Risen

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 894 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 659 out of 894
  2. Mixed: 163 out of 894
  3. Negative: 72 out of 894
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  1. vahn
    Jul 24, 2013
    7
    Risen is a game that takes a lot from the Gothic series and tries anew with different ideas, with a better graphics and more fluid controls: the result is a very rewarding game...but also extremely frustrating. Let's be clear with one thing: this game is unforgiving for newcomers. You'll have to step carefully on whatever you're going to do, from fights to spending points, and if you failRisen is a game that takes a lot from the Gothic series and tries anew with different ideas, with a better graphics and more fluid controls: the result is a very rewarding game...but also extremely frustrating. Let's be clear with one thing: this game is unforgiving for newcomers. You'll have to step carefully on whatever you're going to do, from fights to spending points, and if you fail you'll be taken down hard, which means that you'll be breaking that quicksave button every now and then. The game is big too and you'll be put in choosing what path you want to make, and this choice isn't exactly black and white, but more like light grey and dark grey which is very confusing but also kind of interesting: the bandits, for example, seem the right ones, although they'll still act roughly and will ask you to rob and stuff, same with the Inquisition since they'll look like nice people but actually have a rigid policy and, if you go close to them, you'll be FORCED to join them. This will be your first step, and for a good bunch of hours you'll just move carefully around a small area, until you'll be able to step out...and now the game will reward you! While out, you can start the island exploration, do additional quests (which aren't always top notch), fight more enemies for more levels if you want, anything! While the first steps are extremely slow, the game rewards you for your patience and will give you so much satisfaction in everything you've done right. This alone would be great if it wasn't for so many bad flaws. Like the combat. While it's not the clunkiest ever, the fighting is so slow and extremely laggy (in commands) that basically your tactics are literally useless: the game actually suggests you and gives you the possibility to dodge and to parry and you'll be also able to counter attack them, but so do the enemies, which means :
    1)Your enemies will often be able to dodge/parry or both most of your attacks with an insane timing and reaction, making the simplest battles some of the longest ever.
    2)Your dodges will rarely work because they'll be either delayed (or often you'll dodge twice or three times in a row), or their attacks will reach you both from side and backsteps.
    In other words, the combat is extremely laggy and non functional and the only real tactic to use is to mash the m1 and kill them whenever you can: luckily they seem to be weak to walls (they usually won't parry for some reasons) and will randomly lower their guards making our attacks go through. Luckily this won't apply to animal enemies since they won't parry...but their dodges and attacks can be insanely well timed that you'll scream (the ghouls are the worse, since they can also BREAK your parry!). Another huge problem unfortunely are the bugs: luckily I had only one crash and I haven't had any game breaking bugs...but I often got "stuck" while climbing and that basically forced me to reload everytime, without mentioning a very "useful" bug that works whenever you fall down, making you land on an invisible stair case. Useful, but extremely random. The last problem, which isn't the biggest but still is, is the story and the main character itself: they are both boring. The main character is extremely bland that I often get surprised that he talks: he kinda fits more the role of a silent character; no customization except for the few armors and weapons we'll get (and I mean few, since there are barely 10 for each), and the story, while doesn't show up very early, even when it comes up it's still very boring and I didn't feel much of a reward and, infact, I just felt more rewarded by fighting those hard enemies and by just exploring. In the end, it's not a masterpiece but it's not a bad game either but it's just too bland and too clunky and too sluggish to enjoy at its fullest. However, if you put patience into it and a lot of effort, the game will open its gates and show you a lot of roads to be taken. Worth a look, but with proper protection and a lot of patience!    … Expand
  2. Pomornik
    Sep 24, 2011
    7
