Kingdom Come: Deliverance was one of the most anticipated Kickstarter games in recent memory. After successfully raising over $1.5M USD back in January of 2014 and then going on to link up with Deep Silver for publishing, it just released this week and is already one of the most talked about games on the market.
In Deliverance you take on the role of Henry, the son of a blacksmith, that’s thrust into a massive civil conflict after his entire village is slaughtered right before his eyes. After fleeing, it’s up to you to enact revenge and restore peace to the land.
Since the entire game has been designed as an immersive, engrossing first-person adventure for fans of medieval RPG, it would be the perfect candidate for a VR conversion. If Skyrim VR proves anything, it’s that people want more swords and open worlds in their headsets.
The World Is Massive And Beautiful
The most obvious reason why Deliverance should get VR support is because of just how amazingly detailed and beautiful the world is. The sheer scope of the landscapes are breathtaking and the dense forests and crowded towns really feel like they’re ripped out of medieval history books.
Since Deliverance is an authentic medieval game and not based on fantasy, that means there’s no magic, no dragons, and no monsters at all. You’ll spend plenty of time using a sword and bow or riding your horse, but it’s far from being comparable to The Elder Scrolls, The Witch, or Lord of the Rings.
Already A Strong Sense Of Immersion
Because Deliverance has such an extreme focus on realism, the sense of immersion is fantastic — especially for a non-VR game. You have to keep track of things like your hunger and energy levels and maintain cleanliness for your gear and clothing.
If Warhorse Studios could add in full VR support complete with hand tracking and head tracking, it would take things to a whole other level. Physically moving my hand down to press the sword against the grindstone, for example, would make even the most mundane tasks all the more exciting.
Intense First-Person Combat
Many of the very best VR games have really intense combat systems. The likes of Vanishing Realms, Skyrim VR, and many others have great combat between sword fighting and shooting a bow and all of that could translate well to the world of Deliverance.
It would require a bit of work to be done, since the combat system currently relies heavily on using your cursor to plan and aim your attacks and blocks, but simply letting people physically aim with their hands would certainly enhance the realism even further.
It’s A CryEngine Game
We all know that Crytek’s CryEngine can make some damn impressive games from a visual and gameplay perspective. Crytek’s own The Climb and Robinson: The Journey are excellent examples of this fact.
Naturally, adding VR support to a game that was built in an engine that already has VR support built-in seems obvious. It’s not going to be an easy transition by any means, but at least the game isn’t built from a custom engine without any existing VR support at all.
VR Needs More Open World Games
Perhaps the biggest reason is that VR consumers are aching for more games like this. A massive open world RPG like Deliverance takes years to make and VR headsets just haven’t been out on the market long enough to facilitate a made-for-VR title such as this. That’s why we’re getting ports of other open world games like Skyrim VR, Fallout 4 VR, and LA Noire VR.
Deliverance is just the latest in a long line of non-VR games that would absolutely be amazing to play with VR support. The Solus Project and Subnautica are both great recent examples of how to do this well.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a great game that deserves as much attention as it can get, including VR support if possible. There’s potential that vorpX may be able to fake it with some 3D injection tricks, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
