Fake History Hunter

This article was originally (partially) a thread on social media, which is why it is formatted with lots of images and short responses.
The text is about the image below that paragraph.Game review:

Here it finally is, my review of ‘Kingdom Come Deliverance’, some of you have been asking me to review this game for ages!

The trailer:

This is going to be a LONG review, probably a bit chaotic and messy.
Of course also with spoilers and me complaining about little details.
You’ve been warned.

I heard first about this game when it started as a kickstarter that promised a world with dungeons but no dragons.
Which made me instantly want it and I was glad to see there were a LOT of people who were clearly desperate for a good medieval game without fantasy stuff.

They did, unfortunately, put some potions in the game that aren’t very realistic, of course to make the game more fun, but I tried to avoid using them as much as possible.

The game is set in 15th century Bohemia during the Hussite wars and we get to play Henry, a blacksmith’s son, a handsome young fellow who only has drinking, fighting & women on his mind.
He’s a cad, so I like him even though I perhaps shouldn’t 😉

Then his town is attacked & massacred by Cumans and our hero barely escapes after seeing his parents murdered.
So our story begins, through many different adventures and quests our simple boy becomes a strong man, a knight even, as unlikely as that may have been back then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cadfael_ChroniclesOne of the things you get to do quite often is solve crimes & difficult situations, which is a lot of fun and also made me think about Cadfael a lot, someone please bring back that tv show!!

Henry is a rogue.
But handsome & charming, so he generally gets away with it, but it does mean that his view of the world is one-sided, we don’t really get an interesting perspective of women, unless they end up in bed with Henry.
Luckily a DLC changed that, more on this later.

Henry is very well voiced/acted by the wonderful Tom McKay, quite the dreamboat.

Other voice actors are pretty good as well, Brian Blessed is of course fantastic, but some are a bit iffy, that everyone speaks English is one thing, but that some have an American accent is weird.
I know that makes no sense because English is already completely unrealistic for this time and era, but somehow American feels even less historically inaccurate.
Silly, I know.
Mind you, I didn’t have to choose English, so I’ve got only myself to blame.

But let’s get straight to the main actor in this game: the medieval world.
A lot of work and love has gone into creating the world we get to explore.
It’s been years since I first played this game but it is still such a delight to simply ride my horse through fields and villages.

And the castles… oh my, it truly made me smile with delight when I explored them.

The woods are also wonderful to explore, to ride through, to go hunting in but… and here’s the first raised eyebrow, there’s a lot of it.
Our game is set in an area with several villages and a lot of industry.

Every house has a fire burning every day, there are several charcoal burner camps, mines & other industry, this all would have used up a lot of wood, it would take very little time for there to be very little forests left.

There are also a lot of people living here, they all need food, for this land would be needed for growing crops & livestock, another reason why I think this world probably would have had more fields & fewer woods than it has in the game.

And if there were woods, the domesticated but also wild animals that roamed there would have eaten much of them bare I reckon.
These were all serious problems people in much of Medieval Europe were dealing with.

What a lot of people disliked about the game was something I loved; it is difficult.
You’re a nobody who doesn’t know anything, can’t do much, loses every fight, can’t convince anyone of anything & when you pick a lock the town comes running to see what is causing that racket.

Mastering medieval weapons takes for EVER and when you eventually win your first fight it truly feels like you’ve achieved something.

But even at the end of the game when I was a very good fighter wearing a strong suit of amour and wielding a very good sword, a gang of angry peasants with pitchforks could still kill me if they wanted to.
That to me is realistic.

I don’t know much about Czech history, the politics of the time or specific details of life in that region, so my review is a bit more general medieval based, which means I could be wrong as some things were perhaps different there than they were in other parts of Europe.

The game received a lot of criticism when it came out, some valid, some not so much.
It was very glitchy but I think that’s all mostly solved now.
There were some issues, but nothing that broke the game or really bothered me.

There was drama about there not being much diversity and unfortunately one of the main developers said some stupid things.
The wiki page describes all this quite well but it left a dark shadow over the game.
But a LOT of people worked on it who don’t all share his opinions.

Anyway, the game is a masterpiece, especially because of the world created for it.
If you’re into medieval history, you HAVE to go explore it, just walk around a town, go see a castle, you’ll love it.

I wish the team behind the game made a multiplayer version, no not of the whole game, just the world.
Imagine if we could meet at an inn there, have a drink, play dice, then go horse riding, fight some bandits, party at a castle, etc.
Please make it happen!

While playing it (again) I took over 1200 screenshots, the rest of the thread is me sharing some of these and randomly ranting about what is on them.
I hope it all makes sense.

So where to start… with hygiene, you know me.
Well bathing plays a big role in this game, your character (and everybody else) gets dirty and this results in you being treated differently.
A mucky boy gets send away and won’t get kisses either.