    The first two chapters are marvelous, they have everything that a good RPG should have. Sadly, the other two are exact opposite of that. 10/10 for the first half of the game, and 4/10 for the other.
  3. infidel1
    May 15, 2012
    7
    There's no way you can't call Risen a good game. The combat was challenging and rewarding -- you had to be quick and observant to prevail, so button-mashing and foolishly charging-in were not an option. It had a dance-like combination of footwork, blocking and planned strikes. I died a lot early-on against low-level mobs. A LOT. But it was rewarding when, later on, I cut right throughThere's no way you can't call Risen a good game. The combat was challenging and rewarding -- you had to be quick and observant to prevail, so button-mashing and foolishly charging-in were not an option. It had a dance-like combination of footwork, blocking and planned strikes. I died a lot early-on against low-level mobs. A LOT. But it was rewarding when, later on, I cut right through them, so you don't see me whining now -- which, that said: I'm also impressed with Risen's . The world was full of atmosphere -- environments were detailed and varied. I think the developers were lacking in character design, as they reused models for NPCs and even then the models weren't the best, but that just points more focus towards an enchanting environment. The player character's smart-a** attitude made me happy, and I'm glad they gave him voice-over (unlike, say, in DA:O). Bottom line: despite imperfections that prevent me from calling it "great," Risen was fun to play.… Expand
  4. jim109109
    May 31, 2012
    7
    If you're into the realistic RPG genre, where the game sucks you in because you actually feel like a **** weak loser dropped onto an island, barely able to stay alive, struggling to find items one by one and make his way through, you will love it. The atmosphere and graphics is great. The voice acting is rather horrible and boring. In the town part which sucks you in for 10 hours (theIf you're into the realistic RPG genre, where the game sucks you in because you actually feel like a **** weak loser dropped onto an island, barely able to stay alive, struggling to find items one by one and make his way through, you will love it. The atmosphere and graphics is great. The voice acting is rather horrible and boring. In the town part which sucks you in for 10 hours (the point where i quit the game) you have to constanlty talk to everyone in town in a desperate attempt for the game producers to extend the length of the game. Maybe the game gets more exciting after that point but after having run around town for 10 hours listening to bad voice acting I got tired with the game. Up to the town I was enjoying it, though compared to Gothic and better RPG's it's inferior.… Expand
  5. Starostin_Anton
    Dec 30, 2012
    7
    First of all, Risen is very similar to Gothic. Based on this, Risen was well appreciated by Gothic fans. But Risen looks like a copy of Gothic. And it's not good at all.
    By the way, I like Risen. It's a nice game with gloomy atmosphere, very cool fight system and German humour. I think, fight system in Risen is best among Piranha Bytes' games. So, there are many interest quests in first    First of all, Risen is very similar to Gothic. Based on this, Risen was well appreciated by Gothic fans. But Risen looks like a copy of Gothic. And it's not good at all.
    By the way, I like Risen. It's a nice game with gloomy atmosphere, very cool fight system and German humour. I think, fight system in Risen is best among Piranha Bytes' games. So, there are many interest quests in first half of game. But after completing first chapters storyline is becomes very boring and annoying. Problems with story are the main disadvantage of Risen.
    Anyway, I like Risen for its atmosphere. Dark colours in swamps or bright sun lights in mountains in combination with beautiful music from Kai Rosenkranz create an unforgettable experience.    … Expand
  6. aborle
    Jul 1, 2013
    7
    What's good :
    -A Hardcore RPG that doesn't believe in hand-holding the player. But still treats you with respect.
    -No loot limit! Pick all ye want! -Beautiful environments. Just wandering in the world and looking around brings a feeling of wonder -Decent voice acting. Not great but, hey its better than a lot of bargain bin rpgs What's Not : -The combat system. I was really sick of    What's good :
    -A Hardcore RPG that doesn't believe in hand-holding the player. But still treats you with respect.
    -No loot limit! Pick all ye want!
    -Beautiful environments. Just wandering in the world and looking around brings a feeling of wonder
    -Decent voice acting. Not great but, hey its better than a lot of bargain bin rpgs

