Kingdom Come: Deliverance - A Woman's Lot Review (Desardh)
Very good addition to the game. I'll focus on the good parts.
❗ Before you get A Woman’s Lot: This one is more about depicting a woman's life in the mediaeval ages. It’s not meant as an experience with unrealistic progression to fulfil a gamer’s power fantasy. You need to go along with it. If you expected to put on heavy armour and go to war while wearing lady’s trousers underneath your leg plates, the problem is with you, not the content. Some reviews are ridiculous.
❗ Yes, of course, it’s still simplified and gamified. Surprise. But that also means, yes, there are chores and walking around instead of using the convenience of a horse. Yes, your stats as a random woman of the time are not great, with men just overthrowing any of your arguments and having the last word even if they’re wrong. Surprise, again - that hasn’t originated on Twitter just a few years ago and this is what the game confronts you with.
✅ Contrary to a widespread image, women were not chained to the kitchen, even if they had to feed the chicken and do a lot of chores (which you also have to do here). This is what modern documentaries about the mediaeval times are often getting wrong. There’s also time for socialising, playing games, attending parties, and free time to do some exploring outside of the city walls. Stuff that women were actually allowed and able to do. Most of'em, that is. You could argue, that this DLC somewhat corrects this facet of the medieval life that the main game underrepresented.
✅ It also shines a light on the image of millers at the times, which was often burdened with a lot of prejudice, that’s also a subject here. There are some new codex entries with interesting facts, too. In this case, the family is actually committing crimes, and, for the time, it’s more than just a petty offence to steal silver. That’s basically the core of the family's story and also shows that women were capable of more than just polishing the silver if they’re allowed to lay their hands on it.
✅ Overall, I found it interesting to reset the game experience back to a more subordinate character in the Medieval Ages - similar to how Henry started out before his character’s progression needed to go a more unrealistic route to make for a fun game. Therefore, since Kingdom Come: Deliverance was supposed to find some balance between realism and role-play entertainment, I think A Woman’s Lot is a nice addition with emphasis on the former.
It’s not for everyone (get it on sale, if not sure), but it is not a bad DLC - even if the balance of sneaking and the ability of saving could have been a bit more in the favour of a less stressful experience that can create some annoying situations. It's not perfect. Play it for a fresh perspective in this world, some personal but realistic family drama and some background info on some characters that were only teased in the main game. Or don't. Just don't expect a female Henry as a protagonist.