Most towns/villages have bathing facilities, from little outside tubs to lovely cosy places.
I would have liked a fancy nicer looking one in the city, but at least they were there.

Unfortunately they all offer hanky panky as an extra service.
Bath houses were not all brothels, mostly they were places entire families visited, a village meeting place, prostitutes were not even allowed near.

Yes there were of course bath houses were naughty things happened and there were brothels that were also bath houses.
But I would have liked to see more regular common bath houses where you just had a bath with your family and neighbours.
Kids would be running around, peeping Toms severely punished and prostitutes not even allowed inside.

Also why are the men in the tubs not naked?
There’s nudity in the game but when men jump in the tub, they keep their undies on.
Not that I’m a perv or anything, but they should have been naked or had on tiny underpants, for authenticity sake.
Honest.

The buildings are fantastic, truly awesome, you can enter almost all of them, they make sense, look good, feel authentic, it’s just amazing.
And some of them are based on real buildings you can still visit today!

Honestly, just walking around these places to me was worth the price of the game alone.

From castles to inns, farm houses to monasteries and although there was some repetition you don’t really notice it much.

I mean just look at this wonderful square!

Honestly there were times when I turned a corner and just gasped.

And so many wonderful details.

Wonderful street, yes it’s not paved, yes it will get muddy when it rains but look, there are gutters on the side, to avoid much of this problem!

Just look at all this goodness.

Drool.

And there are toilets EVERYWHERE, as there should be.
From simple outhouses like these to proper garderobes in the castles:

Okay I know it sounds weird and I’m perhaps a bit obsessed, but just look at this glorious garderobe!

But the buildings don’t just look good, they feel good, they feel real, alive, like people live and work there, not just a docking area for NPCs.

For instance a potter works and lives here, look at all the wonderful pottery everywhere!

But it’s not all 15th century, at the monastery I found this much older little church, sadly the real one is now long gone.

I did spot a few pigs walking around freely, not smart, they killed people, literally.
Most cities/towns had very strict rules regarding where they were allowed to be.
But at least they look like medieval pigs, I think, yes they didn’t look like they look today.

The interiors were also absolutely stunning and I enjoyed exploring the buildings SO much.
Feast your eyes on these:

JUST LOOK AT THAT GLASS!

As someone who grew up being shown a vision of the middle ages at being mostly very dirty, drab, brown, grey, dark, it is such a delight to finally see it depicted as it actually was, bright, colourful!
They loved colour.

And here’s a commoner’s house, a dirt floor, but it’s clean, there’s a fire roaring, lovely pottery nearby, pottage bubbling, although I think they usually used earthenware to cook that in.

It’s not luxury, it’s not romantic or pretty, but it’s also not filthy, poor and depressing as you see in so many films, tv shows & other games.

And it all makes sense, for instance here’s the other side of a roaring fire in another room, and over another fire you find the chimney when you go upstairs.

But… in some places I discovered that the chimney was blocked, so everyone in this room would die of suffocation or run crying because of the smoke 😉
Oops, someone thought gamers wouldn’t look up there…

I just stood here for a while, feeling happy:

Yay a toilet for three!
Sorry.

Food!
I told you this review would be chaotic.
Anyway, there’s food in the game and it’s glorious.
The carrots are not all super orange but they are all the same colour, which is a bit iffy.
A variation would probably make more sense.

But who cares, I found mead!

What also made me very happy was the light in the game.
Yes, unfortunately there are still torches all over the place, which made me sad.
More about that here:
https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2019/09/10/medieval-myths-bingo/#torchesallovertheplace

But elsewhere I found lots of lovely, very authentic, simple little oil lamps, much better.

There are also books in the game and goodness did that fill me with joy.
They are SO pretty.
They help you learn new skills but are just also a treat for your eyes.

Something I didn’t like was how people slept.
They just laid on a bed, didn’t use the blankets.
I get that creating blankets that will drape nicely over people would have been a terrible job for the developers, so I get it.
And no, I’m not perving on sleeping people, I’m there to rob them and sometimes kill them, much less bad 😉

But this was also a bit ridiculous, people sleeping on wooden benches under open windows.
I’ve tried sleeping like that, didn’t work.
You’ll soon be a wreck, being of no use to anyone.
People did sleep on benches but these were wider, longer and would usually have a mat, mattress, blankets, etc. to make it more comfortable.

But some of the beds were not much better, I mean come on.
I’ve slept on straw, slept like a log, but that was a lot more than this thin layer.
This is fine for an emergency, for a night, but more than that and it will drive you mad.
Medieval people liked sleeping comfortably.

The clothing in the game was a bit of a mixed bag.
Some of it looked great and there were plenty of colours, but some of it looked a bit peculiar.
These clothes look a bit fancy for a woman selling vegetables but why is her hair not covered?

