The gaming industry, in terms of awards, the community-driven awards with the largest audience, has undergone a massive change since the beginning of this new year, and Warhorse Studios is the first to take an official step to participate. The creators of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, a sequel to the very brave historical RPG, have made a very loud and clear call to the gaming community for the Game of the Year nominations during the ongoing Steam Awards. This campaign is not of the very low profile kind—the makers are directly putting the question to the gamers, saying, ‘if you think we deserve it, then we would be very grateful for your support.’ Such confidence!
The reactions to that have been very enthusiastic at the least. The tweet from Warhorse has been answered with not just opinions being expressed but also a lot of questions. The whole thing has turned into a rollercoaster of emotions, and, to be honest, it is quite appropriate for a game as heavy as KCD2. Some gamers are asserting that it is a clear-cut award and others are quick to say ‘I have already cast my vote,’ and ‘I voted, my part is done.’ A more dramatic fan even stated his feelings by saying ‘I love you guys,’ and at the same time, he called the game a ‘masterpiece’; however, he also connected it to something quite strange? Hold on! What was I saying about aliens in a medieval game? That cannot be right. Perhaps I misinterpreted that.
Conversely, there are those, who not to be contradicted, are still on the receiving end of the positivity they anticipated. Some gamers, who are backing up the nomination, are using this to whine about minor bugs that have been bothersome to them. For instance, the bug in the ‘So It Begins’ mission has been reported to be very annoying. A comment from one such scared player reads, ‘Ever since the latest DLC came along, people have been reporting this bug and nothing has been done about it so far.’ Ouch! The players’ frustration is understandable as it is quite easy for an otherwise great experience to turn into a nightmare due to such incidents.
Then there are the players who are discussing… the political issue? One player’s accusation claimed that Warhorse was selling their ‘soul to the woke mob’ which has made this player label them ‘backstabbers’. This is… rather confusing, isn’t it? From what I can tell, Kingdom Come has always been about historical accuracy. Not exactly the franchise you’d think to be dragged into culture war stuff, but lost in 2024 I guess every topic eventually gets politicized.
It’s really fascinating the way the players are making comparisons between KCD2 and other potential Game of the Year contenders. The name of the game Expedition 33 comes up more than once and one of the voters states it this way, ‘I liked Expedition 33 a lot but Kingdom Come 2 was the best experience I’ve had this year for me personally.’ Another player was even more direct, saying ‘Much better than E33′ which… wow, some shade there.
The community aspect is being highlighted very much in some reactions. The players in question have not even played the latest chapter but they still feel like they should vote based on their love for the original title and the developers’ overall good reputation. One user confessed ‘I haven’t played the second game just yet (as I’m waiting for Christmas to roll around) but from the amount of support you’ve given to the community, and from how the game looks and sounds, the DLCs, and the praise: You deserve it.’ This is tremendous loyalty right there.
Some responses from players are very international, one of the Czech players posted ‘Všechno pro KCD’ which means ‘Everything for KCD’ signaling the game’s particular likability in its home country. Another player was asking for Portuguese subtitles for the first game that shows there is still a demand for the entire series to be easily accessible.
And then you have the… odd attempts at bargaining? One player went so far as to claim ‘We vote for it if we get the cover art armor in the game in act 1’ and this is definitely a very smart bargaining tactic. Meanwhile, another person just asked for a free Steam code, because why not give it a try, right?
The Steam Awards have also drawn a mixed response from the audience. One player has called them ‘garbage’, while others seem to be very eager to participate in the voting process. It is the typical gamer divide—one group cannot stop complaining about these community awards but at the same time, they cannot resist being involved in them.
However, it is very apparent that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has left quite a mark on the gaming world this year, whether for good or for bad. The game with its immense picture, its historical basis, and its profound RPG mechanics has unarguably been a major topic on PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
