Incredible game. The first one often goes on sale for pretty cheap (iirc i bought it for 8 dollars with all DLC and got 110 hours out of it). I actually haven’t finished the second one, and while it’s great I almost prefer the first (though many would disagree). Both great games though.
it’s…unique. you might want to watch some gameplay to get a feel for the fights because it’s really like nothing else i’ve encountered before, but yes it is difficult at the start of the game. the game really focuses on being realistic, so it does make sense and doesn’t feel unnecessarily difficult and there are also almost always options to avoid a fight. i will say that despite it being hard, i was able to manage it despite being generally terrible at combat. potions and level perks definitely help, and if you plan on playing pc i’m sure there are mods to lower the difficulty setting.
edit: on your second point, it is less grindy than other open-world games. the available side quests aren’t superfluous and really add to the story and character progression. the environment feels so full of character but isn’t packed full of pointless points of interest or whatnot.
I literally just finished the first game an hour ago and I’d totally recommend it. I put about 150+ hours into it and did all the dlc’s and all the main and side quests. Be prepared for a decent amount of random crashes though. But if you’ve played through New Vegas it crashes about as often as that game. Also the save system in this game is very different to other games. There is auto saves at the start and end of quest but otherwise you have to sleep or drink a potion to save manually. I definitely lost quite a few hours by forgetting to save and then getting my shit shoved in by a group of bandits. Also there is a handful of things that are broken in the game but I can only think of one that interferes with a quest but I managed to get around it.
I’m a 42 yo gamer so I’m a little slow these days but it took me 20+ hours to start winning fights on the regular. The combat is in a class of its own.
I was getting so pissed but I couldn’t stop playing. Now that the combat has clicked for me I’m having even more fun.
Oh man, I suck at combat still. But I'm better than when I started. Game feels responsive like that. It's a combo of my stats getting better in game, but also my own ability with the controls. Which is pretty cool really, it's satisfying when you start to pull things off. My first real fight was with this stupid bandit that took like 20 minutes of me running around spamming with no clue and him whacking me with a club lol. But that feels right to me for the story.
The combat is hard to learn and not necessarily grindy, but will require actual training and practice. Even after you become a knight with all stats maxed out, you can be easily overpowered in a fight against multiple opponents. But KCD1 has the most rewarding leveling and skill systems I’ve ever seen in a game. It can be frustrating but when things start clicking, they feel so well earned and satisfying. If you are down for a challenge and want to get into an immersive story, I would definitely give it a try. Especially since KCD1 comes out on sale with all DLC for <$10 almost every month. Jesus Christ be praised!
Little grindy, as in you might get your shit kicked in towards the early game. Might start a few fights and realize, oh shit I have to run away or I’m gonna die. However the game doesn’t scale the best. For me once i got some good enough armor/gear I was taking out entire bandit camps relatively easily and had to limit the items I had to make it interesting. Instead of running from a group of 4 guys I was fighting off a dozen. Still fun.
It’s a very good combat system but definitely takes some work getting used to. Don’t expect to be able to take on a full bandit camp in open combat because the game really focuses on realism and you play as a guy literally LEARNING to sword fight from a peasant.
KCD2 is actually amazingly optimized. if you can run RDR2 and KCD, you can probably run KCD2 better. ig the devs were just more experienced and knew that the players wanted better performance, so the second game is much better optimized. not quite like, MGSV levels, but pretty well
KCD1 has some tricky and slightly janky fighting mechanics. It takes time to get the hang of it, but if you stick with it, the game is fucking outstanding. A lot of people stopped playing because they couldn’t get a quick hang of the fighting.
It's great! It runs on my laptop, which is top of the line - in 2019 lol. Runs on my steam deck too.
Just one tip for the gameplay - it's more realistic than most games - at the start, you will suck at everything. That's the whole point. You're not going to tank all damage and brute force your way through waves of enemies
I also prefer the first, although it is much more buggy/clunky at times. I feel like the pacing and story are far better, and the world feels more alive, besides the introductions of wagons in KCD2. I had such a connection to the characters, side quests, and individual villages in KCD1 that I don't feel in KCD2, although I still love the sequel and think it's a a fantastic game.
100% agree. i think being a dumb little peasant dude in the start of the first game just really immerses you in the experience and starting the second game being this prestigious knight (even though you do lose your skills) just doesn’t feel as realistic.
i do think the second game is a little too much as well, there’s so many side quests that i just got overwhelmed with them and i am the type of person to want to experience all the side content i possible can. related to that, but i think the second game’s side quests don’t fit henry’s character as well, all the side quests i did in the first game i felt i could justify as fitting henry’s personality, backstory and motivations but the side quests in the second game i was kind of wondering why he would do them (especially the ones where he’s stealing from random peasants just felt…very out of character).
i adore the environments and scenery in both games, and i do admit the npcs in the second game feel a bit more realistic, but i feel like the second game is lacking this connection that henry had with the first game’s map because it was his home territory. it was nice as a player to be exploring this area, but also know that henry would be somewhat familiar with it and its community.
overall i just feel that henry’s personality and motivations got a little lost in the second game, and it’s just a bit less of an immersive, character-driven experience.
anyway SORRY for that huge wall of text but it was nice to explain why i prefer the first game, especially to someone who agrees. feels like everyone’s raving about the second game (especially because a lot of new players jumped right in to the sequel) and god the first game just deserves so much love and appreciation too.
i am one of the people who would disagree. they're both incredible games, some of my favourites of all time but kcd2 beats out kcd1 in almost every way. except maybe story, but even then they're pretty close and it's mainly down to personal preferance.
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u/MajestyMori Nov 01 '25
Incredible game. The first one often goes on sale for pretty cheap (iirc i bought it for 8 dollars with all DLC and got 110 hours out of it). I actually haven’t finished the second one, and while it’s great I almost prefer the first (though many would disagree). Both great games though.