This outfit was great, hair covered, nice dress, apron, belt with lots of bits hanging from it, a hood, superb.

But then you meet a common woman carrying a bucket dressed like a fancy lady.

And not only are her clothes a mess, here too hair is all over the place.
Covering up your hair as a married or mature woman was a big thing in much of medieval Europe.

But this was the silliest thing of all, people walking around in their underwear.
Sometimes this was my fault, I’m an evil cleptomaniac and LOVED stealing people’s clothing while they slept but they wouldn’t just go walk around in their linen like this.
It’s like us going outside in our tiny undies.

I don’t know enough about medieval armour to know if it was all correct for the time and region, but generally much of it looked pretty good, although sometimes I saw stuff even I knew was dodgy.

Yes I was annoyed to see a man going outside in his underwear but I also loved that this was because I broke into his house and stole ALL his clothing from the chest by his bed.
That’s the kind of detail & realism that impresses me.

Recently I tried to find out if medieval people chopped wood on a log like this and if they had tree logs for their fires or just branches & firewood and I’m yet to find evidence for this so familiar scene to actually have been a thing back then.
More about that here:
https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/16/when-did-people-start-using-a-chopping-block-for-firewood/

I loved this rain gutter, never heard of it, no idea if its authentic, but isn’t it cool?
Just a splitted log!

Also, yes, game has dogs 🙂

Superb bit of drainage.

I was excited to spot the other side of a garderobe but then disappointed when I looked up it and noticed it was a fake 😦
Developers must really hate gamers like me who look in EVERY corner 😉

Wonderful detail, we can see the bottom of a bed and see the ropes that the mattress is placed on.
I wonder if the person who made the bed for the game got a bit annoyed that he put all that effort in and nobody would see the rope so he put this one up against the wall 😉

GORGEOUS tile oven.
And yes on the other side you will find a room with a fire.

William Tell?
In a game that takes place in 1403?

Another man in his underpants.
I wonder who robbed him… yes it was me.
Thieving is SUCH fun in this game.

All the NPC’s have things to do, they guard, work, clean and now and then take a break for eating or a drink.
This is wonderful, bit it’s sometimes a bit silly to see someone sitting outside in the rain having a beer.

Oh Henry, silly pretty boy.
Witch burning came a bit later, in most of medieval Europe the official church point of view was that witches didn’t exist.
Henry is thinking ahead.

The monastery at Sázava deserves special attention, so much love has gone into recreating this place.
When you visit it it is still being built but they never actually finished it!
On the left the real building, on the right in the game.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A1zava_Monastery

Walking around here is also such fun, especially as much of the building is off limits so you get in trouble when they spot you unless you become a monk yourself.
I spotted so many nice details.

Yes you get to join, you become a novice, have to solve a few mysteries, I enjoyed Cadfael re-enactment a lot.

At the end of some gardens you find the dungheap, all natural waste, far from the home, great for animals & insects.
There’s no need to throw it in the street as we’ve been told everybody did back then… but didn’t!

This is acceptable in a village or town, but a bit pathetic for a castle, come on plenty of stones & workers to fix this.

Tree looks chopped down with an axe, not a chainsaw.
We recently noticed that in a film I reviewed, remember?

I could live here.

The game sometimes makes you very peckish.
But not a single potato was spotted 😉

I loved the look of the inventory system and always made sure to have some mead on me.

The story is fun, you get into a lot of adventures & weird situations, travel all over the place, get into a few scraps and witness a lot of exciting peculiar things.
There’s also some hanky panky but when you meet Theresa you know she’s the one.

But Henry, the dirty trollop and tart, still keeps visiting bath houses for naughty activities, even after getting all serious with Theresa.

Henry likes to have fun.
And one crazy mission involves a wild night on the town with so many regrets.

Yes that’s someone vomiting from a church tower.

That’s the kind of sexism that annoys me.
Either nobody gets naked or everybody gets naked.
Naked women?
Then also naked men.
They better make an update for this game that removes Henry’s underpants.
Just to be fair and equal of course.

So many regrets.
And then YOU have to do a sermon!
Oh dear.

Still, courting Theresa is a lot of fun and quite romantic.
She tames saucy Henry.
They go well together, just like all the weirdos here they enjoy sitting OUTSIDE IN THE RAIN at the pub…

But I must admit, when they danced I was all flustered and went awwwwww.
Adorable.

And when they kissed I cheered.

But well, as I said, Henry is a tart.
It’s not his fault he’s so dishy, but come on man, control yourself, think of Theresa and you know, think of EVERYONE murdering you when they find out what you & the lord’s lady did…

But robbing people is fun although a bit creepy, like when you choke them in their beds.

