Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Testers Thought Its Stealth System Was Bugged Because It Felt Too Real

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Few games achieve the level of realism found in Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The RPG offers a deeply immersive medieval world that feels authentic, not just in its landscapes and buildings, but in how society functions and how your actions have consequences. This believable world is created through complex, often unseen systems – so much so that playtesters sometimes mistook realistic features, like the stealth mechanics, for glitches. You can enjoy simply existing within the world as much as actively playing the game, making it a truly unique experience.

Playing stealthily is a great way to succeed in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, helping you quickly earn money, better equipment, and survive tough situations. But the game’s stealth system is incredibly realistic, so you’ll need to forget what you’ve learned from games like Assassin’s Creed, Dishonored, or Splinter Cell. Stealth in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 can be very challenging – so much so that even the game’s testers initially struggled, according to design director Viktor Bocan in a recent interview with Game Rant.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Stealth System Is So Realistic That Testers Thought It Was Bugged

Many games make stealth easy to use with features like clear enemy vision, obvious cues, and forgiving mistakes. This ensures stealth is enjoyable, but often sacrifices realism. However, the stealth in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is different. It focuses on being realistic and rewarding players for learning and mastering its complex systems through practice and experimentation.

We asked Bocan during an interview if Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 had any secrets players hadn’t found yet. Instead of mentioning a hidden Easter egg or side quest, as we anticipated, he started discussing the game’s stealth system and how it connects to the game’s realistic, dynamic world. Bocan then explained:

We’re not trying to explain every detail – we don’t want to overload you with information. We’re building a realistic world with characters who act like real people, and part of that means leaving some things for you to discover on your own. There are many underlying systems and features we don’t intend to be immediately obvious.

While Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a game, the developers at Warhorse aimed for realism without making it feel overly instructional. Though the game includes tutorials, they offer minimal guidance and don’t explain every detail of how things work – particularly the stealth system. The game will offer hints on how to succeed with stealth, but it won’t hold your hand or shield you from the consequences of your actions in the game world.

Most stealth games let you get away with a lot. If a guard spots you, you can usually hide before they fully register it, and they’ll often dismiss it as a mistake. The Assassin’s Creed series is a good example of this forgiving style. However, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is different. It requires players to act as if the characters around them are genuinely aware of their surroundings, able to see, hear, and react realistically. The game’s AI is so advanced that some playtesters initially thought there was a bug when the world didn’t easily ignore their actions, as it does in many other games. As Bocan explained…

Okay, so we were working on the game’s systems behind the scenes, and we started getting some weird reports from our internal testers. One guy came to us saying the crime system was totally broken. He explained he’d been in a shop, snuck up behind the owner while they weren’t looking, knocked them out, and then stole everything. He was frustrated because nobody saw him commit the crime, but the game still flagged him as a thief! We asked him if he was the only one in the shop, and he said yes. We pointed out that if the shopkeeper turned around and found themselves knocked out with items missing, they’d naturally assume he was the culprit. He kept insisting it was a bug because the shopkeeper didn’t actually see him steal anything, but we explained that wasn’t a bug – the shopkeeper wasn’t an idiot! It was a funny conversation, honestly, because it showed the system was working as intended – people make logical deductions even if they don’t witness everything directly.

I’ve been hearing a lot about how realistic the crime system is in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and it sounds intense! Forget about quietly knocking someone out or committing a crime when no one’s looking – that just won’t work. Apparently, it’s really hard to get away with murder in this game, so you’d better think twice before even trying, because you’ll spend the whole game running from the law if you do. But the coolest part? The NPCs don’t just react to what you do; they react to you just being around. Even if you’re seen near a crime scene, before or after it happens, they’ll suspect you and you’ll likely face the consequences. It’s not enough to just not commit the crime; you have to avoid even looking suspicious!

Image via Warhorse Studios

According to Bocan, subtle details players don’t consciously notice are crucial for making the game world feel believable. He emphasizes that the inhabitants aren’t simple-minded, but intelligent people who react realistically to their surroundings. This approach is central to why the stealth system in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was so disorienting, even for those testing the game.

Warhorse didn’t aim to make stealth easy or predictable. They didn’t want players to simply exploit the system. Instead, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 wants you to consider how your actions would feel in a realistic situation, thinking about where you are and whether you’re raising suspicion. This can be frustrating for players used to simpler stealth games where detection is straightforward. However, that feeling of unfairness is intentional. The game treats the intelligence of its characters and the consequences of your actions as a core part of the world. Once you understand that, what might seem like a flaw is actually the game refusing to portray its inhabitants as unintelligent.

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2026-01-22 14:37