Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Reveal Trailer Confirms Animal Petting is the New Open World Game

Move over, Ubisoft collectathons, there’s a new sheriff in town, and it wants pets. Today, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was revealed, and it confirms what we already suspected: that the hottest trend in gaming is getting to pet animals. We were pretty sure after we discovered you could pet the dog in Baldur’s Gate 3, but today’s trailer convinced us beyond all doubt. We know animal petting has been around in games for a while, but it seems to be reaching a fever pitch, and we’re here for it.

There’s a lot to unpack in the nearly 15 minutes of video, from the song reminiscent of the Netflix Witcher adaptation, to the epic battles and new weapon types. But all of these things pale in comparison to the single second of dog-petting showcased at 3:16.

We need to know so much more about the dog. What is its name? Is he a good boy? The best boy? Yes he is. Also, will you be able to scratch behind its ears? Can you befriend it and have you follow it around? Will it fetch you stuff, intimidate and attack your foes, or lead you to buried treasure?

The developers mentioned new weapon types, such as crossbows and early firearms, but there is no mention of canine jaws, suggesting the dog is perhaps not a tool of war. And really, we’re OK with that, as we wouldn’t really want to put our best friend in danger like that. We’d rather have him join us in exploring the massive version of Kuttenberg found in-game, where it seems likely players will be able to visit the famous St. Barbara’s cathedral (the live action portions of the reveal were filmed there). Hopefully they allow dogs.

Speaking of visiting places, the reveal video also mentions that the world is twice as large as in the original game, which means you’ll have good reason to ride your other best friend around a lot: the game also features a horse, and we’re incredibly happy to confirm that yes, you can also pet the horse. Or at least pat it, which is almost as good.

Since obviously we love them, we’ll dismount our horse before riding into the game’s epic-looking battles, where the devs promise foes will feel threatening — it appears the complex, skill-based combat of the first game has only been improved upon. There are also apparently 5 hours of cutscenes, though no mention of how many of those hours will feature dogs.

It’s a bit early to call, but based on what we saw in the reveal trailer, KC:D 2 is shaping up to be a more than worthy successor to the first game, and not just because you can pet animals in it. Well, maybe mostly because you can pet animals in it.