How does risen/elex compare to the gothic games?

[Beans00]

So I've been playing a few of the suggested games on the thread I made a few weeks ago. Most not that noteworthy but I recently started Gothic 1 and am about halfway through. I'm enjoying it quite a bit despite the weird controls(which I've sort of gotten used to) and the terrible UI.

Gothic 2 I've always heard is equal/superior so I'm looking forward to that eventually.
Gothic 3 I played a bit as a teenager and thought it was terrible, I'll give it another shot probably in a few months but it's fairly low priority on my backlog.


So how are risen 1/2/3 and Elex comparing them to the original Gothic/gothic 2. Worth playing or not?

 

[Fluent]

Just my humble opinion, so take it for what it's worth to u, but Risen 1 is definitely worth playing. It's the closest to the Gothic games in design. I also really enjoyed Risen 2 despite it being different than the usual Gothic Formula. Risen 3 was cool but I liked 2 over 3, and 3 was still worth playing I felt (some like it even more than I do.) ELEX is a must-play if u want a huge open world with that sort of Gothic Formula design. It was a ton of fun and I spent over 150 hours in that world and still didn't finish it. It was really good for me. Hope that helps! <3

 

[agris]

Risen 1 is a dim candle to the spotlight that is Gothic 1 & 2. There are many sad, thirsty RPgaymers that will make excuses, but when you consider it objectively it is a substandard game.

I say this as someone who liked Risen 1, and was excited to play it given the amount of time that passed between G2 and R1. It’s fun, but DDR Ragnarok is not G3.

 

[agris]

Bring it Beans00; tell us how they’re so similar that my distinction isn’t warranted.

 

[Cryomancer]

Inferior to Gothic games but still great games. Except risen 2.

BTW, you have semi automatic muskets on Risen 3

 

[Beans00]

Bring it Beans00; tell us how they’re so similar that my distinction isn’t warranted.

??

 

[Dodo1610]

Risen 1 is basically a 30h modern Gothic 2 reboot with good controls and PB's best combat system + fun utility spells like flying and transformation. Sadly lore and story are extremely basic and the hero is utterly boring and forgettable. Gets worse in later chapters and ends with a "hit the glowing area" boss fight where your stats don't matter.

Risen 2 + 3 were designed for the casual console audience and it shows dumbed down mechanics, too easy, small seperate islands instead of one open world, removed immersive elements like drinking/eating animation + QTE: Only saving grace is the 18. century south sea setting.

Elex is basically Gothic 3 done right, still has a very large beautiful, varied open world that you want to explore. But this time you have a jetpack, quests are mostly good and combat that doesn't suck too much.
Though the size of the open-world means that it's too static and that no location really feels important. You just finish all content in one region and travel to the next with no reason to ever return since there are no new quests/dialogues in later chapters. The biggest city is especially disappointing in that regard. Sadly fucked up they RPG mechanics: there are no different character builds anymore since you always need the same stats, balancing is also a joke.

 

[Can't handle the bacon]

Not nearly as good as Gothic 4: Arkania

 

[deama]

My take is that Risen was ok, I replayed it a few times years ago when it was kinda fresh, but I will definitely never ever replay it ever again, it was just a decent attempt at the gothic magic but didn't quite make it. Risen 2 I didn't like at all, Risen 3 was just ok, not as notable as Risen 1, but I did like the magic combat, it felt nice.
The biggest issue with Risen 1 was mostly the game becoming worse later on, and it gets real meh once you need to get certain "disks", I think this is about 50% of the way? The other issue is whilst the combat was solid, it was pretty boring, unlike in Gothic where your animation changes, in Risen it's all the same animation which made it quite boring, and also the combat itself just felt easier.

Elex has the same problem as Risen 1 had for me, it's a decent attempt at the Gothic magic, but just didn't quite make it. In Elex's case, it's due to the world feeling a bit too static, a bit too "throwaway" if that makes sense. The combat is kinda meh, at least unlike Risen it has more variety, but it is a bit worse. And I remember having a few issues with the story or something, don't quite remember.
Oh and the fact that the stats didn't matter was really annoying too.

I would say playing through risen/elex at least once is worth it, just take your time.

 

[mkultra]

The controls and especially the stiff / digital-like movement of the character has aged the worst in those games, then graphics (especially G2 can be modded into a rather nice looking game), i was surprised that even Risen 1 had aged very badly in that department (very stiff/non fluid movement, jumping animation is horrible - worse than G2). I'd say play ELEX before the other ones so that you don't get burned out on this particular formula because its the best technically (obviously) while G2 is best for everything else, basically.

 

[Falksi]

Risen 1's definitely the most Gothic-like, and definitely worth playing if you come away from Gothic 1 & 2 having enjoyed them.

Risen 2 veers off into action realms more than RPG ones, so is understandably shunned on here. But I love it. It's janky as fuck and you have to use gunplay as your main form of combat to negate the combat deficiencies enough to enjoy it. But if you can get your setup right the humour & banter in the game carry it a LONG way, and I had a fucking blast with it. Some truly piss funny dialogue throughout.

Risen 3 is more of Risen 2, but with way worse humour and far more boring overall. Without the daftness and laughs I got bored of it quickly.

Elex continues PB's decline in spouting dour dialogue, but it's jetpack makes for a nice gimmick which makes it better than Risen 3. I'd definitely try it, but like Risen 3 I got bored around halfway through and swat it like a shit-fly.

I think they're all worth playing though.

 

[Ravielsk]

Everything after Gothic 2 is worth playing but only if you are willing to accept that its in someway always downhill in terms of quality and execution. Risen 1 is fine as "Gothic lite" but everything after that comes with a noticeable step down in terms of quality.
Risen 2 is clunky and barely a sequel to Rise 1.
Risen 3 is just a functional version of Risen 2 but otherwise its the same game with all the same problems.
Elex has some nifty ideas but the execution of those ideas is seriously lacking, the RPG system alone is probably the worst I have seen in any RPG period.

 

[Multidirectional]

Risen 1 is their third best game.
Elex is their fourth best game.

 

[Galdred]

So I've been playing a few of the suggested games on the thread I made a few weeks ago. Most not that noteworthy but I recently started Gothic 1 and am about halfway through. I'm enjoying it quite a bit despite the weird controls(which I've sort of gotten used to) and the terrible UI.

Gothic 2 I've always heard is equal/superior so I'm looking forward to that eventually.

Gothic 2 has different, but also weird controls. I really liked the feel of the combat in it.

Gothic 3 I played a bit as a teenager and thought it was terrible, I'll give it another shot probably in a few months but it's fairly low priority on my backlog.


So how are risen 1/2/3 and Elex comparing them to the original Gothic/gothic 2. Worth playing or not?

Gothic 3 doesn't deserve another shot IMO. The combat is uninteresting, even without the murder wolves issue. It felt more like Bethesda or The Witcher combat than previous Gothic.