(I found a solution by fiddling with the control mapping settings in the PS4 menu instead.)
Often, the game will fail to register your pull-back entirely, and I can report that the problem persists in patch 1.2, at least for me.
If you’ve got an old stick, chances are the lever isn’t snapping all the way back like it used to, or your controller isn’t registering the same snap. There’s also an annoying quirk that affects the R2 trigger on older PS4 controllers. Fast-twitch players in particular will balk at the slight delay between a button press and the action occurring on-screen. Swordfighting takes some getting used to and is sure to prove divisive. That is, until you get to combat of course. So many games run on warped internal logic that make Kingdom Come is one of the only games I’ve played that will make as much sense to a gaming novice as it will a seasoned pro.
If you’re visiting the gentry, get your armor cleaned. But it means you’re always on your toes, and solving problems by asking a simple question: what would I do in real life? If someone tells you to meet them at noon, meet them at noon. Sometimes this can mean that you miss out on quests because you’re too slow to act. Even non playable characters have minds of their own. And to aim a bow and arrow, you need to close one eye and hope for the best (there’s no crosshair!). Henry gets hungry the longer you go without food. The systems governing the game world are all grounded in logic. Certain skills – like reading – need to be unlocked via a side mission, but everything else grows as you play, though be sure to look out for special perks rewards in the Player menu. Want to stomach booze better? Head to the tavern. Want to become an expert hand-to-hand brawler? Keep at it. Instead the XP is building up while you’re playing and much of the legwork is handled behind the scenes. The good news is you’re never wading through dreary menus and assigning skills like you’re working an Excel spreadsheet. Getting your Henry up to snuff will take time, but the more you play, the more XP you accrue. Either way, the effect is the same: Henry Cavill this is not. I know the idea is that he’s an everyday guy, but is he supposed to be this ordinary? I can’t tell whether it’s bad acting or impeccable casting. Henry is the most gormless hero of any medieval epic ever, saddled with the receding chin of a 1400s village baker. About the only thing you’re not doing is taking him to the toilet. Before long you’re taking care of Henry like your personal Tamagotchi, washing, feeding and letting the boy get some sleep. But the story plays out in such fine detail that you can’t help but invest yourself in the journey. The nuts and bolts of Kingdom Come’s set up are well-worn. So begins a story of carefully enacted revenge.
Your parents are murdered in the melee and you’re forced to flee your home in a thrilling chase sequence. By day you run errands for dad and by night you sneak out to see your girlfriend at the tavern, when, out of the blue, this cosy routine is uprooted by a siege on your town. You play a blacksmith’s son called Henry. Verisimilitude is the order of the day, and there’s something commendable about honoring a real time in history, minus mysticism. There are of course surface similarities to fantasy games like Skyrim and The Witcher, but Kingdom Come is no fantasy romp. With a focus on realism, tropes like dragons, elves, orcs and magic have been shelved. Welcome to 1403 Bohemia, an ancient part of the Czech Republic whose knotty hills, towns, churches and mills are carefully and beautifully recreated in video game form. It was a rocky start, but to my mind, the weather looks set fair. The good news? Despite the vast canvas and the comparatively small team working on it, Kingdom Come‘ s bugs are being squashed all the time, and new updates are arriving to work out the kinks. It’s the sort of passion project you saw in the 90s and early 2000s, when new IPs were taking designs and stretching them as far as they would go, often to breaking point. By comparison, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is overflowing with grand ambition. In an industry where franchises make financial sense, new ideas are carefully portioned and doled out bit by bit.