Kingdom Come: Deliverance review – impressively detailed medieval life sim

PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One; Warhorse Studios/Koch Media
This lush and dynamic RPG prides itself on the historical accuracy of its recreation of 15th-century feudal Bohemia

Kingdom Come: Deliverance describes itself as a realistic and historically accurate role-playing game, which are dangerous words for any game to throw around. History, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder, while "realistic" should indicate more than just "visually detailed". Kingdom Come: Deliverance's version of historical realism is obsessive in certain areas, but curiously neglectful in others.

The epic, if familiar, narrative centres around Henry, a blacksmith's son living in 15th-century Bohemia. Young Hal's life is flung into chaos after a power spat between the king and his brother results in his village being torched and his parents being murdered. Fleeing with nothing but the last sword his father made, he embarks upon a quest for vengeance that sees him claw his way up the rigid social hierarchy of medieval Europe.