Kingdom Come: Deliverance Next-Gen Edition

We've heard rumours and whispers of it here and there, but by the time you're reading this, you'll know all about Kingdom Come: Deliverance's Next-Gen Edition. This new way to play Henry's adventure might not offer a complete overhaul of everything we've seen before, but it adds just enough to make it the best way to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance on a console.

Considering the original game is eight years old by the time you're reading this, it's difficult to argue it is old enough to warrant a remake or remaster on the scale of something like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Warhorse tells us that right off the bat. This is no grand redesign of the systems, mechanics, or story you know and love. It's just given a fresh coat of paint, with enhanced visuals that match the Ultra PC configuration specs, FSR upscaling, high-resolution textures and native 4K resolution, 60fps performance, and a few other niceties here and there such as additional voice overs.

It's immediately worth noting that this upgrade is entirely free for pre-existing owners of the game, and if you're not one of the millions of players who've dug into Henry's first outing, you can pick up Kingdom Come: Deliverance Next-Gen Edition for €29.99 without the DLCs and €39.99 to get the Treasures of the Past, From the Ashes, The Amorous Adventures of Bold Sir Hans Capon, Band of Bastards, and A Woman's Lot content included alongside the base game. That might be a good deal steeper than the game when it goes up on a Steam sale, but it's still a decent offering for a great RPG that offers you 100+ hours of story easily. And again, the upgrade is free, so nothing to complain about there. (You may want to take advantage of the fact that the PS4 Royal Edition is currently £7 to enjoy that free upgrade)

That's especially the case when the visuals are so noticeably different. Even compared to when I first played the game on my PC a few years ago, it seems like Warhorse has added a little extra juice to make Kingdom Come: Deliverance pop. The added details, improved lighting, shadows, and more all add up to make it seem like there has only been a couple of years between the first game and its sequel, rather than the better part of a decade. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is still a leap ahead when it comes to its look, but you'd expect as much of a sequel that only dropped last year. With these improvements to the original game, though, if you want to take on Henry's saga on the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, you'll now get a much smoother transition.

Performance-wise, this enhanced version remains solid. A few jitters as I started afresh with Henry waking up in his bed in Skalitz, but as soon as I stepped out into the fresh air and morning sun the game never let me down. I didn't have the time to go through an entire playthrough of Kingdom Come: Deliverance again, but with the hours I did have I can confidently say I never ran into any performance dips while running it on my regular PS5. The only gripes I have with the game is that at times some visual elements don't match the shiny nature of their upgrades. Animations are still a bit static outside of big cinematic moments, and there are a few other bits here and there that remind you of the game's age. That said, comparing the look of Kingdom Come: Deliverance on PS4 to that of the PS5 native version is not necessarily night and day - considering the old version still holds up - but the newer look has that magic to it that makes you feel like you're playing the game for the first time all over again.

I'll try to refrain from talking much about the content of the game in this review, because not only is that not the focus of the Next-Gen Edition, but we already have a lovely critique of the game here, if you want to read over our thoughts. As someone who found the combat of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II a massive upgrade compared to the first game, I have to mention being a tad disappointed that there was no intention to drag those improvements back into the original. However, I understand that for everyone who loved KCD II's combat compared to KCD, there are fans who would have gripped their controllers with white-knuckled rage should they have been forced to use the new ways of fighting. Otherwise, talking about the content of the game feels a tad pointless. If you like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, you'll almost certainly like this version. Or, if you've not yet experienced it, this is the best way to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance on console. Simple as.

In a perfect world, I would have liked some extra graphical options allowing this version to feel even closer to the PC one, such as being able to turn off the dreaded motion blur. I also would have loved anything that made this adventure feel entirely new no matter if you've played before or not, such as some aforementioned combat tweaks. However, the world isn't perfect. Nor is Warhorse's first go at recreating medieval Bohemia, but it is beautiful. Made even more so by this Next-Gen Edition, which is a fine reminder or fantastic introduction to Henry's debut. It makes it seem like we only blinked and eight years passed, but here's hoping we don't wait another seven years for the next step in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.