10 Best Open-World Games Of 2018

Warhorse Studios' debut title didn't exactly get off to the best of starts, but for those willing to look past its teething problems, Kingdom Come promised one hell of a ride. Were you to use Skyrim as a template and surgically remove its fantastical elements, Deliverance is ultimately the hypothetical end result, and just like Bethesda's rough and ready approach to game-making, the highs of Warhorse's historical RPG set in a rarely explored part of the world far outweighed the lows.

In fact, Deliverance panders to adorers of the RPG's pen and paper origins more gratuitously than its contemporaries, upping the customization and survival elements to a degree not dissimilar to modern roguelikes. Permanent death is off the table, but juggling food and sleep, as well as the quality of your clothes and armour all appeal to old-school sensibilities. The diversion from same old, same old arrives in the form of a nonlinear quest system that provides meaningful choices and consequences and combat that expands beyond mindless trigger-spam.

Deliverance's modest (relatively) budget shows in its unrefined nature, but it's nothing you've not seen in an Elder Scrolls game with quadruple the budget. If we can let those quirks slide for Bethesda, then Warhorse undoubtedly deserves the same.