made changes in order to make the player's experience less punishing overall, even speeding up leveling and creating survivability mechanics so minimal.
Release Dates
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II came out in February 2025 and is available on all platforms, including PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.
