When it comes to authenticity in the gaming industry, few experiences compare to Warhorse Studios Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. With a world that can be enjoyed just sitting in it as much as actually playing the game, the RPG is one of a handful of games that offer players a believable, reactive medieval society where the landscape, architecture, social systems, and even consequences reflect a lived-in, historically accurate world. To foster that kind of authenticity and make players feel like they're actually experiencing something real, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is built on hidden systems that aren't directly explained or revealed—so much so that some of the game's testers thought they'd hit a bug when its stealth mechanics felt a little too real.
Stealth is a perfectly viable way to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2especially if players want to speed their way to heavier pockets, better gear and survival when the odds are stacked against them. However, the medieval RPG has one of the most realistic stealth systems in gaming, which largely means that players can't rely on old habits that may have formed while playing games like Assassin's Creed, Dishonoredor Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. IN Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2stealth can be incredibly unforgiving, and in a recent interview with Game Rant, design director Viktor Bocan revealed that even the game's testers couldn't keep up at first.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Stealth system is so realistic that testers thought it was wrong
Most games with stealth mechanics of some sort design them around accessibility. With mechanics like predictable and simplified enemy detection, obvious stealth indicators, simple stealth tools and abilities, and soft error states, these games ensure that stealth remains a fun, clear, and accessible playstyle at the expense of realism. The fun of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2s stealth system isn't based on accessibility, however, but is instead rooted in authenticity and the satisfaction of learning its mechanics through trial and error and then improving as a result.
During the interview, we asked Bocan if there was anything in the game that players haven't discovered yet. While we expected him to talk about a surprise easter egg or a random side quest Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2he began delving into the game's stealth system instead, within the framework of the hidden mechanics that contribute to its lifeworld. Bocan explained:
“We really don't want to explain everything. We don't want to overwhelm you with hundreds and hundreds of tutorials. We create an authentic world, there are real people living there, so they behave like real people. There are many hidden mechanics that are not meant to be discovered.”
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 may be a video game, but Warhorse, in its efforts to create a “real world,” didn't want it to feel like one all the time. It contains a ton of tutorials, but not only do they have a very minimal approach to guidance, they don't reveal every single detail about the game's mechanics – the stealth system being among them. It doesn't necessarily avoid giving players tips on how to succeed when taking the stealth method in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2but it doesn't suit them when it comes to how the world reacts to their presence either.
In the vast majority of stealth-based games, players can get away with almost anything. For example, after being spotted by a guard, players can sneak back and hide before the detection meter fills, with the guard then ending his search and saying something like “I have to see things.” The Assassin's Creed Games, in particular, have been known to have flexible stealth systems like this, but stealth in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 requires players to treat the NPCs around them as if they were real people who can see, hear and think for themselves. In fact, the artificial intelligence i KCD2 is so clever that some of its testers thought they had hit a bug when the world refused to dismiss them as it does so easily in other games. Bocan continued:
“When we started this hidden, invisible design work, even within the team, we had some complaints. It was these engineers who came to us and said, 'Hey, the criminal system is broken. I committed a crime and nobody saw me, but they knew it was me.” So we said, “Okay, what did you do?” And they said, “I was in the store, and when the storekeeper turned his back to me to check something, I took him down, but he couldn't see me because I was approaching him from behind. Then I stole everything and ran away, and no one saw me steal. But now they say I'm a thief and I have to pay some money for it.” And we said, “Okay, but you were the only one in the store, weren't you?” They said, “Yes.” We said, “So, the storekeeper turned away from you, and he was magically, by someone invisible, brought down and everything was stolen. Well, then he just assumed it was you.” They said, “Yeah, but he didn't see me, so it's a bug.” We said, “No, he's just not stupid.”
In other games, players can commit crimes as long as the victim's back is turned. They can also knock out or assassinate an NPC in an effort to leave no trace — but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2s criminal system simply does not allow it. First, it is extremely difficult to get away with murder KCD2so it's best to avoid it unless players want to spend the rest of their time in the game on the run. Second, as some of its testers discovered, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2NPCs are reactive to the player's presence, not just their actions. As a result, even if the player has only been seen nearby before or after a crime has been committed, they will most likely be charged as guilty and expected to receive a punishment befitting the crime.
“These small, invisible touches are something that aren't obvious to players, but it gives a sense that the world is working as it should,” Bocan said. “And the people there are not stupid, but are real people who have certain brains and understand the world around them.” That philosophy is really the key to understanding why Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's stealth system even had its own testers wondering what they were experiencing.
Warhorse didn't aim to make stealth comfortable or familiar, and it certainly didn't want it to behave like a system that players could play casually. Instead, it asks players to think about presence, context, and suspicion in the same way a real person would. When guards and shopkeepers draw conclusions based on circumstances rather than pure discovery rules, it can feel unfair to players who come from more forgiving stealth games. But that discomfort is really the whole point. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 treats intelligence and consistency as part of the world itself, and once it clicks it becomes clear that what looked like a bug was actually the game refusing to pretend its people are idiots.
- Released
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February 4, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+/Use of alcohol, blood and grime, sexual content, strong language, intense violence, partial nudity
- Developer
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Warhorse Studios
