Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Legacy of the Forge DLC has finally arrived, granting players the opportunity to rebuild the forge where Henry's adoptive father Martin spent the best days of his youth. Taking after DLC like the first game's From the Ashes expansion, Legacy of the Forge sees players not just rebuilding and reopening the forge but also customizing it, as well as the surrounding area and their very own private quarters. It's incredibly ambitious for a DLC, but it effectively embraces the cozy side that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 previously only flirted with.
Despite its Stardew Valley-like gameplay loop, however, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Legacy of the Forge DLC lacks one of the most popular pastimes of many cozy games and RPGs. Sure, players can customize everything from the way their forge looks to the passive bonuses they get from certain pieces of furniture, and they can even ignore everything else in the game and spend their days making a pretty penny by completing various Guild Activities for the citizens of Kuttenberg. But with all the cozy vibes it brings to the game, Legacy of the Forge somehow didn't bring fishing along with it.
Legacy of the Forge Adds Coziness but Leaves Fishing on the Shore
Cozy Game Comparisons Only Go So Far
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 isn't really an action-packed game by any means, but it's also not entirely laid back. Yet, almost everything about Legacy of the Forge is laid back, allowing players to get some downtime with activities like blacksmithing, customizing their forge, and getting to know the various members of the Blacksmiths Guild of Kuttenberg. Many of its systems resemble those found in popular cozy titles like Stardew Valley, giving the DLC a distinct identity compared to the main campaign. In fact, Warhorse even said of Legacy of the Forge during a pre-release livestream, "It's like Stardew Valley, but slower."
Unfortunately, comparisons to games like Stardew Valley ultimately shed light on what's lacking in Legacy of the Forge. It was never meant to be Stardew Valley, as it is still very much the historically accurate Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and is therefore limited in what it can bring to the table. Nevertheless, the tools for crafting and customization are well-realized, but the inability to spend a lazy in-game afternoon by a river really shows the limitations of Legacy of the Forge's cozy exterior.
The Most Obvious Feature Still Isn't Here
Fishing has long seemed like a natural fit for the Kingdom Come series. Not only are there fisherman merchants, but even the map teases players with marked "Fishing Spot" locations. Despite this, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Legacy of the Forge DLC failed to add a fishing system, even though it would have made perfect sense to do so. More than any DLC before it, and more than the one ahead of it, Legacy of the Forge, of all things, looked primed to finally make fishing happen in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Instead, fishing is still absent, making it feel at this point like an intentional omission rather than a simple oversight. Its absence speaks louder in a DLC so focused on the peaceful side of medieval life. The hope now rests on the game's next expansion, where adding fishing could both enhance immersion and follow through on a tease that has been around since the series began. However, it would be strange for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's next DLC, Mysteria Ecclesiae, to add fishing to the game when its cozy expansion did not.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- February 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- CryEngine
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
