Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: Brushes with Death Review (PS5) – Painting Me Softly
Getting to return to Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 after almost half a year for the Brushes with Death DLC has been a remarkably wonderful one. The superb immersive RPG had me spellbound, as you can read from my review of the main game. However, all good things come to an end and so it was with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, until this new expansion reminded me of all the traits that pushed it into being one of my early game of the year contenders.
Brushes with Death introduces a new character – Voyta – whom Henry crosses paths with, in rather desperate circumstances. The DLC is formed of 10 side-quests, all revealing the history of this elusive and enigmatic artist, while taking Henry on plenty of endeavours across both the Trotsky and Kuttenberg regions. Can the quests of a mentally questionable painter prove to be worth a second dip into this vast world? Uncover your best brushes, pull out your most remarkable oil paints, and let’s see whether Brushes with Death is a Mona Lisa or a lowborn special.
Henry of Acrylics
We meet newcomer Voyta tied up to a tree and the apple of a couple of wolves’ eye. A strong start for any would-be artist in Bohemia. Thankfully, Henry is on hand to save the day. What follows is a twisting and malleable tale that makes little sense at first, before coming together over the course of the whole questline. For a start, Voyta gives a conflicting account of how he ended up in this predicament in the first place.
It’s a solid hook and one that takes off pretty quickly. Voyta is prone to suspicious madness-like behaviour, such as keeping a painted skull on his person and admitting that said skull also talks to him. Standard fare for Henry. However, what appears initially as a lighthearted, somewhat silly story of an eccentric painter, quickly delves into more serious themes of loyalty, friendship and betrayal.
Warhorse Studios demonstrated how adept they were at towing the line between genuine comedic moments with serious dramatic tension. Brushes with Death continues that stellar work with a layered and intricate story that’s both complicated yet simple (once it’s all unravelled), but earnest and morally reflective. The conclusion feels thoroughly earned and it’s thanks to the brilliant writing and voice work once again.
Can’t Brush That Off
I became accustomed to falling upwards successfully in the base game of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, often making it through a quest by hook or by some morally dubious crook. Brushes with Death continues this trend well through its runtime too. Do you trust the inconsistent painter when he asks you to fulfill yet another incomprehensible task, or tell him you simply don’t care so long as the coin is good?
In one quest, there was an outcome that wasn’t even documented as being possible. By successfully repairing a sword and handing it back to the character who begged me to take it from him, I learnt days later that that choice, was in fact, not a good one to make. Brushes with Death has a compelling core dynamic with the central pairing of earnest Henry and the aloof, frankly bizarre Voyta, and the juxtaposition in their world view makes for an entertaining ride.
Having said that, the highlights of the writing, voicing and structure of the narrative do give way somewhat to the inconsequential impact they have on the overall experience. Brushes with Death is very much a bolted-on set of quests that are entirely optional, and don’t do a whole lot to enhance Henry’s character, or our portrayal of him. Instead, they’re a fun and entertaining diversion, safely off to the side and to be appreciated as a supplementary bit of content.
Paint, Or Death, By Numbers
In gameplay terms, Brushes with Death is fairly basic in terms of the tasks Henry is sent to complete by the enigmatic man. One highlight was acquiring a particular kind of egg, to place in a frog’s nest for it to become a “basilisk”, while another let me deface a painting instead of actually doing the questline. None of them are especially taxing or challenging, especially if you’re already at the endgame stage of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Surprisingly, there’s not even much emphasis on combat until the latter half of the DLC quests. Even then, a couple can be skipped entirely with stealth or sleuth tactics. It was a nice change of pace to not have to rely solely on combat, but some more variety or depth to the actual completing of these objectives would have been welcome.
A nice new addition is that Voyta unlocks the ability for Henry to paint his own shields with a variety of patterns, colour schemes and decorative insignias. It’s a minor ripple in the grand sea of the entirety of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but it offers some further personalisation for Bohemia’s appreciators to enjoy. Plus, my shield looked absolutely dope, so I’m a fan anyway.
Death By a Thousand Strokes
Brushes with Death adds another layer of colour to what’s an already immaculate work of art. While it’s not by any means a showstopping piece of the whole picture, it’s an extra dab of vibrancy that blends into work of a master painter. Playing the DLC will feel extremely familiar, even for someone like me who’s been away from the game for a few months.
However, the quality of the writing and the exceptional abilities of the development team shine through. Whether it be a genuine laugh at an off-the-wall comment by Voyta or Henry’s exhaustion at being asked to do another ridiculous job (delivered with aplomb by Tom McKay yet again), there was never a moment lacking in entertainment.
As a bonus, Brushes with Death also brought me back to try the horse racing free add-on. You haven’t known the thrill of a perfectly executed arrow shot until you’ve done it from horseback, hitting a miniscule target from distance to win a 40 Groschen wager. If nothing else, Brushes of Death will bring you back to Bohemia to marvel at the masterstrokes of Warhorse Studios.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: Brushes with Death is available now on PlayStation 5 (review platform), PC and Xbox Series X|S.
Developer: Warhorse Studios
Publisher: Deep Silver
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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