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Back when I finished my first run of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, I couldn’t help but have that bittersweet feeling. On the one hand, I knew it would be Henry’s final adventure, but on the other hand, I knew it would go out with a bang, and so it did. And yes, a few more DLCs were coming that would extend Henry’s stay in Bohemia, but at the end of it all, our hero would hang that sword. Now, with Mysteria Ecclesiae here, it is yet another bittersweet moment, because it is now the final story expansion for a hero, but as the last one, it shines in the places that matter.
Detective Henry is On the Case
First things first, Mysteria Ecclesiae isn’t a post-game quest. You can start it as soon as you reach Kuttenberg, meaning that those doing a new playthrough can add it to their adventure before Henry ends his quest, but they can also leave it to the end if they don’t want to start a new playthrough. In any case, it is primarily a contained adventure, and it won’t affect the main story much, at least from what I’ve seen.
After speaking to one familiar NPC, Henry becomes the bodyguard of a famous physician, Albich of Uniczow. This physician’s quest leads them to the monastery, where a few people are suffering from a small disease. So, it is up to this renowned doctor and Kuttenberg’s best investigator to get to the bottom of it.
You do a couple of rounds around the monastery, meet some key NPCs, and get familiar with the maze-like structure of this place, and when you think you might’ve found a solution, everything goes awry, sending the whole place into quarantine. And yes, you’re again locked inside one location, but as soon as you finish up the DLC, you can continue exploring. So, if you want to level up a bit or do some stuff before starting it, do so because you’ll be stuck here for around 10 hours, which is how long it took me to complete the expansion.
As usual, I won’t spoil any key story details because those narrative moments hit better if you have that element of surprise. In terms of storytelling, this is the best DLC of the three, but regarding gameplay, don’t expect any new additions, as this one doesn’t really bring any new mechanics to the table. In that regard, Legacy of the Forge is the better one, but when it comes to a solid plot, Mysteria Ecclesiae is a superb side story, and one that shows Warhorse’s storytelling skills at their finest.
A Much Better Monastery Experience
When people hear the word “monastery,” they might get some heavy KCD 1 flashbacks. But don’t fret, as Mysteria Ecclesiea is more forgiving when it comes to using your time to explore the interior and exterior areas of the monastery, while also offering you a few side quests you can do while trying to solve the big mystery.
Since there aren’t any new gameplay additions, the DLC focuses on two mechanics: alchemy and stealth. The former will help a lot to complete a few side objectives, and the latter is the bread and butter, as Henry will have to avoid some of the guards inside the area to fulfill certain tasks, so I hope you brought your stealthy outfit because that’s the one you’ll be using the most.
Initially, I thought the questing aspect would be a bit basic, especially since the whole expansion takes place in one location. However, that wasn’t the case. First, the monastery is huge. You have many rooms you can explore and break into, a huge cellar that feels like an underground maze, and even some scaffolding you can climb to look for alternate routes when trying to avoid guards.
Another key aspect of Mysteria Ecclesiae is its quests, which, while pretty straightforward and often involve going from point A to point B, offer different routes that lead to different outcomes. For instance, and without giving out spoilers, in one of the early side objectives, I had to heal a woman. For starters, I could have ignored that quest, and I have no idea where it would have led me. Yet, since I’m as chivalrous as our young blacksmith here, I decided to help the lass.
One of the optional objectives required me to find a book that had more information about this NPC’s ailments. I couldn’t find it, so I went with another recommended solution to treat her. The quest ended in one way for me, but I can’t help but wonder how different it would’ve been had I found that book. And that is one thing that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and by extension, Mysteria Ecclesiae, do so well. They bring that “what if” factor, which is key to making a game replayable.
That’s not to say there aren’t some issues, as I feel some of the quest pacing might not sit too well with some players, but thankfully, there weren’t many situations where I felt like that. In truth, the story had me at the edge of my seat, and that’s something I appreciated.
So Long, Hero
In the end, it is sad to see Henry finally hang that sword. One of my favorite video game protagonists has had its final adventure. While that is heartbreaking in a way, I also rest easy because Mysteria Ecclesiae is one of the best narrative experiences Warhorse Studios has crafted. It is the one adventure I’m glad is the final chapter in the story of Henry of Skalitz, because it closes that book in the most spectacular, cinematic, and intriguing way possible.