    What's Not :
    -The combat system. I was really sick of the combat mechanics and the ability of your hero to get stun locked by the 33rd hour of my playtime. Mages might be different, melee and ranged suck.
    -Lacklustre story. Its literally one giant fetch quests which can be broken down into smaller fetch quests. You'll always have to find 5 samples of item A or 6 samples of item B in order to progress the story.
    -The Quest system is kinda broken.

    Bottom Line Buy this game IN A SALE if you love rpgs. I suppose people who love the gothic series would buy this game at any price. Others move along, nothing to see here    … Expand
  7. CaptainThom
    Nov 10, 2013
    7
    A solid game but there is alot of room for improvement. I found the world of Risen dangerous and sometimes dark but fun to explore with an interesting backstory. I did enjoy the different playstyles dependent on faction giving different gameplay experiences making it worthwhile to play through more than once. The quests were on a whole pretty decent helping your faction felt like you wereA solid game but there is alot of room for improvement. I found the world of Risen dangerous and sometimes dark but fun to explore with an interesting backstory. I did enjoy the different playstyles dependent on faction giving different gameplay experiences making it worthwhile to play through more than once. The quests were on a whole pretty decent helping your faction felt like you were having an effect on them and the world around you but quest markers or a better map are desperately needed.

    The game can be ridiculously frustrating at time especially the combat system which is especially early on extremely punishing and often unfairly so when you can randomly meet creatures you have no chance of killing with no warning. Theres could and perhaps should have been far more spells available and the ability to play as a mix of classes like in the Elder Scrolls series would have been appreciated.

    Overall its a decent game it isn't anything you haven't seen before in an RPG but its enjoyable while it lasts.    … Expand
  8. Vzhik
    Nov 12, 2018
    7
    Игра прошла под лозунгом "Дайте мне магию, буду шмалять по инквизиции". В итоге и магию не всю дали, и инквизицию как-то не особо замочить получилось...
    Очень круто что игра полностью на русском, включая озвучку. Мили боёвка просто полный атас, невозможно без матов смотреть.
    Ничего от Пираний раньше не играл, очень понравились квесты, загадки, ветвления сюжета, ориентированность на    Игра прошла под лозунгом "Дайте мне магию, буду шмалять по инквизиции". В итоге и магию не всю дали, и инквизицию как-то не особо замочить получилось...
    Очень круто что игра полностью на русском, включая озвучку. Мили боёвка просто полный атас, невозможно без матов смотреть.
    Ничего от Пираний раньше не играл, очень понравились квесты, загадки, ветвления сюжета, ориентированность на прохождение где не надо всех тупо выкашивать.    … Expand
  9. Mellow_Online2
    Jan 3, 2016
    7
    Risen is definitely a good game but it's far from a masterpiece. This is definitely good graphics for 2009 (well with the settings maxed out.) but When the people at deep silver were making this hard-core RPG they did need to cut budgets on a few of the things, one of them being the voice acting. The voice acting sounds like the people were half asleep when saying their lines, the bestRisen is definitely a good game but it's far from a masterpiece. This is definitely good graphics for 2009 (well with the settings maxed out.) but When the people at deep silver were making this hard-core RPG they did need to cut budgets on a few of the things, one of them being the voice acting. The voice acting sounds like the people were half asleep when saying their lines, the best thing I can say about the voice acting is that I've heard worse. There are some elements to the game which, I have to say I'm not a big fan of like if u want to pick up an item u need to put your weapon away. If u want to cook u need to have a pan equipped but those are just nit-picks. The worst thing about Risen though, has to be the plot. The plot is u were a stowaway on a ship and said ship is destroyed by the kraken and u wash ashore on a beach. Then when u start exploring the island u find the locals and they tell u there are strange ruins that have risen from the ground and u need to find out y. Exciting story isn't it? Another problem is that when u kill an enemy your game freezes for maybe 1 sec and I hear from Xbox 360 players of the game that their game freezes for about 5 secs some versions even longer. So u will need to be very patient with Risen. The AI seems a little too smart as they seem to dodge 9/10 of your attacks so I recommend to first time players of risen (Even if you've played other RPGs) Play on easy first. There are a few times where the game can also get a tad bit boring but that only happened on 2 occasions. The map is really hard to figure out as well. Those are the only problems I can think of about Risen. u r looking at about 60 hours of gameplay with the main missions and side missions. I complete it on another PC of mine and I've just started a 2nd play through on this one. The characters are unique they all seem to have a different personality. There are tons of dialogue choices in Risen just like those in Knights Of The Old Republic. If u love looting in RPGs like I do hen this game is a Must buy. Your inventory is unlimited u can hold an unlimited amount of items not like Skyrim or fallout where u have a weight limit but Skyrim and Fallout are still better than risen.

