Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has gone through the voting stage and is now on its way to obtaining the Ultimate Game of the Year accolade at the Golden Joystick Awards, with the full backing of the game’s passionate community. The official Kingdom Come RPG account shared the news via social media and invited the players to vote via the supplied link while stating, “Honor is earned, not given.” Almost immediately, the devoted community of gamers reacted in classic fashion when the historical RPG sequel was nominated among the most popular games of the year.
The online feedback was immediate and totally positive like. One fan, Wren from GGWren, shouted, “Voted for my Ultimate GOTY forever! I’m so glad that you all are still receiving the love & recognition that you deserve ❤️!” There were a lot of similar sentiments expressed throughout the community. Another user, mitch, who has been gaming for 46 years, said, “KcD and KCD2 are 2 of the best games I’ve ever played on the planet,” and called it the easiest vote he ever cast. That’s really excellent compliments, isn’t it?? The development community was so strong that user M.A.Zhar imagined the nomination being a reason for the team to “breathe new life in gaming like CDPR did with Cyberpunk2077 after Witcher3.”
Though, it was not only a hype thing. Gamers were quite specific about their reasons for liking the game so much. User BearZ99 cast his vote, calling it well-deserved, and he then wrote, “Hoping it will end up convincing you guys for KCD3. I am not going to leave the series while Henry has not finished the job with Eric.” The above mention shows that for quite a few fans, the Kingdom Come saga is a journey they still want to take. The interaction was so real that the developers were even in the replies, thanking people for their support and even telling one fan to “Look out for sales!” after they mentioned they were going to buy the game for Christmas.
Typically, every competition has some degree of friendly rivalry in it. The tweet suggests that it is competing with the other best names, and a few replies supported that. User Bootiesqt posted, “Yeah I voted for E33, which is by far the best game of the year,” adding that he did his part by ensuring he didn’t vote for KCD2. Another user, triss, shared a screenshot of their vote posted for a different game with the remark, “Sorry, but this fine tournament is not earned first place.” Nevertheless, the main tone was still one of respect, as with user BonezMalone97, who said, “Expedition 44 is a worthy opponent in this case.” It’s just a fun thing, really.
The nomination is like a big moment for the whole team at Warhorse Studios around creative director Daniel Vavra. The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a tremendous and daring project that through its commitment to historical accuracy combined with deep and personal narrative had a clear-cut RPG genre plus its own. The sequel, KCD2, had grand expectations on its shoulders, and this Golden Joystick award recognition indicates that it has fulfilled the expectations to a considerable extent. It is not just another fantasy RPG, it is a very convincing simulation that literally puts you in the position of a distressed survivor of 15th-century Bohemia. The mere fact that it is in the running for Ultimate Game of the Year together with other giant contenders is the very evidence of its quality and the unique market it has so brilliantly filled.
What really stands out as surprising is the closeness that this nomination comes with to the gaming community. It is not simply “oh great, my favorite game got nominated”. The responses are nothing but individual, people are swapping their stories. User nyamka batbayar wrote, “i used to think The Witcher was the best game ever…” thus implying that now Kingdom Come has taken its place at the top for them. Quite a statement, isn’t it? User Dutch Van Der Linde said sorry for being unable to buy the game at the moment but he promised to get it soon, and the developers told him to keep an eye on sales while thanking him. Such interactions are very rare and they are indicative of a very strong bond between the devs and the players.
So what is the conclusion? The first thing that comes to mind about the nomination is that it is a massive win for a game that is, in many ways, in a less privileged position compared to the massive budgets of some of the other nominees. It is a demonstration that a powerful vision and a gifted team can turn the vision into something that really touches people’s hearts. The public plays a big role in the Golden Joystick Awards as they decide the winners, so this nomination can be seen to a large extent as a direct consequence of player passion. They are the ones who brought this game to the attention of the PlayStation and Xbox communities.
