Posted on: August 8, 2017

sep4258

Games: 253 Reviews: 64

Great Gothic feel like game

Great game. It was very similar experience to Gothic 1 and 2, with similar/same elements (nameless hero with big mouth, three factions, three main locations, story divided into chapters, learning skills from teachers, etc). The island is rather small, but fun to explore. You will meet various creatures. If you wonder too far in the earlier stage of game, you will meet certain death (some creatures are too strong for lower levels, creating some sort of natural barrier - you will visit these places later, when you're stronger). I didn't like that there is no interaction between creatures. For example, you won't find wolves hunting animals, which is sad, because much older Gothics had this feature. Also I didn't like two last chapters of the game, when you don't get new side quests from characters, you met earlier. And you run in the undeground almost all the time what makes game very repetitive. In summary, very good game with minor flaws and for me weak last two chapters.

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Posted on: July 17, 2022

Ingwer_Chris

Verified owner

Games: 28 Reviews: 18

Atmospheric experience

Although being much smaller in scale compared to the devs last game, while that one was quite enjoyable because of its big world, you will not notice that much is missing most of the time. The reason is not because more was bad, but more made for a different experience altogether. Risen feels much more atmospheric and tight. Every step you do, everything you explore and interact with - it is less, but feels more detailed in the way it was implemented. There is also a heavier focus on following the main story this time, but you still have a lot of freedom on how you approach it and when. You can build your character however you want (mostly), as well. The combat is very solid, actually. Some may not like it, but I thought each attack is valued and playing a tad more tactical and with invested points in abilities is more rewarding than, again, the "predecessor". The presentation is a step up as well, and while Gothic 3 may had a bit of clunkiness to it because of its age, Risen still feels quite comfortable to control, look and hear. While the typical dialogue of the series has been tamed a little bit, the charme is definitively here, as well. The only downside (and maybe a reason for some to take one star off) is the second half of the game, where you'll notice that you've actually already seen and done most of it and you're being sent to rather short acts of solving quests and ending the story. It is okay for what it is, but probably a lot of people expected more when going into it, especially after the solid first two chapters where you can go and see everything and explore. Technically, the game is solid out of the box. I had an issue with the Physics SDK, but it was resolved by a quick google search. The game has widescreen support and is played with Keyboard and Mouse with a solid control layout. So, what could I add? Oh, there are console commands you can activate and mess around with. A fun experience on its own... Solid rpg - even for todays standards!

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Posted on: November 21, 2022

Unfallen_Satan

Verified owner

Games: 606 Reviews: 78

Cheesy, and worth checking out

30 minutes into the game, I was cursing under my breath and sorely tempted to delete it from my PC. I had been in about a dozen fights, and it seemed like the only thing the AI knew how to do was charging in for a couple cheap hits then dodging back like a rubberband freak. "Who the hell made this shit?" Fortunately, I figured out a reliable way to cheese all humanoid enemies about half way through Chapter 1. I made a post about it on the forums. That allowed me to beat the rest of the game without trouble. I was able to enjoy the good part of the game without much frustration. The good part is, as many fans would tell you, the freedom of the game. This freedom creeps up on you. As I was liberated from the frustrating combat and my character developed into a mage, I began to think: Hey! What if I just used my spell to nuke as many tough enemies as I can, slept to recharge mana, then repeated? There doesn't seem to be a time limit on anything. Instead, I opted for a paladin, I froze my foes and power attacked them to death with my sword. Summoning a skeleton to distract the AI also works well. In the beginning, when I had none of that, I managed to kill some ogres and ghouls by luring them to NPCs. You get companions who fight with you later in the game. It was all actually kinda fun. Risen is a contradiction. The main quest is bland in the worst possible way, but characters you meet act and interact surprisingly naturally, and even the occasional fetch or kill X quests feel organic. The combat can be excruciating. Yet once I figured out the cheese, I thought maybe this was done intentionally, like a puzzle. There is nothing realistic or immersive about paying a bit of random gold and skill points and suddenly you can forge a sword better than the blacksmith. I was still immensely satisfied after I forged said sword. Many initially bad aspects grow on you. Since the graphics and sound are pleasing, Risen is good to try. I know what I hate, and I don't hate this.

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Posted on: September 11, 2015

Micha1982

Verified owner

Games: 44 Reviews: 3

Technical problems

Good game, but I´ve installed the latest fanpatch after downloading and the game crashes very often :( I am using Win 7 x64, 4Gb Ram and a GTX 660 Ti....the first time it crashed, a window told me something like "Nvidia-driver 353.82 crashed" - I did not recognized the message much as I thought it was only a coincidental problem - a mistake, as it happens very often! The problem is that it most times crashes the complete pc - if it happens (usually with a white, blue or green screen + stuttering music) the pc do not react anymore, not possible to open the taskmanager or a reboot - I need to shutdown it completely every time! AN ABSOLUTELY NO-GO.

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Posted on: March 24, 2024

Sintra5

Games: 103 Reviews: 3

An RPG that's engaging and relaxing

Earlier reviews on this site have covered most aspects of this game pretty well already, so I'll try to make this quick and get out my thoughts about this game that I haven't seen brought up yet. When it comes to gameplay and visuals, this game is mostly mid-tier by 2009 standards. The combat has its intricacies, but it feels weightless, and the generic sound effects don't help. The visuals can vary in quality. Most of the environments look pretty good, and I found most monsters pretty appealing. The NPCs mostly look pretty terrible, though, which is unfortunate, given how much time you spend talking to them. Thankfully, talking to them will rarely be unpleasant, which brings me what I think makes this game so compelling: the voice acting. While the voice acting isn't quite to the level of a Bioware game, I was genuinely surprised the first time I played how much of the dialogue was voiced and how natural the bulk of it sounded. Even NPCs that are just wandering around the various settlements can reliably have multiple paragraphs worth of unique, well-voiced dialogue with some involvement with a quest or two. Interactions with NPCs were well designed to the point that it makes the world feel a lot bigger than it is. Another point in this game's favor is the music. Every song fits with and enhances the atmosphere of every area you explore while more often than not being interesting pieces of music on their own. The soundtrack is credited to Kai Rosenkranz, who also worked on Gothic 1, 2 and 3. I'm very happy to report that he is still working, as it sounds like he's taking a major role the music and sound design for the remake of Gothic 1. This game is surprisingly engaging to me, despite the features on paper not really being all that special. I think what it comes down to is that it has great atmosphere and the island you explore is a pretty neat place with a lot of intrigue. It's also pirate-adjacent, if that's something you've been looking for.

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