Should I restart my playthrough and buy Royal Edition?

[Spagootnoodels]

I have 38 hours into Kingdom Come and last played over a year ago. My last achievement as well was "Runt", so I guess that's how far I got in the story.

Title says it. I'd like to get back into the game, this time with all DLC, but I fear I'm just gonna get lost and confused if I continue my old playthrough and bored if I start a new one. Before I buy the Royal Edition, can you tell me about the replay value of this game? I just really don't want my money to go to waste, that's all.

Also, another question: Is there some sorta harder, more immersive mode or difficulty available if I do start a new playthrough? I remember my Henry being an invulnerable god among men with ridiculous armor and a stabbing sword that nobody could fight against decimating an entire fortress full of dudes all by himself during what was supposed to be a simple scouting mission... it got bland quite quickly to be honest, and the terms "trying to survive" and "simple human" became meaningless for Henry.

(I know you can still play the DLC even after completing the game, but it's not the answer I'm looking for.)

[Bokonon]

I'll answer in reverse cos it's easier. Yes there is a hardcore mode (which I haven't personally tried) which I think does what you're asking. Less UI, no waypoints, no fast travel, no HUD for combat, that kind of stuff.

Only you can make the decision as to a new game or not. I know if it were me, after a year I'd start over. I would have forgotten half (at least) of the story and would be super rusty with the controls. But that's me.

Question though, I haven't finished the game but it seems like people are putting hundreds of hours into a single save. Does "replay value" really reflect the value of the purchase as a whole? Not trying to argue, just trying to understand. I know for me the calculation has nothing to do with replayability but how much enjoyment I get from a single playthrough. For RPGs at least.

Also, FYI, if you don't already know there's the Royal DLC Bundle, since you have the base game already this bundle is $20 USD but for some reason is not linked to from the KCD page. I can share the link to the store page if you want it.

[Spagootnoodels]

Originally posted by Bokonon:

I'll answer in reverse cos it's easier. Yes there is a hardcore mode (which I haven't personally tried) which I think does what you're asking. Less UI, no waypoints, no fast travel, no HUD for combat, that kind of stuff.

Only you can make the decision as to a new game or not. I know if it were me, after a year I'd start over. I would have forgotten half (at least) of the story and would be super rusty with the controls. But that's me.

Also, FYI, if you don't already know there's the Royal DLC Bundle, since you have the base game already this bundle is $20 USD but for some reason is not linked to from the KCD page. I can share the link to the store page if you want it.

Less HUD and no fast travel sounds more tedious than anything, but I'm sure it does more than that. I'll have to look into it.

After thinking about it a little bit, I think I'll probably just start a new game. I'll leave the game installing overnight and decide further in the morning. Don't remember much about the story, and I kinda wanna experience again some of the stuff I do remember. I also want to play a little different and roleplay rather than min-max with my armour choices.

I know about the DLC-only bundle, which is why this game got my attention again. I don't remember how I found out about it, but I do know I can get to it's bundle page on steam through links on any of the individual DLC pages at least... no idea why it's so darn hidden. Thanks for the answer btw.

[Bokonon]

I know a lot of people hate even mentioning it but the Discord is full of people who've played much more than me, they're really helpful there and could probably offer better advice.

Either way, enjoy your playthrough!

[Steerpike3]

38 hours in? That's a lot of time down the drain to go back and start over on a new game. IMHO

[Krono]

Best to start a new game I'd say, and I'd only really recommend buying the DLC if you like the game. I think the DLC is good, but if you find the base game kinda "meh" you'll find the DLC to be "meh" as well.

[Spagootnoodels]

Originally posted by Krono:

Best to start a new game I'd say, and I'd only really recommend buying the DLC if you like the game. I think the DLC is good, but if you find the base game kinda "meh" you'll find the DLC to be "meh" as well.

Oh I loved the base game to bits my dude. The only "meh" thing in it was that crappy quest where you and a small army take over this bandit camp in the woods, but I hear those battle scenes have been improved a lot now. Some of the DLC look kinda crappy as well, but I still want to experience them and especially the bigger ones nonetheless.

Treasures of The Past looks like the absolute worst one, but much like in Witcher 3, I'll hunt for treasure any day for my personal amusement.

[Krono]

Originally posted by SpagootNoodels:

Oh I loved the base game to bits my dude. The only "meh" thing in it was that crappy quest where you and a small army take over this bandit camp in the woods, but I hear those battle scenes have been improved a lot now. Some of the DLC look kinda crappy as well, but I still want to experience them and especially the bigger ones nonetheless.

Treasures of The Past looks like the absolute worst one, but much like in Witcher 3, I'll hunt for treasure any day for my personal amusement.

Treasures of the Past seems more like a "buy to support the devs" sort of thing, personally I don't have it either. A Woman's Lot is quite good, and I've been enjoying the Amorous adventures one as well.

[Spagootnoodels]

Alright. I've now played about 4 hours on a New Game with Hardcore mode enabled. Didn't really like it for several reasons, so I just loaded up my save from over a year ago and it seems to still work just fine. It's not all that bad either, as I seemed to already be in Rattay and after a small training montage and a stroll through my guest-log, I've come to remember almost everything I was doing.

For anyone who wants to continue playing after a long time and doesn't know if they should restart or load an old save, do the latter; head to Rattay, smack the captain with a wooden sword, check your guest-log for direction, read some codex entries, and only then will you know.