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Watch 30 minutes of the brand new Kingdom Come: Deliverance beta

Now with added storyline, cut-scenes, new area, large battle, more weapons...

It's a milestone moment for Czech, head-turning, no-fantasy role-playing game Kingdom Come: Deliverance. In a couple of days' time (3rd March) it sheds alpha and goes beta, transforming into a fuller, more complete game in the process. And we've got 40 minutes of the beta in video below for you to enjoy.

The voices you'll hear in the video are my own (sorry) and those of Warhorse developers Martin Ziegler (technical director) and Tobias Stolz-Zwiling (PR manager). They walk me through the newly added questline and questing systems in a brand new area in the game. You won't hear the game audio from the session as something went a little bit wrong with the recording, as things tend to do when I'm in control. The music you do hear is taken from the beta version of the game we later played.

What else is new in the beta? It's the first time story has been properly implemented, which means cut-scenes (and voice acting) and proper continuous quest arcs with branching dialogues, persuasion and intimidation, that sort of thing. There's the game's first large battle and there are new weapons including shields and blunt weapons like maces. There's a gorgeously realised, and massive, forest you can apparently get well lost in.

In short, this is the first proper taste of what Kingdom Come: Deliverance will be like when it launches in full on PC this summer - providing an in-talks publisher/distributor doesn't hold it back for a simultaneous PC, PS4, Xbox One release.

Watch on YouTube

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