Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 — 5 ways to prepare for the hardy RPG’s Xbox launch

If you’re looking to prepare for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 before its Xbox launch in a few days’ time, here are five tactics to help get you ready for the medieval RPG. Bookmark those Kingdom Come: Deliverance II achievements ahead of the game’s Xbox Series X|S launch on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, and we’ll get started — here’s five ways to prepare for the follow-up to one of the best Xbox RPGs out there!Heidi’s Picks — 5 tactics to prepare for KCD2Platform(s): Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5Release Date: Tuesday, February 4, 2025Developer: Warhorse StudiosWe’re all chomping at the bit to get started with Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (KCD2), so here are some choice tactics to get ready for the sequel, whether you’ve played the first game or are joining Henry’s adventures for the first time.Henry of Skalitz’s journey took him from his beginnings as the clueless-but-well-meaning son of a blacksmith in medieval Bohemia, into the chaotic midst the region’s politics and warfare as his nation comes under siege.The sequel will continue his adventures and see the return of fan-favorite character Sir Hans Capon, a cheeky local lord, as our unlikely pair of best buds head out on a secret mission. While we wait to get cracking with this ambitious RPG, here’s our selection of tips to prepare before riding out to greet KCD2!Play Kingdom Come: Deliverance (obviously)Ok, we’ll start with an obvious one: there is no better way to pass the time before (and prepare for) Kingdom Come: Deliverance II than by experiencing Henry’s first adventure in the original KCD game.This is especially true since, from what we’ve heard and seen so far (and from what we’ve played for our preview), Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is taking a lot of things from the first game and dialing them up to eleven. There was a fair amount of clunkiness or unpolished bits in the first KCD game, but only because it struggled to keep pace with its own ambition. What shone through all that was its excellent story, its wonderful characters, and its incredible dedication to a detailed, complex RPG experience. No running around and killing dragons for Henry, no; he’s too busy making sure he’s put his armor on in the right order and his five stolen carrots aren’t rotting away in his inventory. There won’t be anything in the way of successful fighting at first, as nearly everybody (including the local drunk) can absolutely ruin Henry in combat — first, he needs to learn how to do everything. Fighting, reading, crafting; we learn it all beside him, and it’s a great experience.Then there’s the fact that playing the first game will catch us up on Henry’s exploits so far. From what we’ve played so far, it’s clear KCD2 will do a great job of welcoming new players and introducing them to all the complicated background politics, wars, and so on. Both games also have wonderfully detailed codex entries to find out more historical info. But the best way to learn about Henry’s story is to play through it, from his humble beginnings as a blacksmith’s son in Skalitz, to playing a big part in some major medieval politics. Now’s the time to experience the first game in all its glory: whether you haven’t yet experienced Henry’s origin story, or are looking for a refresher to bide the time before the sequel arrives, there’s always a good excuse to jump into the first game. Of course, if it’s a handy refresher you’re after instead, you could also just watch the story recap of the first game.Catch up on all the DLCThat leads us on to another more obvious preparation tactic: catching up on all of KCD’s DLC! The base game and its story might be the most relevant thing to know before playing the sequel, but KCD has plenty of excellent DLC to get you in the medieval mindset.You’ve got From the Ashes, which charges you with restoring and building up a new village and, as bailiff, resolving its disputes. There’s The Amorous Adventures of Bold Sir Hans Capon, which revolves around best buds Henry and Sir Hans Capon as the latter continues to chase after local lasses. Then there’s Band of Bastards, which sees Henry accompanying a band of mercenaries in an attempt to keep the peace around Rattay. Lastly, A Woman’s Lot changes things up a bit by having you play as another character, Theresa, first, before moving on to play as Henry as he helps another old friend.KCD had several other updates, but these pieces of DLC are the chunkiest and do a great job of fleshing out an already-epic adventure. If you’ve finished up the base game and are looking to while away the time with more KCD content before the sequel arrives, this might be just the ticket.Watch the skits and behind-the-scenesKingdom Come: Deliverance might have done an excellent job of exploring medieval Bohemia, depicting its complicated politics, and encouraging players to delve into the realistic aspects of the medieval world, but we all know there’s one bit in particular that everybody loves: seeing Henry and Hans getting into ridiculous scrapes together.Warhorse Studios has clearly noticed the chemistry between lead actors Tom McKay and Luke Dale because now and again it chucks the two together and treats us to what is essentially a montage of them hanging out for different KCD-related skits.There’s the two of them exploring Kuttenberg and bickering like an old married couple about whether that means drinking or sightseeing, trotting around the city, and trying desperately to talk to people. Then there’s the pair of them wandering about Trosky and attempting to battle with medieval weapons, and another one of them attending the live recording of the KCD2 soundtrack. In reality, much like in the games, it’s Henry being dragged into mischief in an attempt to drag Hans out of it, while everybody sort of bemusedly watches.These do a great job of exploring how in-depth the game’s combat and exploration will be, and of how much work the team has put into it. They also show the chemistry between two of the main characters — more of what we saw from the official game reveal, where the actors were reunited to introduce the game. All of these are just made all that much better by how happy they are to be hanging out and doing KCD stuff.There’s plenty here to let you feel like you’re hanging out in the KCD world while you wait for the sequel to arrive. Listen to the soundtrackThere’s always a tricky bit between completing a game (and discovering how much you love it) and waiting for its long-anticipated sequel. If you find yourself missing the story or the characters, and looking for a way to scratch that nostalgia itch, then one of the best ways to immerse yourself back into that world is to listen to the soundtrack.Kingdom Come: Deliverance had an excellent soundtrack produced by Jan Valta & Adam Sporka which wonderfully complemented its medieval setting. The sequel might not be out yet, but as we mentioned above, Warhorse Studios has already shared a little bit of the KCD2 music composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Jan Valta. What better way to make life a bit more epic (while you’re waiting for KCD2) than by whacking on some of these tracks in the background? Clean yourself with medieval soapAlright, this one might go off-course, but we sort of couldn’t not include it on the list. Remember back in the sad, sad days before KCD2 was announced, and we got that completely unexpected soap reveal?It happened like this: Warhorse Studios appeared in Koch Media’s presentation during E3 2021 and informed us all that Kingdom Come: Deliverance would be heading to Nintendo Switch, and also that they’d made some soap — Kingdom Come: Deliverance soap.It was not at all what anybody had been expecting, but we are going to take this opportunity to remind everybody of it anyway and say hey, why not treat yourself to some themed soap? Y’know, why not branch out in your soap-buying habits for some soap that aims for the medieval smell? That being said, it seems, several years on, that this soap has gone to ground — I can’t see it online after a quick search, although I did get Rick-rolled while trying to find the initial soap announcement. What a nostalgia-fuelled online rollercoaster that was. So, to conclude, if anybody you know did manage to get this rare KCD soap, why not go for the whole medieval experience and ask if they can leave it outside with a barrel of water?That’s some of our picks for the best way to prepare for the sequel — if you’re looking for more detailed info about the game itself, here’s our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 preview! How will you be preparing for KCD2? Let us know in the comments!



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