Compare Kingdom Come: Deliverance II vs GreedFall: The Dying World Review

DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers were praised for reflecting stamina, sword clashes, and sharpening interactions.

The PS5 release does not use DualSense haptics or adaptive triggers, a conspicuous omission for a full-price console game.

Reviewers consistently praised the reactive crime, reputation, NPC, and quest systems that made the world feel alive and responsive.

The world can look busy without behaving convincingly. Looting in plain sight, passive NPCs, and scripted interactions often make inhabitants feel more like scenery than participants.

Reviewers saw the sequel as much more polished than the first game, with rough edges reduced and systems better realized.

The launch feels under-polished to many reviewers, with bugs, crashes, typos, awkward UI, animation problems, and unfinished-feeling content recurring throughout otherwise ambitious work.

Checkpointing was criticized for causing lost progress when autosaves appeared only at limited quest points.

Generous autosaves soften the impact of technical problems by keeping forced reloads from costing much progress.

Cutscene direction and mocap were praised for selling relationships and emotional scenes convincingly.

Animations are a recurring weak point. Movement and combat often look stiff or dated, undercutting otherwise stronger environments and character models.

Mission variety was strongly praised, especially for quests that went beyond simple errands or bandit-clearing objectives.

The scope is large, but side missions can become scarce or formulaic after the opening, leaving parts of the world feeling less populated with meaningful diversions.

Crash stability was praised by multiple reviewers who reported no crashes, no soft locks, or no hard crashes.

Crashes appear across PC and console experiences, sometimes only occasionally and sometimes often enough to interrupt progress. A few players had relatively stable runs, but launch stability is clearly uneven.

Ranged play was viewed as improved by some reviewers, especially archery, but another found ranged combat weightless and weak.

Targeting can be frustratingly unreliable, with attacks or selected targets sometimes shifting in ways that make combat feel imprecise.

Bugs were present but usually minor; reviewers ranged from calling glitches common to saying issues rarely disrupted play.

Bugs are one of the clearest problems at launch, ranging from missing prompts and broken quests to combat glitches, visual errors, and characters behaving incorrectly.

Facial animation feedback was mixed: one reviewer noted lifeless dialogue faces, while another praised key character animations.

Faces often struggle to sell emotion, with rigid expressions and weak lip-sync making dramatic scenes look oddly lifeless.

One reviewer reported a consistent frame rate and treated that as part of the game’s stronger technical state.

Performance varies sharply by platform and mode. Some runs stay mostly steady, while others report visible slowdowns, frame drops, or major compromises between resolution and smoothness.

Pacing opinions varied: some praised the sustained momentum, while others complained about indulgent cutscenes or late-game pacing issues.

Pacing is one of the most common complaints. Long prologues, slow tactical fights, exposition, and stop-start quest progression can make the game feel far more sluggish than its best moments deserve.

Tutorial quality was mixed, with one reviewer calling it decent while others criticized dense text screens and poor explanations.

Tutorials are a major weak point for a system-heavy RPG, often explaining only the basics while leaving players to untangle complex combat, UI, talents, and party mechanics themselves.

Immersion was one of the clearest strengths, with reviewers repeatedly describing the world, systems, and presentation as absorbing.

The setting, language, atmosphere, and world detail can be absorbing, but bugs, passive NPCs, companion oddities, and technical hiccups repeatedly break the illusion.

The dog companion Mutt was praised as useful and worthwhile, especially for tracking and early side-quest benefits.

Party automation is inconsistent: some players found allies sensible about healing and skill use, while others saw companions lag behind, pick bad targets, or fail to attack.

Writing was described as excellent, engaging, humorous, and consistently strong across main and side content.

Writing swings from thoughtful, mature political and companion material to blunt exposition, simplistic villains, and awkward thematic handling. Its ambitions are strong, but execution is uneven.

Progression was widely praised for turning early friction into rewarding growth through skills, perks, equipment, and player learning.

Build progression offers meaningful stat, talent, skill, and gear choices, but uneven XP rewards and lots of manual party management can make leveling feel inconsistent or tedious.

The game was not seen as a pure grind, but reviewers still emphasized the effort and repetition needed to gain traction.

Progression can force extra fighting or leveling before difficult encounters, and that grind becomes especially frustrating when combat itself is not clicking.

One reviewer felt early traversal was unnecessarily taxing, especially before stronger equipment and better mobility options eased the burden.

Character movement can look and feel awkward, with running animations described as stiff and unnatural.

Several reviewers found the game highly entertaining, addictive, and rewarding once its demanding systems clicked.

Enjoyment depends heavily on tolerance for the new combat and technical roughness. Players who click with the world and RPG systems can have a great time, while others find the friction exhausting.

Combat drew broad attention for its realism, skill focus, and improvements, though several reviewers still found it harsh, clunky, or frustrating early on.

