Apart from the Legend of Zelda games, while there have been a number of pretty epic RPGs on the Switch, most of them have been more attuned to its strengths and weaknesses, typically adopting a pixel art classic feel. There are obviously some exceptions, with Skyrim being the most notable near the Switch’s launch, but you can understand the hesitation to bring over more ambitious ports. The team behind bringing Kingdom Come: Deliverance was obviously pretty ambitious to port something so visually demanding, but the good news is that for the most part they did an admirable job.

There’s absolutely no doubt that the game gets off to a pretty slow start, even as epically as the story’s opening ultimately plays out. From the outset being the mere son of a blacksmith, living what would seem to be a relatively ordinary life in a small village, a brutal attack very suddenly changes everything. Forced to flee into the much bigger world of the unknown, this pretty early take on an open world game can at times feel bewildering. But if you’re willing to give it time and patience you’ll find your hard-fought progress and the skills you’ll acquire do genuinely feel earned more than is usual. So it is a style of character growth that makes sense… it just won’t be a good fit for the impatient.

That’s really what will likely make or break the experience for most people, as it appears the goal of the developers was to force you to learn just about everything the same way you would in the real world, by first doing it quite badly. Combat, in particular, has a pretty slow and painful road to anything remotely resembling mastery. I’ll give credit to the unique style of setting up different slashes and being rewarded for continuing to change things up, as it does make fights a far more engaging affair, but that doesn’t change the fact that you won’t be doing well at all out of the box. Your general clumsiness and lack of capabilities is actually pretty discouraging at first, and it can make some of the game systems feel sloppy. It just takes some understanding to know that this is essentially on purpose, and that with time they’ll feel more refined as your character becomes more skilled.

All of this put together does make Deliverance an appealing package, but only if you’re of the right mindset coming in. There’s very much an immersive world out there, complete with events and side quests that don’t feel as cookie cutter as you may be used to. It’s a rich world, full of opportunity, but if you’re just looking to keep things moving and get on with what would feel more like a traditional experience for an RPG of this type, you may find its pacing to be too slow for your liking. An additional benefit of this package, if you enjoy exploring this game world, is the inclusion of multiple DLC packs, providing additional opportunities to immerse yourself. Its approach may be unusual, and its performance not always ideal, but it’s hard not to give credit to everyone behind both the original game and this challenging port for ambition. While it may be better to play it on another platform if you have that option, it performs well enough on the Switch to be enjoyable.