Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

After 175 hours on my first playthrough I can say I thoroughly enjoyed this game and it is hands down one of the best RPG's I have ever played. A bit of advice to anyone who struggles with it at the start. STICK WITH IT! Honestly, I have never come across a game where the early game was as rough as this. The combat system took some time for me to get used to and I was continuously frustrated with it for a fair few hours in the early game. However, it made me 'want' to get better and I stuck with it and boy am I glad I did. Once you get the hang of it, combat is a lot of fun. I have never come across a game that mirrors real life combat so closely. You can absolutely waltz through one fight and then get your arse handed to you the next. It makes you think and plan as if it was your actual life on the line and that, was a rare experience amongst games. The story is engaging throughout and the pacing is excellent. There are times where things quieten down and let you breathe and enjoy the world, and times where you're strapped into the rollercoaster and hanging on for dear life! The game also does a very good job of telegraphing this to you in advance so you can plan out what side quests you want to do and when. The characters are very well fleshed out and you end up caring deeply for them. They all have their faults, which I liked, but death *hurts* and you really do miss the ones you lose along the way. My only gripe with the game was I wished the blacksmithing system was more fleshed out. I really liked the potion crafting mini-game, but the blacksmithing one was a little lackluster IMO, even with the Legacy of the Forge DLC. It's not that it's bad, far from it, I just wish we could do more. Swords and axes are all well and good but I really wished we could craft armour and blunt weapons as well. Overall an excellent game. Visually stunning, compelling story and excellent gameplay mechanics. 9/10, well worth the price.