Vlajdermen
Arcane
It's been a while since I've done one of these gush threads, but KCD deserves one both because of what strong feelings I have about it, and because there's a point to be made here about what it has and most modern RPGs don't.
In the review, KCD was described as "Skyrim for adults", because it's first-person and open-world, but its mechanics aim to make it more realistic and less convenient, but I don't think that does it justice. You can tell that the developers just wanted to make a medieval sim RPG, without looking at any one specific video game as a template. It's an approach with both plenty of benefits and plenty of drawbacks. I like how because the combat is so hard to master, your fast travelling can be interrupted by turkroaches, you can't just save anywhere, every play session requires a bigger investment of time, energy and concentration. I was never half-heartedly plowing through the game. Everything felt more important than it would in other RPGs: the quests, the combat, levelling up, finding a special die, and so on. The one big gripe I have with this approach is that you don't get enough practice in combat, which lead to a certain moment in which
I've heard people like Luj1 complain how most modern RPGs are just inferior reskins of what they played 20 years ago, and my point is, KCD doesn't feel like that at all. It does its own thing, and if that makes it jank, so be it.
It shows in the presentation even more than the gameplay, meaning that the story doesn't have the "blockbuster feel" of something like Shadowrun: Dragonfall - the quests feel like work as much as adventuring - but I still liked them because the world they take place in is so inviting. This is the best thing to come out of the aim for realism: all the characters feel human in the way they talk, in what they're concerned with, and in their relationship to each other. I particularly liked the dynamic between Henry and Hans Capon: the former's a humble commoner with a "give me a job and I'll do it" approach to life, while the latter is a socially dominant noble, but they still hung out together like bros, no problem.
It enhances both the drama and the comedy. It feels like something you'd see in a Kusturica movie. For example, getting drunk with a priest doesn't sound funny on paper, but you get to know the priest intimately beforehand, so when he does anything even slightly over-the-top or silly, it's hysterical. You're not thinking "it's funny because he's drunk", you're thinking "it's funny because that's so like him".
Some people have complained that the tone isn't dark enough, but I say it's just as dark as it needs to be. The middle ages weren't all misery, all the time; there was good times and bad times, and I think KCD balances those two well.
To make my point clear, I'm not saying KCD is the most well-designed RPG out there, but it managed to win me over because it has a strong personality. Chuck Jones, the greatest animator of all time, said that any artist should take inspiration from outside of his art forme, otherwise it'll end up feeling uninspired. That theory applies to vidya as well, and KCD is a great example. It draws inspiration from the real world, which makes it memorable, interesting, and very worth playing, even if you can get good at everything.
In the review, KCD was described as "Skyrim for adults", because it's first-person and open-world, but its mechanics aim to make it more realistic and less convenient, but I don't think that does it justice. You can tell that the developers just wanted to make a medieval sim RPG, without looking at any one specific video game as a template. It's an approach with both plenty of benefits and plenty of drawbacks. I like how because the combat is so hard to master, your fast travelling can be interrupted by turkroaches, you can't just save anywhere, every play session requires a bigger investment of time, energy and concentration. I was never half-heartedly plowing through the game. Everything felt more important than it would in other RPGs: the quests, the combat, levelling up, finding a special die, and so on. The one big gripe I have with this approach is that you don't get enough practice in combat, which lead to a certain moment in which
I was locked in a 1 on 1 boss fight with a much stronger opponent, leading to me having to run back and forth, Benny Hill style, and kill him with wounding arrows.
It shows in the presentation even more than the gameplay, meaning that the story doesn't have the "blockbuster feel" of something like Shadowrun: Dragonfall - the quests feel like work as much as adventuring - but I still liked them because the world they take place in is so inviting. This is the best thing to come out of the aim for realism: all the characters feel human in the way they talk, in what they're concerned with, and in their relationship to each other. I particularly liked the dynamic between Henry and Hans Capon: the former's a humble commoner with a "give me a job and I'll do it" approach to life, while the latter is a socially dominant noble, but they still hung out together like bros, no problem.
It enhances both the drama and the comedy. It feels like something you'd see in a Kusturica movie. For example, getting drunk with a priest doesn't sound funny on paper, but you get to know the priest intimately beforehand, so when he does anything even slightly over-the-top or silly, it's hysterical. You're not thinking "it's funny because he's drunk", you're thinking "it's funny because that's so like him".
Some people have complained that the tone isn't dark enough, but I say it's just as dark as it needs to be. The middle ages weren't all misery, all the time; there was good times and bad times, and I think KCD balances those two well.
To make my point clear, I'm not saying KCD is the most well-designed RPG out there, but it managed to win me over because it has a strong personality. Chuck Jones, the greatest animator of all time, said that any artist should take inspiration from outside of his art forme, otherwise it'll end up feeling uninspired. That theory applies to vidya as well, and KCD is a great example. It draws inspiration from the real world, which makes it memorable, interesting, and very worth playing, even if you can get good at everything.
Not that it is needed, once you learn Masterstrike combat becomes a joke anyway. Especially if you equip some decent armor too.
