

Thanks in advance for the replies.īoth games get a lot worse in the last third but you can't even compare Gothic 2s worse to Risens worse. For what it's worth, I think Gothic 1 is better than both games, and maybe that is part of the explanation for my view. Story, world building, characters, factions, quests.īut as I said, I assume I must be missing something, and I'd be happy to know what. Other aspects of the game seemed roughly on a par. At most, it makes Gothic 2 slightly better. However, to my mind, at least, this problem doesn't seem weighty enough to justify the view that Gothic 2 is MUCH better than Risen. Risen's new setting is interesting and I prefer it to Gothic's, but it's not enough. Here, I think a case can be made that Risen loses to Gothic 2. But in Risen, it often feels like you've played this game before (if you've played the Gothics). Gothic 2 used largely the same formula as 1, but back in 2003, it still felt fresh. However, this disadvantage is balanced by Risen's much improved melee combat.įinally, there is the lack of originality. But based on what little I know, I have to assume Risen is a step back. I'll admit to never having played a mage in Gothic 2, despite spending 100+ hours in it (I always suspected it wasn't good). Second, the magic system in Risen is disappointing. I found Risen's main quest and story to be in some ways more interesting and compelling. But while Gothic 2's main quest doesn't seem anticlimactic or rushed, it never seemed all that great either. I'll just mention three of the most common criticisms of Risen and explain why, to me, they don't seem to justify the common view.įirst, Risen's main quest takes a nose dive in the second half. In fact, I assume I must be missing something. At best, I think Gothic 2 just edges out Risen. I agree with the familiar criticisms of Risen, but to me those criticisms either apply roughly equally to Gothic 2 or are balanced out by other things that Risen does better. This is evidenced by the fact that Risen doesn't even make it on the most recent Codex ranking. It seems to be the consensus view on and off the Codex that while Risen is decent-even good-it does not come close to the greatness of Gothic 1 and 2.
