Warhorse Adjusts Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s Crime System to Avoid Harsh Penalties for Henry

If you find yourself getting frustrated while playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance or its upcoming sequel, remember that things could have been much tougher if Warhorse had opted for a more historically accurate crime system.

Consider Henry’s situation. By the start of the sequel, his hometown is in shambles, his parents are gone, and he’s unwillingly caught in a fierce struggle between rival kings. The last thing he needs is for guards to drag him off to the gallows for accidentally napping in a barn. Fortunately, the worst consequence you face for such a slip-up is a swift kick in the rear. While this may not align perfectly with historical punishments for peasants, Warhorse chose to ease the burden on Henry—and by extension, on us players.

“It would be too harsh to make the crime system too real, especially for Henry,” lead designer Prokop Jirsa explained. “He is just a peasant boy, so any crime would be punished very severely.”

I recall giving up on the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance because, despite my best efforts to stay on the straight and narrow, I ended up with bounties on my head everywhere I turned, making progress nearly impossible. Thankfully, the sequel has dialed back the harshness of the crime system, and now I’m eager to revisit the first game and experience it properly.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 may not have the budget of titles like Assassin’s Creed or Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but Warhorse found a way to “change the rules of the game.”