Kingdom Come: Deliverance video swings at realistic combat

Warhorse Studios' upcoming RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance has a few impressive check marks so far in its aim to deliver a totally realistic portrayal of life in medieval Europe.

No dragons: check. Brightly colored cloth garb: yep. Horses: it has them. But what about the battles? Warhorse's newest video is all about Kingdom Come's combat and the studio's methodical research to keep scraps as realistic as possible.

The basics go like this: swinging a weapon will take a stab, a slash, or a special attack such as a kick or a pommel strike. Where the attack lands is determined by choosing one of six targeting zones on your foe's body—think kendo without hollering out where you're hitting before attacking. Holding down a block key automatically deflects incoming attacks, or you can trigger a riposte by blocking right when an opponent attacks for a brief window of vulnerability.

The granularity of Kingdom Come's combat is wonderful to watch, particularly with its emphasis on timing and movement. I'm glad to see a developer put in more effort to emphasize the true complexity of melee fighting, but Warhorse is basing everything in the game from history books and real-world battles. Members of the combat team even observed reenactment battles of soldiers clanking across fields in plate and mail, and they recorded expert swordsmen showing the step-by-step of a clash from a first-person perspective.

The game is still in the midst of clearing its Kickstarterstretch goals after charging past its £300,000 goal, and Warhorse hopes for a 2015 release.