Kingdom Come’s From the Ashes DLC doesn't add much to the game

At a certain point in Kingdom Come’s story, Henry helps clear out the bandit-occupied village of Pribyslavitz. The hamlet is left abandoned and in ruins after the tough and gruelling battle, but if you buy Warhorse's new From the Ashes DLC you’ll be given the opportunity to restore it to its former glory.

You start the quest by speaking to Sir Divish in Talmberg after you've dealt with Runt and his bandits. Story-wise it’s designed to slot into the middle of a playthrough, but you can start it in the epilogue too—and considering the amount of money you need to rebuild Pribyslavitz, that might be wise.

Divish names Henry the village bailiff, but says he can’t spare any coin because of the chaos gripping his province. So, naturally, he asks the lowly son of a blacksmith to pay for everything, which is a slightly clumsy way of making Henry the focus of the expansion, and giving you control over the settlement.

Your first task is finding Divish’s hapless surveyor, Marius Bilek, who has been kidnapped by the last few stubborn bandits still loitering in the devastated village. In true Kingdom Come: Deliverance style, there are several ways to rescue him, including simply paying the kidnappers the ransom.

I decided to just pay the ransom and I love how I was given the option to lie to Sir Divish, telling him I actually scared them away. He questioned how one lad was able to intimidate a whole group of bandits, clearly aware that I was bullshitting him, but letting it slide. It was a cool little moment.

When Marius is free, you join him on a survey of the area. He takes note of the local resources—a freshwater stream, plenty of trees for lumber—and picks out parcels of land for the buildings you’ll eventually be coughing up a small fortune to construct. Later, after a trip to Rattay to invite settlers to the new village, you return to find the rubble cleared and the land ready for building.

You choose what to build by talking to Marius. I started with a woodcutter’s camp, which generates lumber to build more complex structures such as taverns and trading posts. Construction happens instantly, and it’s quite satisfying watching that ravaged expanse of land slowly fill up with buildings and people.

A dilapidated old church serves as the village’s centrepiece, and this has to be repaired as well before Divish will consider your work in Pribyslavitz done. You might remember this as the place where you fought that black-armoured swine Runt at the climax of the Nest of Vipers questline.

Buildings and workers cost money, which Henry must put in a coffer at regular intervals. Income-generating structures such as a baker or swordsmith will make it back eventually, but the initial investment is pretty hefty. Constructing the entire village cost me something in the region of 80,000 Groschen.

That’s prohibitively expensive for a good chunk of Kingdom Come, so make sure you have a sufficiently fat wallet before you even think about restoring Pribyslavitz. The problem is, it doesn’t feel like a particularly good investment overall. A completed village will generate a steady income, which is nice, but for me, this isn’t somewhere I find myself visiting regularly.

Inexplicably, Henry doesn’t get his own house in the village despite investing his life’s savings in it. You can build an armorsmith or swordsmith, but not both. There’s no option to construct a bathhouse. And it’s tucked away in a remote corner of the map that isn't easy to get to unless you fast travel a lot.

Having all these amenities in one place would’ve made Pribyslavitz a place worth visiting frequently and using as a base of operations. But after completing all the major tasks there, I felt no real urge to return. From the Ashes ultimately doesn’t add much of worth to Kingdom Come, but if you’ve bled the game dry and want more, it’s a passable reason to return to Bohemia.

If it’s set in space, Andy will probably write about it. He loves sci-fi, adventure games, taking screenshots, Twin Peaks, weird sims, Alien: Isolation, and anything with a good story.