Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was released last February 4, 2025. The devs have spoken a lot about the sequel and stated that they made this game to be accessible to players new to the franchise. This means the first game isn’t required to be played.
You’re definitely missing out
As someone who has played both games, I must say that the second game did a great job recapping the most important story points from the first game and has improved a lot of the gameplay features that were present in it.
However, there are still a lot of things I think will be missed—either in terms of emotional weight and impact, or small details that I believe are important to Henry’s motivation and the overall flow of the story. So, let’s get right into it. Here are 5 things you missed skipping Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018).
Skalitz (Henry’s Parents, Hate for Cumans, and Bianca)
Skalitz was—and still is—a big part of Henry. It’s his birthplace, his home, the place where he found his first love, where he learned the trade of blacksmithing, and ultimately, where his journey in the game begins.
If you didn’t pay much attention to the flashback hallucinations when Henry and Hans were fleeing at the start of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Skalitz was attacked and razed by a bald man named Markvart von Aulitz.
During this raid, Skalitz fell and was burned to the ground—claiming the lives of Henry’s parents, his then-girlfriend Bianca, and many of his fellow Skalitz-born townsfolk. The attack left Henry deeply traumatized, haunted by pain and overwhelmed with hatred toward the Cumans.
This hatred toward the Cumans became one of the three main driving forces for Henry in the first game—the second being his thirst for revenge against Markvart von Aulitz, and the third being the pursuit of Sir Radzig’s stolen sword.
All of these start in Skalitz, and I fear that while the sequel showed it, it is a completely different feel to actually go be in Skaltiz and go thorugh what happened there.
Regardless, it should be noted that not evettyhing that came from the raid of Skalitz were bad. One of the better things that happened due to the raid of Skalitz is the start-or potential of it- of Henry’s relationship with Theresa.
HEnry’s Sweetheart, Theresa
During the short break at the lakeside camp at the start of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Henry, Hans, and the crew chat by the fire after their tutorial combat session. At one point, one of the crew members brings up Henry’s past and asks what happened between him and Theresa. As the player, you’re given the option to spill the beans, keep quiet, or brush it off.
But who is Theresa?
Theresa is the main love interest of Henry in the first game, and she’s also the one who saves his life when he returns to Skalitz to bury his parents.
On that return trip, Henry is ambushed by looters and gets his sword stolen. During the scuffle, he’s knocked out and nearly killed—until Theresa intervenes by shouting to distract the attackers, just as a group of knights arrive from behind her to save Henry.
More of Theresa’s story is explored in the A Woman’s Lot DLC. In it, players take control of Theresa during a flashback leading up to the events of the main game.
Her questline shows her life in Skalitz—sharing playful moments with Henry, helping out on the farm, and almost getting married to an older local—right up to the moment of the raid.
When the Cumans attack, Theresa is at home and nearly killed. Whether she is saved by Henry depends entirely on the player’s actions in the intro of the base game. After fleeing to the mines to survive the night, she eventually meets Henry’s friends, like Matthew and Fritz. At daybreak, she attempts to return to Skalitz to look for survivors—just in time to see Henry being beaten by bandits. This is the very moment where she steps in and saves him.
A lot of people criticized this DLC, but I personally loved it. I truly believe Warhorse Studios did a great job writing a female character with actual depth—someone who’s far more than just eye candy or a romance option.
Illiteracy
Let’s step back from Skalitz for a moment and take another look at Henry and his development as a character.
Now this thing I will point out is a subtle and optional gameplay element that I really love. It’s totally up to you, the player, if you want to leave it as is or try to “fix” it.
If you didn’t know, reading and writing were considered privileges in the old days, usually only available to nobles, merchants (not all of them), and people working in the church or monastery.
Henry, being the son of a blacksmith, actually can’t read or write at the start of the game.
But early in the main questline, there’s an optional objective where you can let Henry spend time with a scribe and learn how to read.
Again, this is completely optional. You can also just let Henry live his life without books and letters.
But if you leave Henry illiterate, it can cause a few problems later on. Some quests and dialogue options won’t be available if he can’t read or write. Still, it can lead to some pretty funny moments in the game too. It’s up to you how you want to shape Henry’s journey.
Hans and Henry’s budding Friendship
Now, Henry’s journey wouldn’t be complete without Hans—and many would even argue that it’s because of Hans that Henry ended up where he is. That said, I want to set the right expectations when it comes to Hans’ presence in the first game.
Unlike the sequel, where Hans plays a big role in the main story alongside Henry, he takes more of a backseat in Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018).
Hans is introduced as the son of Hanush of Leipa, the acting lord of Rattay during the events of the first game.
Even though he’s more of a supporting character, Hans is still part of the main story, as he’s technically Henry’s lord. Henry first meets him during training with Captain Bernard, where Hans challenges him to a friendly sword duel. Right after that, Hans invites Henry to an archery contest and bets his bow on the outcome.
Later that night—if you continue with the main story—Henry finds Hans drinking at a tavern past curfew, which leads to a fistfight. Both of them get scolded by Lord Hanush, and as punishment, they’re sent out the next day on a hare-hunting mission.
I won’t spoil what happens next, but there’s a lot of funny and memorable content involving Hans Capon that you’ll definitely miss out on if you skip the first game.
Chase of Runt, Istvan Toth, and Markvart von Aulitz
Finally, we circle back to the heart of the second game: Istvan Toth and Markvart von Aulitz.
If you haven’t played Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 yet—or didn’t pay much attention to the recap during Henry’s delirious spell—then you might not know that Markvart von Aulitz is the man Henry wants revenge on for raiding Skalitz, while Istvan Toth is the one who stole Henry’s sword.
The setup behind these two characters was already built in the first game, where they serve as the overarching antagonists. However, players never really interact directly with them. Instead, you mostly deal with their forces and a man named Runt.
Now, who is Runt? Good question.
Runt is the leader of the group that beat up Henry and stole Sir Radzig’s sword when Henry returned to Skalitz. Chasing Runt down takes up a good portion of the first game and sets the tone for Henry’s story of revenge.
Over time, though, it becomes clear that there’s more going on—bigger stakes than just Skalitz, his parents, or even the stolen sword.
This shift is a key part of Henry’s growth, and it lays the groundwork for the second game, where the stakes are raised even higher.
I truly believe that the Kingdom Come: Deliverance experience is best appreciated as a whole. Deliverance 2 is a fantastic game, but you can’t fully understand or feel the weight of its story without playing the first game.
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