In keeping with the game’s core philosophy of character development through player mastery though, you won’t be whipping up any meals that give your axe swings extra oomph, or boost your sprinting speed. Neither are these systems designed to force players into a world of survival busywork for busywork’s sake.
Instead, senior game designer Ondřej Bittner explains that these systems of rest, hunger and hunting have been crafted to help players immerse themselves within a deeper, more meaningful experience of Bohemia.
“The game has survival elements to it because you have to eat and you have to sleep,” he says. “But that’s for the immersion. It's not hard to be rested and well fed and so on.”
“In most games, things just start to get faster and faster,” he explains. “You’re going from checkpoint to checkpoint and speeding through objectives. The problem with this is you stop consuming the world around you because you’re so focused on tasks.
“We’re building a world where it’s beneficial to pay attention to your surroundings, and you have the time to do that because no one’s rushing you to take another marker in your journal.”
It’s in Bohemia’s natural environment that you’ll gather the ingredients needed for sustenance and potion crafting back at the alchemy lab. While the developers are keen to avoid forcing a repertoire of recipes onto players, that doesn’t mean there aren’t certain ingredients you should use sparingly!
“I think onions have a debuff for bad breath!” laughs Bittner. “More importantly though, the food spoils over time, so if you’re going somewhere far away it’s good to have dried fruit or dried meat jerky because it lasts longer.”
And what better way to follow-up a good feed than with a nap? To avoid collapsing from exhaustion, even Henry needs a little shuteye from time to time. While our protagonist sleeps, however, Bohemia and its residents will continue to pursue their own interests - which may or may not align with Henry’s.
“You can be vulnerable when you’re asleep,” explains Bittner. “You can be robbed, or you can be attacked, depending on the circumstances. We even have it in the executioner’s historical records that someone might rob a house, get drunk, and then pass out on the bed - the perfect crime…
“But generally if you’re found somewhere you’re not supposed to be, you’ll be woken up. Or if someone’s looking for you because you did something wrong and they find you asleep, they’ll wake you up. You’ll need to pay your fine, or you’ll be arrested, whipped or whatever!”
By all means eat, drink and be merry when Kingdom Come: Deliverance II arrives in February 2025 - just be careful where you choose to lay your head afterwards.
