Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review - 5 Ups & 5 Downs

7. Down: Combat Is More Unwieldy & Unresponsive Than Satisfying

Onto something that you could argue is both good and bad - the games 5-way direction attack/defend combat, mixed with a variety of really slow, weighty animations bringing it to life. In theory it's supposed to grant players a window into how real world sword fighting was a back n' forth dance of death (and after 20+ hours of perks speeding up your attacks, it starts to get there), but overall, you really have to WANT to like what's on offer, to put up with it.

Basically, as every fight requires the constant circling of an opponent, or otherwise staying on the move, maintaining distance, anything less will likely auto-grab and push you away. Indoors this locks you into a cycle of “can’t move out of this corner, and being too close to the enemy puts me in an automatic grab to create distance” - especially if you haven't the stamina to block or counter.

Cue 20 minutes of bouncing off a wall as the camera goes on a side quest of its own, or perhaps you unintentionally get snagged on a wayward bush, fall down a ravine or watch as your enemy does the same. All it takes is one of these instances for immersion to split apart at the seams, unravelling everything the game sets up so well in a few seconds.

These examples get less and less as you go - and you can just avoid going inside to fight, or carefully navigate terrain in a fight - but they are there, and the amount of time required to offset them never truly balances everything.