Joanna Novak, historical consultant for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, shared behind-the-scenes insights about her work across both installments, revealing the creative challenges and necessary compromises involved.
She explained the game's narrative - following protagonist Hendrich - takes considerable creative license from what a real blacksmith's son's life would have been during that historical period.
Novak describes the storyline as leaning heavily into legendary folklore rather than historical authenticity. She rates its factual accuracy at "1 out of 10", while understanding the developers' rationale. Players naturally prefer empowering rags-to-riches tales where heroes interact with historical figures and achieve greatness, rather than experiencing mundane peasant existence.
Regarding Kingdom Come: Deliverance's world-building, Warhorse Studios strived for period authenticity while balancing practical limitations. Time constraints, budget restrictions, and gameplay requirements prevented full historical accuracy. Certain modifications were implemented to maintain player engagement without sacrificing all period details.
Novak expresses satisfaction with many implemented historical elements, but emphasizes labeling the game as "realistic" or "historically accurate" would be fundamentally misleading.