Combat is the game’s biggest dividing line. Some enjoy the deeper real-time-with-pause tactics and party control, while many others find fights slow, clunky, repetitive, or less satisfying than the first game’s action combat.

Camera behavior was a noted issue for one reviewer, especially through finicky first-person viewpoint problems.

Camera problems frequently get in the way, including lockups, awkward tactical framing, motion blur, and moments where positioning becomes hard to read.

Reviewers generally agreed the sequel stays true to the original while improving its systems, scope, and accessibility.

The world, lore, companions, and role-playing DNA still feel recognizably GreedFall, but the combat overhaul is a major break from the first game and remains a point of contention for returning fans.

The early economy was described as restrictive, especially when selling damaged or stolen goods with limited vendor money.

Looted materials feed directly into crafting and upgrades, giving resource gathering a useful purpose rather than making it feel purely collectible.

Dialogue was mostly praised for impact, humor, and organic choices, though one reviewer found some repeated dialogue drawn out.

Dialogue ranges from strong character moments to exposition-heavy or overly simple exchanges. The best conversations deepen companions and politics, while weaker scenes can feel blunt or underwritten.

Difficulty was often called demanding and unforgiving; reviewers generally treated this as part of the appeal, though not always an easy one.

Difficulty is highly uneven. Flexible settings help, but reviewers repeatedly describe punishing spikes, spongey enemies, and encounters that can feel mismatched with nearby fights.

Reviewers liked the depth and usefulness of perks, weapon techniques, and skill trees, especially when they enabled meaningful playstyle specialization.

There is substantial build freedom across weapons, roles, attributes, talents, and companion trees. That depth is rewarding for tinkerers but can become confusing or overly specialized for others.

Narrative quality was a major strength, with reviewers praising the historical saga, main quest, character arcs, and cinematic ambition.

The story has strong ideas, a compelling perspective shift, and memorable companion material, but opinions split on execution. Slow pacing, simplistic villains, constrained agency, and uneven follow-through keep the narrative from matching its ambition for everyone.

Onboarding divided reviewers: returning and new-player recaps helped, but some found the opening overloaded or blunt.

Several players find the opening effective at establishing culture, mechanics, and stakes, while others think it runs far too long. As an introduction to the world it is rich, but patience is required.

Graphics were broadly praised for impressive landscapes, cutscenes, lighting, and major visual improvements over the first game.

The environments, lighting, costumes, and overall visual upgrade can look impressive, but texture issues, dated character work, and uneven performance keep the presentation from feeling consistently modern.

One reviewer found the loop rewarding but volatile, with strong highs offset by repeated frustration and setbacks.

Outside combat, the semi-open loop of exploration, investigation, conversations, and quest-solving is solid and gives the RPG a stronger rhythm.

Reviewers repeatedly emphasized how unusual and specific the game feels compared with modern RPGs.

Its character-focused political RPG structure occupies an uncommon niche, pairing old-school role-playing with a setting and thematic focus that feel different from most fantasy games.

AI and NPC behavior were praised for believable reactions, routines, crime responses, and increased sophistication over the first game.

Enemy groups can create useful tactical pressure by having melee units rush the party while ranged foes take positions behind them.

Stealth was useful and sometimes satisfying, yet reviewers also called it finicky, weak, or frustrating in specific forced sections.

Stealth can open alternate quest routes, but it is underdeveloped and inconsistent. Limited tools, weak feedback, and odd companion behavior make sneaking less satisfying than diplomacy or direct combat.

Visual set pieces and in-engine scenes were praised for creating striking emotional moments.

Lighting and effects can be striking, adding polish to environments and combat even when the broader presentation has rough edges.

The learning curve was repeatedly described as steep, slow, and friction-heavy, rewarding patience but likely turning some players away.

There are many overlapping systems to absorb, and the opening can feel overwhelming or clunky. Once the mechanics click, the flexibility becomes easier to appreciate.

The cast was praised for memorable personalities, humor, and a strong sense of history.

The large, varied companion roster stands out for its different personalities, faction ties, and roles, even if individual characters are not equally developed.

One reviewer praised the scale of improvement as something other studios rarely achieve.

The perspective shift and willingness to build an entire RPG around colonialism, displacement, and tactical party play make the game feel unusually ambitious and distinctive.

Reviewers described the story as memorable and emotionally powerful, including scenes that brought strong lasting reactions.

The strongest companion stories and late-game narrative beats can land with real emotion, especially when the game focuses on displacement, loyalty, and personal consequences.

Reviewers admired the freedom to solve problems, exploit systems, and role-play, though the sandbox sometimes clashed with scripted story demands.

The strongest role-playing moments let players combine talents, companions, dialogue, stealth, and combat to forge their own route through a problem.

The revised perk and upgrade system was praised for offering meaningful upside-focused choices rather than weak side-grades.

