I've been playing Kingdome Come Deliverance on and off for quite a while and after finishing the story years after my initial install and I feel like I'm finally qualified to write a bit about it!
It does two things I like. First is it takes place in a non fantasy medieval setting. No dragons, orcs or spell casting here. I like that it takes an look at the real world 1400s and all the good and not so good that comes with that. Don't get me wrong I love a good fantasy setting but it's refreshing to get something a little more grounded now and then.
Second I like that your character begins as a nobody. You aren't the chosen one. You aren't a noble in a position of power. You have few practical skills and can't even read at the start. If anything Henry's superpower is learning everything he can to become the character you want him to be. You aren't born a main character and even at the end of the game you won't be the most important person in the room.
I really grew to like the combat in the game. It's easy enough to learn but hard to master but once you figure it out combat can be a ton of fun, but it does get a bit janky in larger battles with everyone bumping each other everywhere.
The world is about the right size in my opinion. The world is large enough to get a sense of scale but with a decent amount of density. Towns have different character and they have enough to discover to keep things interesting. I rarely used fast travel preferring to enjoy the rides across the countryside.
I liked it a lot and I'll be keeping an eye on the sequel after it releases!
I really, really want to like KCD, but after a bad experience early on I've never been able to get back into it. There is a mission fairly early on where you need to sneak from one end of a large map to the other. There was a lot to do and explore on it, so it probably took me 60-90 minutes. Then right at the end I got jumped by 4-5 soldiers and died. And because of KCDs aggressivly-anti save system, I would have had to repeat the entire thing. I get that KCD is supposed to be super hard core, but I'm a busy dad of two small kids. Finding an uninterrupted pocket of 90 minutes to enjoy a game is a rare luxury, so having it ended like that completely soured the game for me.
More games need a "busy parent" easy mode.
If you're on PC it's fairly easy to install a unlimited save mod, that might be a nice QOL option for you.
If you're using a console, Savior Schnapps can be fairly easy to brew with a bit of practice. Still not a perfect option for what you're talking about, but saving every hour or so can be a big timesaver.
Yeah it took a minute to get used to that save system and I have been burned a few times. Sometimes I would take advantage of the "save and quit" option instead of using one of the drink saves. Or take a nap on some rando's bed for an hour!
It does get better as you go everything is a lot harder at the early levels. Once you get some armor, a horse and some practice fights in it goes a lot smoother. And running away is always an option
I had this experience... Game is too unpolished to be this punishing. I gave up.
Hopefully new one doesn't punish old cucks with life obligations