Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 performance review: A graphic feast for medieval fans

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is neither lightweight nor an extreme GPU stress test like some modern titles (e.g., Star Wars Outlaws). Entry-level GPUs, such as the Radeon 780M, can handle the game at Full HD with minimum settings and FSR enabled. Mid-range GPUs like the GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop manage 1,920 x 1,080 pixels smoothly, even at higher settings. High-end GPUs like the RTX 4080 Laptop can handle QHD resolutions without upscaling, but 4K gaming becomes challenging, especially on notebooks, where FSR or DLSS becomes almost essential.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stands out in a market dominated by Unreal Engine 5 titles by utilizing Crytek’s equally powerful CryEngine, known from games like Hunt Showdown. The result is visually stunning, particularly in outdoor environments. The landscapes are dense with vegetation, rich in detail, and convincingly organic. Compared to its predecessor, the game feels more polished and accessible.
The introduction is both action-packed and immersive, pulling players quickly into its medieval world. Unique gameplay elements, such as the dialog system with multiple ways to influence NPCs, set it apart from other RPGs. While the controls may feel slightly imprecise at first, this is a minor issue in an otherwise engaging experience. Our initial playthrough left us impressed and eager for more.

The options menu in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is well-designed, with changes applied instantly without requiring a restart. Players can adjust resolution, picture mode, frame limit (only when VSync is enabled), gamma value, and field of view. The overall graphics quality ranges from Low to Ultra, with additional upscaling options available, including DLSS and FSR.
For those who prefer more customization, the advanced settings menu offers over 10 individual detail settings, allowing fine-tuned graphical adjustments to match hardware capabilities.

Since Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 lacks a built-in benchmark, we use a custom sequence for performance measurements. After the tutorial battle, the protagonist rides through the game's visually rich and demanding landscape on horseback. This semi-scripted sequence, shown in the video below, is recorded for approximately 30 seconds using the CapFrameX tool.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is definitely playable on more powerful iGPUs. In our test, a Radeon 780M struggled to run 1,920 x 1,080 pixels at the Low preset smoothly but managed an average of over 40 FPS with FSR Quality enabled. Mid-range GPUs perform significantly better—a mobile GeForce RTX 4050 still exceeds 40 FPS even on the Ultra preset in Full HD, without the need for upscaling.

QHD displays are slightly more demanding on the CPU. For 2,560 x 1,440 pixels at maximum settings, at least a GeForce RTX 4070 is recommended. However, with DLSS Quality enabled, a mobile RTX 4050 can still achieve acceptable frame rates.

Graphics cards face a serious challenge on 4K monitors if you want to experience Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 at its best. Running the game at 3,840 x 2,160 pixels with the Ultra preset exceeds the capabilities of even a laptop RTX 4080 (unless DLSS is enabled), making a mobile RTX 4090 the current go-to option for notebooks.