I've seen a bunch of posts, some actually from months ago, some more recently about Hans getting diluted and toned down between KCD1 and KCD2. And while he changed, I don't think these changes are that big or ones that don't make sense in the story we are given. Certain changes in how Henry talks were actually more notable to me.
(For the record, I played KCD1 first, then KCD2 immediately after finishing KCD1. Literally 2 hours passed for me between the epilogue of KCD1 and the prologue of KCD2)
And I kinda get the point. Hans when we meet him in KCD1 is inexperienced, undersocialized, and tends to run his mouth and his behaviour in KCD2 past the prologue is different. But in a way that makes sense. He is a more complex, intelligent, and competent person than some make him out to be in KCD1. He isn't just a silly guy who says weird outrageous shit who has no filter in KCD1 who got toned down for KCD2.
When we meet Hans in KCD1, he doesn't seem to know how to handle having a friend. He invites Henry to the baths and has him strip and everything because he honest to god doesn't know what friends do to hang out so he invited Henry in on something he likes doing and hoped he liked it to. A lot of our other interaction with Hans is Hans trying to find excuses to hang out with his friend Henry. It's downtime for fun we don't get much of in KCD2 in general. (And when we do get glimpses of moments, like when riding with Hans to Nebakov he still says shit like "so toughen up that arse of yours" in response to Henry complaining his arse is sore. Like Old Times is post-Maleshov which is a different phase to me when it comes to Han's characterization)
And when we see Hans say weird shit in KCD1, it's with Henry or bathmaids (people he is comfortable with) or when drunk or when he has a concussion. Hans is actually very socially aware of his station and behavior even in KCD1.
Even when we see him kinda drunk with the drinking buddies that aren't really his friends at the start of KCD1, he tells his funny story that is completely made up bullshit, but he isn't saying anything nearly as strange or outrageous as he does when he talks to Henry. He is acting pretty normal for a man drinking with other men.
When he makes his "with my bare hands I'd... crush your balls" comment he has a concussion and laughs awkwardly immediately after he is done talking because he realized he said a weird thing. He knows its weird. And Henry makes just as weird comments to him before "looked like they were about to take your maidenhood" and "a nobleman with crushed balls" and takes Hans’s comments in stride. Of course Hans would feel more comfortable from that moment onwards to say weird shit in Henry's presence and be speak more freely.
Even in KCD1, he doesn't speak to Hanush or Radzig the same way he talks to Henry. We see him speak with Bernard, and he is quite chill and normal. He is completely normal and appropriate when talking to Jobst (I know he says Henry would come with him, but it's not a weird thing to say about one's page/friend/trusted companion and no one really minds in the scene. It's insane due to the implications, not the words that are leaving his mouth. He is behaving politely and appropriately for the situation as he keeps doing in KCD2).
In Rober Baron he gives a reasonable not-bad pre-battle speech to his men:
In the same quest, Hans shows he can be more emotionally vulnerable and serious with Henry, similar to how we see him in KCD2:
And he shows at the end of kcd1 that even though he is inexperienced and naive:
he is politically savvy and aware of the grander picture of the state of the land and has a strategic mind for these things:
And while he talks big game here and he probably wouldn't have hanged them, he is still calling out Wenceslas rewarding the lords for abducting him as a bad strategic decision. In KCD2, he does similar things when talking big game of helping Henry gut Istvan or torturing the prisoner at Trosky but when it comes down to it, he'd rather not.
All of this is consistent with his characterization between the two games and all makes sense. Hans has been taught all his life how to be a noble, and he clearly knows how to be a noble and behave as one when he needs to.
Its friendship and speaking to someone he likes as an equal which is strange for him and puts him on uneven ground. Ground that feels more even by the start of KCD2 and then becomes uneven again post-Maleshov. And I'd say the batshit things he says is more him in a way the noble facade can never be, but he knows how to put it on. He has a filter when he wants to have it.
I'd go as far as to say Hans likes saying stupid shit and run his mouth and be annoying on purpose and often just doesn't really get the chance for it. I'd also say, Henry says just as much weird shit if not more. They are both shitheads who like to talk shit and annoy people. But, like most people, they are both aware enough of social cues to put on the necessary masks when they need them in both games.
And in the prologue of KCD2, Hans acts the same as he does in kcd1. He makes his usual comments to Henry ("Do you think we'll fight with our cocks"). He hits at the worst point he can in the fight in the pillory by bringing up the whole Dadzig situation which is a low blow because Hans is sharp. Same as he latched onto Henry being a cowered who ran away from Skalitz when he wanted to be mean to him in KCD1. But later, everything goes to shit and Hans is constantly surrounded by people he needs to play nice with or assert his nobility to prove his worth to — so of course he is behaving differently than when in his home terf, and before his humiliation at Trosky (which explains why he doesn't really stick around in For Victory considering everything we can hear the other nobles say about him. In Raborsh too actually) I'd be more surprised if he did act the same. He is adjusting to new situations as much as Henry is, perhaps more so as Henry has been adjusting to completely new situations for a month+ already by the start of KCD2.
And KCD2 Hans still talks about fucking wenches, getting drunk, going out hunting as an excuse to avoid people and politics (all things he does and says in KCD1).
And Hans keeps changing throughout KCD2. He is so noticeably softer post-Maleshov, since that's the point I believe he had some time to think over his feelings towards Henry. Not to mention he spent a week-ish in a small room with Brabant as the only company, with Von Bergow literally starving him, thinking Henry got tortured and then killed. Again, I'd be more surprised if he didn't become more mushy and affectionate to Henry after that. And it is just with Henry. (Not that it stops him for saying weird shit after you sleep with Rosa "You rutting stag! It's a wonder you didn't bring the whole house down!" and "Did she scream, cry… laugh? Bite, scratch? Or did she take a whip to you?")
The point of this honestly long winded post is that, I just don't really understand the KCD1 Hans vs KCD2 Hans discussion. This feels to me, like the same character (some variation in character are acceptable to me due to development cycles) who is wearing different hats and different aspects of himself to fit his situation for the most part. Henry, for example, speaks with much more confidence in KCD2 than KCD1. KCD1 Henry sounds so soft and quite compared to his KCD2 counterpart. Which, again, is a valid transition of the character as he is more skilled and confident and acting confident serves his objectives better. Same for Hans playing along with noble behaviors and games in the situations he finds himself in.
Not saying there aren't some moments in KCD2 for both of them that feel a little OOC to me, but, this is more in general. (For the record, Henry has more scenes that I consider OOC than Hans in KCD2 but he also appears more)
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