Gear upgrades are satisfying because they visibly and statistically strengthen the party, adding another useful layer to equipment customization.

Weapon balance was mixed: one reviewer liked weapon choice, while another found some ranged options hard to use effectively.

The broad weapon roster encourages experimentation, though certain weapon types or builds feel more useful and smoother than others.

The visual style of menus, maps, and medieval presentation received praise for matching the game’s historical tone.

The 17th-century-inspired look, architecture, lighting, and regional styling give the game a distinctive visual identity, even when its brown-heavy palette wears thin.

Exploration was praised for beautiful spaces, meaningful discoveries, and a strong adventuring feel, though harsh systems made some travel demanding.

Exploration is generally rewarding, with larger regions, distinctive cities, side paths, loot, and multiple quest routes. Backtracking, sparse stretches, or scripted paths can make traversal drag in weaker sections.

Load times were criticized by one reviewer as long enough to worsen stealth retries and experimentation.

Loading is excellent in some runs and painfully slow in others. Fast travel can be nearly instant, yet late-game or console transitions can stretch long enough to disrupt the experience.

Loot was criticized for early encumbrance pressure and the difficulty of carrying everything a player might want.

Gear drops are satisfying when they feed customization and visible outfit changes, but poor level matching and inventory friction can make much of the loot feel useless.

The sequel was credited with giving supporting women and other groups somewhat more agency than before.

Companions are often one of the game’s best features, with faction-specific perspectives and personal quests that add texture to the world. The roster is uneven, however, and a few characters feel rushed or unfinished.

Henry and Hans received strong praise for their evolving relationship and character arcs, with Henry’s trauma and growth adding stakes.

Companion questlines can give party members full character arcs, making relationship-building one of the more rewarding parts of the adventure.

Environmental detail was praised for dense, specific objects, puddles, tools, farms, residences, and believable spaces.

Towns, forests, architecture, lighting, and distant vistas are frequently praised for density and detail. Environments are often the strongest part of the presentation.

Atmosphere was praised alongside world-building, especially in cities, music, and historically grounded locations.

Cities, forests, tribal spaces, ambient audio, and dense environmental detail create a strong sense of place. The setting is often more compelling than the systems layered on top of it.

Reviewers praised the breadth of activities, quests, and post-launch additions, with many describing a large and varied set of things to do.

There is plenty to do across exploration, side quests, faction work, party management, and combat, although some areas and activity types feel more repetitive than the overall scope suggests.

The historical codex and contextual detail were praised for offering extensive background on people, events, and society.

Lore remains a major strength, with factions, cultures, history, languages, and political tensions giving the world a depth that keeps players invested even when other systems falter.

Fast travel opinions were mixed: one reviewer praised dynamic events, while another found it cumbersome and interruption-prone.

Fast travel can be quick and useful once points are unlocked, but late-game backtracking, ship transitions, and long loads on some platforms can turn routine travel into a chore.

Crafting split reviewers: blacksmithing and alchemy could be charming and rewarding, but several found parts clunky, slow, or repetitive.

Crafting can meaningfully improve armor, gear, potions, and builds, and several players enjoyed its depth. Others found it overly complicated, mandatory, or burdensome when paired with weak inventory tools.

Reviewers repeatedly framed the systems-heavy design as a major strength, praising how mechanics connect to role-playing, dialogue, world simulation, and player expression.

The deeper mix of talents, attributes, tactical profiles, party roles, and build options gives mechanically minded players a lot to experiment with.

The PS5 Pro version was praised as a graphical treat, with platform-specific technical strengths noted.

On PS5, the absence of DualSense-specific features makes the console implementation feel less complete than expected.

Value was praised because the game is both strong and very long, with some reviewers reporting enormous playtime.

Several reviewers think the full launch price is hard to justify in such a buggy, unfinished state and recommend waiting for a sale. More positive takes point to the large RPG scope and long playtime.

Replay value looked strong thanks to hardcore mode, major content additions, and reviewers wanting to return for more playthroughs.

Branching approaches, faction outcomes, relationships, and build choices create reasons to replay, although technical friction may make some players reluctant to start over.

The save system was one of the most divisive topics, praised by one reviewer but criticized by many as stingy or punishing.

Autosaves can be generous and protective, but some players still encountered save-related or progression problems that make manual saving feel important.

UI feedback was positive when reviewers discussed improved, adaptable, or visually polished interface presentation.

The interface struggles under the weight of the game’s systems. Cluttered combat screens, weak comparison tools, and awkward skill or inventory layouts make information harder to manage than it should be.

Maps were praised for medieval flair and exquisite town art, supporting the game’s historical presentation.

Navigation tools are undercooked, with limited markers and quest-location issues making it harder than necessary to manage a large world.

The open world drew strong praise for its scale, density, historically grounded cities, and lived-in regions across multiple maps.

