In modern gaming, it's becoming increasingly difficult to define what makes a good RPG because the genre itself has become too loose around the edges. These days, it doesn't seem to take much for a game to earn the RPG label due to progression mechanics, dialogue systems, or simple stat screens. As a result, RPGs have become less of a genre and more of an umbrella genre that applies to everything from action-adventure games to survival sims, sparking meaningful discussion about what makes RPGs truly difficult. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2However, it was created with a much more careful philosophy in mind, something that developer Warhorse Studios has consistently emphasized.
Ironically, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 We lost our best RPG to Sandfall Interactive. Claire Obsker: Expedition 33 Even though the two games are completely different from each other at the 2025 Game Awards. The results highlight how broad the category has become, allowing games with vastly different priorities to be grouped under the same label. In the end, it's a misunderstanding of genre classification that often equates anything with RPG elements with an RPG, and it's that confusion that leads us to ask the question. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Design director Viktor Bocan revealed in a recent interview what he thinks actually defines a good RPG.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's design director believes that a good RPG is defined by freedom.
To be fair, games like Claire Obsker: Expedition 33 There are plenty of classic RPG mechanics to support the genre's claim to the label. Character growth and customization, a party system with unique characters, and a narrative-driven format are all hallmarks of the genre. But the problem is that it largely skips one of the most basic characteristics of role-playing games: freedom. Of course, you can freely customize each character, there are plenty of optional activities, and there are even a few moments where you're given a choice. However, because it is designed around story, what players can do is limited.
RPGs are classified as such because they allow for role-playing. This means giving players the freedom to define who they are within the world and express that identity in any way they see fit. A true RPG is less concerned with managing the player's progress and more concerned with providing a world that reacts to the player's choices, whether those choices lead to success, failure, or something in between. When freedom is limited to build options or shallow branching dialogue, roleplay becomes something that only happens on the surface.
But when a game allows players to approach situations creatively, fail without guardrails, and live with lasting consequences, role-playing becomes an experience in and of itself. The philosophy is right here. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 It stands apart in that it treats player freedom as an essential feature, i.e. as the basis for role-playing in the first place. In our interview with him, Bocan expressed the following sentiments:
“I personally like the feeling of progress. I want to have a character that I create, and I want to evolve it somehow during the game. That's what we wanted to emphasize in KCD1 and KCD2. We really wanted you to start with this basic guy. Make him a blank piece of paper and let the player do whatever he wants. If you want to learn to read, do that. If you don't want to learn to read, don't do it. That's okay. You can still finish it. So it may be more complicated in some ways, but it may be easier in other ways. This type of progression gives you the possibility to do whatever you want with your character, wherever you want.”
The ability to go anywhere and do anything is what it is. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Ultimately, it prides itself on being one of the purest forms of RPG. Bocan said in an interview that the team initially wanted to make it. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2Henry, the main character of , was special in some way, even if it was subtle. For example, they thought they could make him the only person in town who could read, but eventually decided that even that was too much control.
Instead, they made Henry a “blank piece of paper” that forced players to work hard to succeed in the game while also giving them unprecedented freedom in how they created Henry. Bocan emphasized that while a mediocre protagonist like Henry doesn't necessarily make for a good RPG, he has much more room to grow than a typical power fantasy protagonist.
On the topic of growth, Bocan explained how important this is to RPGs. While many soft RPGs emphasize leveling or gear systems to aid combat, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 From learning how to ride a horse well to curbing alcohol and using its effects to Henry's advantage, it makes growing up an integral part of the daily experience. Bocan said:
“I think there's a need for growth. The feeling that you can actually get something out of the game. That's what RPGs are about. It's not about taking on a special role in the story or meeting people and talking to them. The most important part is the growth of your character, gaining your character's powers and overcoming obstacles on your own along the way.”
What Bocan describes is not a checklist of RPG mechanics, but a mindset. A good RPG gives players the space to define themselves, acknowledges that some will struggle or fail, and resists the urge to constantly protect players from bad decisions. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 It builds on these ideas of treating freedom, growth, and consequences as inseparable parts of roleplaying rather than optional systems layered on top. In a genre where the RPG label is becoming increasingly malleable, Bocan's philosophy reminds us that true roleplaying begins when games stop telling players who they are.
- released
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February 4, 2025
- ESRB
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Ages 17+ / Alcohol, blood and gore, sexual content, strong language, intense violence, partial nudity
- developer
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Warhorse Studio
