Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has enjoyed a pretty decent run thanks to the incredibly strong base game campaign and other content, as well as multiple fun, low-stakes adventures through its DLCs. Mysteria Ecclesiae is the RPG’s final DLC, marking the end of major new content for the game. Where many epic RPGs would present a grand finale with high stakes that put the very fate of the entire world in the balance, Mysteria Ecclesiae instead offers a much smaller-scale story that, while still high-stakes, offers a more personal adventure for Henry and a new cast of characters.
Mysteria Ecclesiae takes protagonist Henry to a brand new zone: Sedletz Monastery. While things start off simple, with Henry simply travelling through the building, a mysterious disease seems to be making its way through the place, and our plucky protagonist gets tasked with trying to figure out just what’s going on.
“This DLC is also rather light on combat.”
Right from the beginning, Mysteria Ecclesiae makes a fantastic first impression thanks to just how well-designed and interesting the building is. Unlike what the zone’s name might imply, it isn’t just a mere building either. Thanks to the more grounded and realistic take Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has on its world, we get to see what kind of infrastructure is required to build and sustain such a zone, and the systems within the complex designs, ongoing maintenance, and logistics.
These form much of the backbone of the events in Mysteria Ecclesiae, since rather than going on a grand adventure this time around, you’re stuck in a relatively smaller zone, with the core gameplay revolving around investigation and conversations. To that end, there are plenty of interesting characters with their own stories to interact with, ranging from smaller ones like the fate of a Blazhena and her relationship with some of the supporting the cast, to Vojtiech and his buddies figuring out a new kind of philosophy that might not be too popular with the various NPCs.
Speaking of the visuals, it’s the fine detail woven through the areas around the structure that really shines. While impressive from the outside when you first get to the new zone, things get even more interesting when you start noticing the attention to detail that has been paid in designing the building’s surroundings, from the nearby field of hops, to a lush inner garden full of medicinal herbs and flowers, to the dark corridors, and even the fact that every NPC working at the building has their own separate chambers to sleep in. Simply stepping outside the monastery is a joy; watching the nearby labourers hard at work is an impressive sight in itself.
As the DLC’s title might indicate, mysteries drive the main story, and you’re primarily going to be exploring all the nooks and crannies in the building and talking to the people who live and work in the area to uncover more of the plot. To that end, this DLC is also rather light on combat. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; we’ve had the other DLCs for the base game that also make use of different core gameplay systems than just fighting. The last one, The Legacy of the Forge, largely revolved around crafting, for example.
“When we mentioned investigations, we didn’t really mean cloak and dagger stuff with a lot of intrigue to go around.”
It is worth noting, however, that if you’re expecting brand new gameplay systems, you’re not really going to get any here. Keeping in line with the other DLCs that have been released so far, Mysteria Ecclesiae only really makes use of the core gameplay systems we’ve already grown used to from the base game. Aside from the new zone, story and characters, the only other brand-new things you’re going to find are some new pieces of equipment that largely serve as minor additions rather than straight up upgrades to things you might have already been carrying when you started the DLC.
The investigation-focused gameplay does tend to make fantastic use of the various subsystems in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, however. The conversation systems are still deep, and there’s plenty of great writing full of excellent characterization to find from even the most random characters you’ll find walking around.
When it comes to the main story itself, Mysteria Ecclesiae offers a slow burn. Things start out smoothly, with Henry accompanying Albich of Uniczov to the building as part of the latter’s attempts to gain an audience in relation to events surrounding Sigismund and King Wenceslas. This is quickly swept to the side, however, with the revelation of a mysterious plague making the rounds around the building, and Albich volunteering his help in figuring out whether this is yet another instance of the Black Plague.
When we mentioned investigations, we didn’t really mean cloak and dagger stuff with a lot of intrigue to go around. Rather, the story largely revolves around you trying to figure out the cause of this plague, and at the same time also trying to make sure that you can identify afflicted people quickly in order to quarantine them before the disease can spread even further. Things get kicked up a notch in Act II of the DLC, with all of the characters essentially being locked inside the building in the hopes of containing this outbreak. Even the gameplay tightens a little, as guards now patrol the grounds to ensure no one slips out and spreads the illness beyond the walls. This, in turn, introduces a small measure of stealth into the moment to moment play for Henry.
Mysteria Ecclesiae doesn’t really feel like much of a finale of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Rather, keeping in line with the other DLCs released so far, it feels like a side quest with incredibly high production values, right down to even featuring some great cutscenes. In fact, one of the early cutscenes in the story, when the building goes into full lockdown mode, feels quite chilling in an age where the entire world went through something similar a few years ago because of the pandemic that was spreading rapidly all over the planet. The reason for bringing this up is just to point out how real the world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 feels, and how much further Mysteria Ecclesiae takes this feeling.
“While it’s a strong story with memorable characters, its separation from the broader game can work against the DLC.”
Ultimately, while Mysteria Ecclesiae won’t really offer you any more closure on Henry’s story than the base game already provided, it still manages to feel like the best and most polished of the DLCs that have been released for the open-world RPG over the course of its year long post launch content cycle. It tells a fantastic self-contained story, and most importantly of all, it explores grounded playstyles, investigation, dialogue checks, and light stealth, instead of just piling on tougher enemies. The new area is a wonderful addition to the game, with the drawback being that it sits entirely apart from the wider world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 itself, at present.
And that, in essence, is the main drawback to Mysteria Ecclesiae. While it’s a strong story with memorable characters, its separation from the broader game can work against the DLC. Sedletz Monastery functions as a self contained, separately loaded area, and the narrative rarely steps beyond its walls, so the experience can feel detached from the wider world. It’s a deliberate, compact experience, but some players may miss a stronger link to the base game and its communities.
This game was reviewed on PC.
