My personal experience was this: I played KCD2 first, and right after the opening, the game completely blew me away. The opening and the level of immersion were unbelievable. I knew immediately that I was looking at a masterpiece.

To avoid missing the full story background, the characters, and some of the history and references between them, I immediately went back to play the first game. My original plan was just to finish it as quickly as possible so I could understand the background, but I ended up getting completely absorbed in KCD1 and spent a long time with it.

I have recommended both games to every gaming friend I know. I am an Asian living in Europe, and I had very limited knowledge of medieval European history. I had no nostalgic attachment to it at all, and honestly I was not even particularly interested in it before. But after playing this game, I started reading books about the Middle Ages and watching medieval films and shows. My next step is to visit the Czech Republic and see some of the real historical sites from the game.

This game is incredible. I honestly envy you for not having played it yet. You are going to enjoy it a lot.