This a big classic RPG adventure. Lots of atmospheric dungeons and areas to explore. Lots of puzzles to solve (pressure plates, hidden buttons, teleportation pads etc.). Many quest items to find. Baddies to whack or zap. Very atmospheric. Really reminded me of why I love RPG / adventure games. It did however take some tinkering with the configuration (e.g. graphics, keyboard mapping) to get it working just-so. Additionally, I did have lots of crashes but the game reloads in a few seconds so not a major issue if saves are done very frequently. Well worth the effort to put up with these issues.
I've played lots of RPGs, including Gothic 3 and the much maligned Arcania (Gothic 4), both of which I enjoyed enormously. I was however wary of playing Gothic 1 because of screenshots of its dated graphics due to its age (released 2001). I nevertheless gave it a go in August 2019 and am very glad I did. What a gem! Firstly, the graphics for the dungeons are still pretty good, detailed and atmospheric, including different lighting effects for torch or Light spells. True, the exteriors were a bit crude compared to, say, The Witcher 3, as you'd expect, but you get used to this pretty soon once you are immersed in the game. The game has the core RPG elements - big world to explore, lots of quests, lots of weapons and spells with which to kill lots of baddies/monsters. It has different factions, offering replayability and also has a day/night cycle which personally I find annoying but some enjoy for immersion. It took some patching to get the game working reliably (still not exactly sure what I did) but it was certainly worth it. I can be sceptical of the nostalgia crowd banging on about old games but if you are a RPG fan who hasn't played this game, you will almost certainly enjoy it despite its age. I'm now, very much looking forward to playing Gothic 2.
Arcania is very good looking and breezy piece of RPG escapism. Yes, it may be too lightweight for some of you, oh so serious, Gothic 1/2/3 fans, but taken on its own terms, it is a very enjoyable piece of entertainment. Lots of monsters and baddies to zap, whack and loot. Melee, ranged weapons, magic. Quests to fulfil. Items and potions to craft. Big game world to explore. Delightfully naff voice acting. Basically, lots of the usual RPG stuff which we all love. The game is still very good looking in 2019 and, importantly, can be played on the PC with a controller, although you do need to research the instructions. I enjoyed the game very much. I'm now looking forward to playing the add-on 'Fall of Setarrif'.