And I totally didn’t massacre all these men with my longbow…

The game doesn’t have a lot of very big battle scenes, which some players may have expected, but the battles that are there are exciting, tense and fun.
Luckily nobody heard me shout “Ivanhoooooeee”.

And riding along with your gang is such fun.
I so badly want to do this online with friends.
Just go on a little trip, come on, make it happen Warhorse.

I deny everything.

Glorious.
Here we come!

We’re so cool.

This did annoy me though, while the lords are off, the baddies take their castle by fooling the gullible lady left behind.
Castle ladies knew what to do in times of war, they held castles, managed them, defended them.
Now the men have to come rescue her, of course.
Come on.

Oh look, outhouse over a stream.

Yes, we get to have a siege and play with this wonderful beast:

It’s fun.

WALLOP

We made a mess of the place.

Houses outside gone, guard house on the gate blown to bits but… and this really upset me, when we return a few days later everything is back to normal.
So much realism & authenticity but then this?

Anyway, no spoilers, but the ending is quite emotional although the surprise revelation was not much of a surprise to me.

Are we done yet?
No, still more to come, I told you, there’s a LOT.
I spend 321 hours in this medieval world, there are more screenshots to come and you will sit there and watch them or else 😉

After the main story Henry gets a room at the castle, it is GORGEOUS.

There are a bunch of sidequests, DLC’s and so much more to do.
Like help this executioner, or his victims, I don’t remember.
In reality btw, these punishments were quite rare, fines & banishment were a lot more common.
Medieval people weren’t as bloodthirsty as one might think.

One great DLC lets you build your own village but I expected more of this.
It was fun, for a bit, but I hoped to have more freedom and create something really nice.

You also have to rule the town and help peasants solve their problems, which is fun.
This one started good…

But then got a bit silly.

I had them both hanged for being historically inaccurate.

BTW clothing gets dirty & wears down, which is fun for you as you get to wash & repair what Henry wears, but it gets a bit dramatic when the same happens around you and makes everyone look like a pauper.

Fun detail:

I deny everything.

Some of the NPCs have interesting conversations.

Oh Henry, you weak weak boy.

And then things got weird.
Yes, the pig talked.
But no, it wasn’t fantasy, just very suspicious mushrooms 😉

I was humming the Monty Python and the Holy Grail tune here.

Now to make up for the game being very boy-focused and you being that massive trollop Henry, they made a DLC where you get to play Theresa!
And although it felt like a bit of an excuse and after-thought, I also quite enjoyed playing this.
It starts boring, with daily chores.

We get to bump into Henry but from her perspective.
He’s such a goofy dork.
But this time around I know what he did or is going to do when my back is turned, so I won’t fall for him!

Theresa failed to resist him.
But she beat him at sword fighting and knows how to drink, so she’s cool anyway.

Night at the local tavern, I wanted to crawl into this scene.

Damned Henry that’s not me, I mean Theresa!

But just because we’re a woman now doesn’t mean we don’t get to fight.
We see the village attack from Theresa’s point of view now and although Henry saves her in the original game, she then saves herself in the DLC.
Which made me feel better.

One of them told me to cheer up and smile.

The baddies killed a dog, now I’m upset.

Then one tries to kill MY dog, now I’m angry.

Anyway, I enjoyed most of the DLC’s.
Wait for a nice Steam sale and get the whole collection for cheap.

Finally, yes, almost done, a look at the Codex, a sort of information library that comes with the game, I didn’t go through it all but it’s also a mixed bag.
Some good:

But a few myths/misconceptions snuck in there as well.
The priests/monks never bathing is a misunderstanding.

But this one is pretty good and I would love to learn more about those flaps.
Sadly the last line lets it down.

This one is also a bit iffy, women had more rights and activities than is suggested here.
Then again, in my part of the world, the Netherlands, this was different, we Dutch women have a tradition of not listening to rules, yes even during the middle ages.

Anyway, I thought it was a great game, I had a lot of fun and compared to most games & film/tv shows the medieval world created for this adventure was SO much better & historically accurate than we’re usually shown.
What a gorgeous, vibrant, living world.

A lot of love & passion has gone into bringing that past to live and they succeeded.
I for one can’t wait for the sequel that they better be working on VERY HARD.
And they better add an online shared experience so we can all go for a ride & a drink in this world one day.

FINALLY done.
Thanks for reading till the end, it was quite a task, there’s so much more to say about this game, but enough already.

P.S: lovely video showing you what it is like to just walk around this world;

P.S.2: A fun video by the very funny Sexy Biscuit that compares the locations in the game with how they look today in the real world:

If you like my reviews of games, books, films, etc. check more of them out here, there’s also a link to my review of the sequel of this game there;
https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2022/11/14/my-reviews/