Gothic

Purchased game in hopes to get a working version, Game does not work at all on Windows 11.

Gothic is a great game with too much bug. The history of this game is already known in gamers' community. Producers realize this game in a hurry. So in particular during the second part the plot is just linear. But the first part is a real masterpiece. In Gothic I lived the best experience in a single player crpg. The world of Gothic is alive, npcs live during the days, move from a place to another. So the sensation is to be in a dynamic scenario. Controls are not so user friendly, but after a bit of practice there will be no trouble. In my opinion the combat system is too action-oriented for a rpg, but skill grow with experience. Maybe there are too bug, but they can be tolerated. The idea of an open air prison is fine and create a small world, where the plot can develop through tree guilds. Our avatar can choose one of these guild on order to go to the final goal: escape from the prison.

Lets be blunt and start with the "Dont`s": Dont buy this Game if one of the following are VERY important to you: Spectacular Graphics, SMooth COntrols, fantastic amounts of Monsters, "Fair" Area Design (eg only getting to dangerous stuff after Leveling etc) or easy mastery of "InGame Powers". Gothic is below average to bad in these., if you can`t live with that, dont buy it. Now that the negative Aspects are dealt with, on to the Good. And there is a lot of that. THe BEST part however is immersion. The World is alive (a thing Oblivion didn`t get half as well 5+ yerars later), people have jobs, talk near fires, sleep in huts (that youc an steal/Threaten away from them), communities seem more alive and real than in almost any other game. The Story, while not earthshaking or extremely innovative is good, some quests are great (trtuning into a bug to open a door). Next comes the Combat system. sure, its clunky, but its also fairly well balanced and precise, weapons handle differently and Magic is more powerful, yet harder to be really good in, than Swordswinging. By the way: While it is possible (Guard Carreer) to make a Character entirely without magic: Dont. It reduces the fun, and the advantages are few. Last but not least: Its a mature game. YOua re not led along safe paths (leave the path anytime in the early game, you die!), movement and specialization is almost entirely free, and simply FUN. If the latter points are enough to help you IGNORE instead of accept the flaws, add another star.

I can safely and seriously say that I grew up between the Old Camp and the New Camp, and for a reason. The game can be clunky to get into, the story is barely sufficient, and I woud NOT call it polished. But the setting is so good that it's enough to make up for everything else. Experiencing the world is a joy, everything has been hand-crafted with a precise tone and it feels. The progression is meaningful, and there are a few curated skills instead of a plethora of marginal ones. No permanent buffs, for example, but actual skills whose effect is immediately visible in the gameplay. For a good chunk of the game, mobs can easily kill you and most characters can one-shot you, hence once you're capable of trading blows the sense of progression is amazing. Also, one of the last few games which actually challanged the player's mind instead of assuming that the player is mentally challenged. You can outsmart the game in a number of ways, as long as you try for a while and think in terms of "what if I try that". I could not reccomend it more, if only to see how bad the industry has gone now and how good it could've been if the Gothic approach would have been privileged instead.

When I say Gothic, I refer to Gothic series (1, 2 and 3) because although they have differences in terms of visuals and gameplay, they feel like one epic adventure for me. I have been a Gothic fan for 12 years and I believe you will hear what I said in the title from most Gothic fans. Seriously, there is no other game like Gothic and I hope that the developers will consider making a new one. I played all three games multiple times and with an increasing enjoyment at each replay. I played many other games too but since I played the first Gothic game back in 2002, only its sequels were able to give the same amount of fun and no other game came close to that. Over the course of the years, I searched on the search engines a lot for the following query and alike "games like Gothic" and played/tried almost everything I found. Still no other game was able to give that unique feeling and provide that unique atmosphere Gothic has. It has its own magic. Some players may find its controls annoying, some may find it a bit linear, some may not enjoy the lack of character selection and customization, but for me no other game I played was as immersive and as fun as Gothic. I have not played another game in which every single encounter mattered as much as it mattered in Gothic (meatbug gives 10xp!). I have not played another game in which exploring the world was really a meaningful exploration and adventure and not a burden. Every corner, every cave and every tunnel had some surprises, rewards and punishments waiting for you to explore. I have not played another game, in which I ran away from a mob with the adrenaline level Gothic was able to create (Snapper, anyone?). I have not played another game in which I felt the danger as much as I felt in Gothic when I stepped into a Shadowbeast cave for the first time by mistake. Gothic has great story, great world, great atmosphere, great characters, great humor, great music and a great gameplay experience that you will never forget.