Before buying
🖥️ What is it on?
PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S since 4 February 2025; the Royal Edition (base game plus all three expansions and the free updates) since 12 November 2025; Switch 2 in 2027 as the Royal Edition, with a bonus questline and exclusive gear.
📖 Do I need to have played the first one?
No — the game recaps it — but yes, if you can: Henry, Hans, Radzig, Istvan Toth and Pebbles all carry over, and half of the story’s weight is knowing where they came from. The first game has its own guide here.
⏳ How long?
The guides disagree: Vandal finished the story in about 50 hours and puts doing everything at around 100, Eurogamer.es gives 80 to 100 hours to complete it, and PowerPyx puts the platinum with everything at around 200.
💰 Which edition?
If the expansions interest you, the Royal Edition is the three of them at a discount. Brushes with Death and Mysteria Ecclesiae are the story ones; Legacy of the Forge is the one that changes how you play.
Playing it
🚫 Is anything missable?
Two things for the whole game — Lent and the 90% — and a dozen quest-bound trophies that the permanent quest saves let you reload for. The regions close at quests 8 and 24 and reopen after the credits.
💥 Is hardcore worth it?
On a second file. No map marker, no fast travel, manual saves and three permanent handicaps turn a game you know into a different one; on a first file it turns it into a lost one.
⚔️ Why do I keep losing fights?
Stamina and armour. Learn the master strike from Tomcat, stop swinging at empty stamina, and stop hitting plate with a sword.
🎨 When do the expansions unlock?
Brushes with Death at main quest 6 in Trosky; Legacy of the Forge at quest 14 in Kuttenberg; Mysteria Ecclesiae on day two of quest 13 in Suchdol. All three after the credits too.
Still to verify
Cross-checked on 17 September 2026 and re-checked on 1 October 2026 against Wikipedia, PowerPyx, Fextralife, Vandal, Eurogamer.es and EliteGuias. What is still unverified is the only thing reading cannot settle — nobody here has played it.