The semi-open structure has appealing regions and freedom once it opens up, but some reviewers find the world too scripted, sparse, or restrictive to fully deliver on its open-ended promise.

Main mission design was mixed: reviewers praised varied scenarios, but one criticized a required sequence for lacking an alternate path.

Talents and role-playing skills can open genuinely different ways through missions, rewarding diplomacy, stealth, mechanics, or direct confrontation.

One reviewer praised the way locations were recontextualized into memorable set-pieces that rewarded planning and awareness.

Cities and regions are larger and more distinctive than before, and some quest spaces reward alternate routes. Other areas feel linear, repetitive, or visually under-varied.

Sound design was praised for supporting immersion and helping players identify attacks or stealth-relevant cues.

Ambient effects and general audio work help sell the world, though the soundscape is praised less consistently than the music or voice cast.

Quest design was one of the strongest points, with reviewers praising memorable side stories, branching approaches, and strong writing, despite a few disappointing payoffs.

Quests are frequently at their best when multiple talents, companions, or approaches can solve the same problem. Some companion and side quests are excellent, though repetitive errands and obvious solutions weaken the overall consistency.

World-building was repeatedly praised as immersive, historically grounded, and central to the game’s appeal.

World-building is the clearest consensus strength. Distinct factions, cities, cultures, political tensions, languages, and historical parallels give Gacane and Teer Fradee a rich identity.

Performance was generally praised across PC and console contexts, with reviewers noting strong optimization and technical improvements.

Technical performance is inconsistent across platforms and modes. Some systems run the game cleanly, while others suffer blur, stutter, frame drops, texture problems, or poor resolution tradeoffs.

The soundtrack was one of the most consistently praised elements, with several reviewers calling it orchestral, phenomenal, or legendary.

The orchestral score is a standout, repeatedly praised for atmosphere, emotional weight, and its fit with the 17th-century-inspired setting.

One reviewer strongly disliked Hans as a long-term companion presence, creating strain on their desire to continue.

Playing a Teer Fradeean native gives the story a fresh point of view, and the protagonist can be a compelling vehicle for the game’s themes and role-playing choices.

Menu usability was mixed to negative, with some praise for navigation but others calling the menu system dire or frustrating.

Menus are a consistent source of frustration. Inventory comparison, sorting, skill management, and party upgrades can be clunky enough to make routine maintenance tedious.

Voice acting was broadly praised, especially the main cast, though some reviewers noted repeated or uneven minor NPC voices.

The core cast is generally strong and helps sell the setting’s languages and political drama. Secondary performances and accent consistency are more uneven.

Controls were described as noticeably smoother than the first game, especially in camera feel, aiming, and sword fighting responsiveness.

Controller mapping can make a complex tactical system surprisingly manageable, but unresponsive skills and awkward inputs show up often enough to keep controls from feeling uniformly polished.

Difficulty sliders, combat profiles, and even invincibility earn broad praise for letting players reshape the experience. A few limitations remain, but this is one of the game’s most consistently liked systems.

The different combat profiles make tactical complexity adjustable, letting players decide how much direct party management they want.

Faction standing, companion loyalty, quest resolutions, and the ending can respond meaningfully to decisions. The freedom is not absolute, though, and some major narrative situations feel more constrained than the game initially suggests.

The class framework supports tanks, damage dealers, healers, ranged builds, magic, and hybrids with useful flexibility. Some builds are more awkward or less rewarding than others.

The final act responds to faction and companion choices, but its momentum can sag just before the credits, leaving the ending more mixed than the build-up suggests.

Enemy variety is thin for a long RPG. Human factions dominate many encounters, and repeated animals or similar combat roles make battles feel familiar well before the campaign ends.

Family friendliness was limited by repeated profanity, sexual content, and depictions of women that one reviewer found objectifying.

Handheld suitability was supported by one reviewer who described the game as scalable enough for handheld play.

A horror-leaning quest was criticized for being too short for its dread to fully develop.

The adaptive HUD was praised for hiding unnecessary elements and improving immersion when information was not relevant.

Romance is one of the more uneven relationship systems: one take praises fully fleshed-out paths, while several others call the arcs thin, formulaic, or lacking meaningful follow-up.

One reviewer warned that excessive profanity and potentially offensive material make the game unsuitable for some audiences.

Character creation and build freedom are much improved and can support very different play styles. Cosmetic options are less consistent, with some reviewers finding faces, hair, or beard choices too limited.

Guardian encounters can be striking and tactically demanding, but human bosses are often much less memorable and can feel easier than ordinary mobs.

A few environmental riddles and dungeons provide welcome variety, but some puzzles are so heavily signposted that they barely require deduction.

The post-launch expansions were credited with adding a large amount of extra content to the package.

Post-launch support was described positively through free updates, fixes, and eagerly awaited features.