Gothic

The game can be frustrating due to the awkward combat and controls, the tedious amounts of backtracking (that you can avoid using cheats - hint hint) and the buggy and unpolished nature of it. That said, I wholeheartedly recommend this game. I have rarely played a game that kept me this engaged all the way through to the end. If you want to go on an adventure in a fantasy world that is serious, humorous and mysterious in equal measure, you should give Gothic a chance. I really want to give it a 5/5, but I got frustrated one too many times. I have to stress though... Don't shy away from cheats.

When it was first released Gothic was a milestone of RPGs and has had a massive influence on the genre. Now, two decades later it's undeniable that it's age is showing and various aspects of the game feel clunky by modern standards. However, despite this and thanks to the existence of mods, it still holds up, not just as a playable piece of video game history, but as a game actually worth playing. Must play for all RPG fans.

Ok, this game is a classic. Even with the random memory register overflow and ccess violation CTDs, it's worth buying, BUT... There are 2 huge flaws you need to bear in mind: - Game breaking bug: when getting the gearwheel in the Old Mine (in chapter 2), there is a clipping bug that prevents you from climbing up the ladder from where you got the gearwheel. This means you won't be able to complete the game, unless you learn the Acrobatics skill (10 skill points, see Buster in New Camp) that lets you jump longer so that you can ascend to a higher poing and jump back from there. The other option is to spend some skill points for extra mana (5 skill points, any trainer that can increase your max. mana) and buy a 'Transform into bloodfly' scroll (which you can't use if you only have 10 max mana) so you'll be able to fly back to where you came from. - You MUST increase your maximum mana or learn Acrobatics: apart from the game breaking bug above, you'll need to use Telekinesis in chapter 3 to get the focus stone in the mountain fort. You cannot use the Telekinesis scrolls if you don't have at least 15 mana so you must go there prepared. An alternative way is to learn acrobatics (see above) and jump down to the focus stone from the 2nd floor balcony (be sure to heal up before: you'll take some fall damage).

Extremely mild spoilers below Mouth off to a guard, he will beat you to within a literal inch of your life (bar) and help himself to your valuables. Refuse to pay another guard "protection"? You will be approached by an inmate that will offer you to help with a quest if you help him beat up and rob another two inmates... only to be ganged up on by all three - they were all in cahoots with the guard. If you run away he will apologize and say it pays better than slaving away in mines. On the other hand: the weird guy with the big club hanging from his waist that REALLY wants to be your friend and wants you to find a quiet spot so you can "talk"? He actually just wants to talk and actually wants to be your friend. The combat is intentionally clunky - you are supposed to pick your battles. Pick a fight with 3 giant dodo birds and you WILL die. Bribe a local hunter with beer and he will teach you how to "pull" the birds one by one so you can defeat them easier and gain valuable XP. I am hard pressed to find a game, old or new, with as much, for lack of a better word, SOUL as this. The only few examples I can think of are MGS2 and 3. Even Deus Ex's vaunted "ladies' restroom" gag pales in comparison (and was better executed in MGS2, anyway).

Guys is it working on windows 11? Because steam version is BS, game just crash...