Is the Kingdom Come: Deliverance 'A Woman's Lot' DLC worth it?

What's so good about A Woman's Lot?

The 'A Woman's Lot' DLC for Kingdom Come: Deliverance delivers a very well-written narrative from the perspective of one of the most important characters in the base game: Theresa. It takes place before, during, and after the infamous raid on Skalitz by the Cuman forces that occurs at the beginning of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and shows us how Theresa managed to survive it. The experience is slower and more stealth-driven than most of the base game's gameplay, and there's enough content here to last you several play sessions.

The 'A Woman's Lot' DLC summarized

• Gripping narrative.
• A well-designed change of pace in terms of gameplay.
• Superb motion capture/voice acting.
• Plenty of content.

A fresh perspective

Kingdom Come: Deliverance players will know Theresa as the woman who Henry can romance during the main story, but getting to actually play as her allows us to understand who she is and what she's like on a deeper level, which is something I really love. The story of the DLC, as you may expect by the title of the expansion (it comes from the phrase "A woman's lot is to suffer" from the critically-acclaimed novel, Pachinko), is quite a depressing one. It follows what Theresa did the day before, of, and after the raid on Skalitz, and how she managed to survive it.

The part of the DLC set before the slaughter serves to show the player how much Theresa cares about her family and friends, and also to give the player a chance to meet some of Skalitz's inhabitants. The people here have traits, concerns, desires, and flaws of their own, which makes the Skalitz folk feel unmistakably human. It feels like a real community, made up of real people — and Theresa is at center stage, who frequently second-guesses herself in a way that feels genuine. As someone who used to be insecure myself, I felt myself connecting with this character.

Once the raid occurs, though, Theresa's strength as a person becomes apparent. After she manages to break away from the Cumans trying to violate her, Theresa's ability to persevere through all of the horror and death and manage to not only survive, but even help others, is inspiring. Even if Theresa doesn't recognize her own strength, the player does, and after playing this DLC and getting to see Theresa's iron willpower in the flesh, she's become one of my favorite characters in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

Out of sight, out of mind

In terms of gameplay, the 'A Woman's Lot' DLC is more stealth-oriented and strategic than what the base game offers, which is a lovely change of pace. Where you would normally run up to a group of Cumans and beat the stuffing out of them with a mace as Henry, Theresa doesn't have the luxury of combat training. You can fight, but it's generally a last ditch option. Thankfully, the DLC gives you a helpful (and cute!) doggo called Tinker who can bite at the legs of a foe, giving players a few seconds of time to line up a good sword strike or bow shot. Even so, it's best to stick to the shadows.

There's lots of different quests to complete in this DLC, both required and optional, which is great considering an issue I had with most of the other DLCs for Kingdom Come: Deliverance was that they felt too short; here, though, you get your money's worth. The presentation of the story is also superb, as both the voice actors and the mocap animators did a stellar job — on par with Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2, in fact, which is no easy feat.

The 'A Woman's Lot' DLC is out now for $12 on PC, but Xbox players will have to wait until June 11 for the DLC to release.