>>514193665I think the main story and sidequests are better, honestly. I replayed 1 right before 2 and I was surprised to find it just wasn't as exciting as I remembered it.
>Ok let's start the Neuhof investigation.>Let's track down Ginger.>Ok I tracked down Ginger, now he tells me to track down Reeky.>Ok I tracked down Reeky, now he tells me to track down Alex.>Ok I tracked down Alex, now he tells me to track down a bandit camp.>Ok here's a bandit camp.>Big battle!>That went exactly as expected, let's move on.>Now I have to track down an illegal coin mint.>Who then tells me to track down some bandits.>Who then tell me to track down a monk.>Who then guides me to ANOTHER bandit camp.And then you get the only part that actually shakes up the formula a bit, the siege of Talmberg, basically the end of the game.
By comparison, KCD2 actually does a whole lot more innovative and with much bigger plot twists just in Act 1. Getting into the wedding, saving Hans from execution, investigating a fortress while Hans negotiates, getting ambushed and having to escape, battles going wrong, etc. I honestly think Storm was a sick ass quest. Yes, it's got some parts where the writing doesn't convince me, like the "if you kill your enemies you're just as bad as them" moralizing seems incredibly ill-fitting here when Henry is only going for actual mass murderers out for profit, but those are short enough to move on past.
And there are sidequests that suck, yes, fuck Chamberlain Ulrich, but there are also sidequests that are genuinely great. The hell mine knight is creepy as hell and memorable. Helping Menhard take over the Swordsman Brotherhood. The Guild, Frogs and Mice, etc. The only sidequest I remember in KCD1 that I found as memorable was the one about the monastery construction plot.
All in all I'd say this is a solid 8.5/10 compared to the first's 7/10, brought low by a whole point from shoddy game balance, and half a point from the small dubious writing moments.