    Overall if u like RPGs or u love looting this game is a definite buy but make sure you get the PC version because I've heard tons of complaints about the Xbox 360 version.

    Final verdict

    Pros
    + Tons of dialogue choices
    + Unlimited weight limit
    + Unique characters
    + 60 hours of gameplay
    + More of a hard core RPG

    Cons
    - Uninteresting and boring plot
    - Often freezes
    - Bad map
    - can be boring at times
    - Bad voice acting    … Expand
  10. Mellow_Online4
    Mar 22, 2016
    7
    Risen is definitely a good game but it's far from a masterpiece. This is definitely good graphics for 2009 (well with the settings maxed out.) but When the people at deep silver were making this hard-core RPG they did need to cut budgets on a few of the things, one of them being the voice acting. The voice acting sounds like the people were half asleep when saying their lines, the bestRisen is definitely a good game but it's far from a masterpiece. This is definitely good graphics for 2009 (well with the settings maxed out.) but When the people at deep silver were making this hard-core RPG they did need to cut budgets on a few of the things, one of them being the voice acting. The voice acting sounds like the people were half asleep when saying their lines, the best thing I can say about the voice acting is that I've heard worse. There are some elements to the game which, I have to say I'm not a big fan of like if u want to pick up an item u need to put your weapon away. If u want to cook u need to have a pan equipped but those are just nit-picks. The worst thing about Risen though, has to be the plot. The plot is u were a stowaway on a ship and said ship is destroyed by the kraken and u wash ashore on a beach. Then when u start exploring the island u find the locals and they tell u there are strange ruins that have risen from the ground and u need to find out y. Exciting story isn't it? Another problem is that when u kill an enemy your game freezes for maybe 1 sec and I hear from Xbox 360 players of the game that their game freezes for about 5 secs some versions even longer. So u will need to be very patient with Risen. The AI seems a little too smart as they seem to dodge 9/10 of your attacks so I recommend to first time players of risen (Even if you've played other RPGs) Play on easy first. There are a few times where the game can also get a tad bit boring but that only happened on 2 occasions. The map is really hard to figure out as well. Those are the only problems I can think of about Risen. u r looking at about 60 hours of gameplay with the main missions and side missions. I complete it on another PC of mine and I've just started a 2nd play through on this one. The characters are unique they all seem to have a different personality. There are tons of dialogue choices in Risen just like those in Knights Of The Old Republic. If u love looting in RPGs like I do hen this game is a Must buy. Your inventory is unlimited u can hold an unlimited amount of items not like Skyrim or fallout where u have a weight limit but Skyrim and Fallout are still better than risen.

    Overall if u like RPGs or u love looting this game is a definite buy but make sure you get the PC version because I've heard tons of complaints about the Xbox 360 version.    … Expand
  11. derek_
    Apr 12, 2021
    7
    Considered how old this game is, it still looks very good on PC. Act I is great, Act II is stil good, Act III and IV.. well are really bad. From great times in city, swamp or citadel, talking with NPC, getting know everyone, solving things, roaming around island.. to boring hack slash (has to kill droves of same enemis on every corner during "questing") and fetch this items direction,Considered how old this game is, it still looks very good on PC. Act I is great, Act II is stil good, Act III and IV.. well are really bad. From great times in city, swamp or citadel, talking with NPC, getting know everyone, solving things, roaming around island.. to boring hack slash (has to kill droves of same enemis on every corner during "questing") and fetch this items direction, revealing really mundane (at best) and uninteresting story. After ACT I combat became more of inconvinience than fun. But, this game is still worth try, at least for those frist to acts :-)… Expand
  12. Tilt1k
    Jun 29, 2020
    7
    Its just like gothic 3 with some adjustments and graphics enhancement. I dont know why i even like this style of games. The writing is really stupid and plain, NPCs are not memorable and pretty generic. The combat system is just hit and jump all over again, there is a little variety of enemies and most of them attack the same way. The leveling system is also nothing spectacular.

    Nothing    Its just like gothic 3 with some adjustments and graphics enhancement. I dont know why i even like this style of games. The writing is really stupid and plain, NPCs are not memorable and pretty generic. The combat system is just hit and jump all over again, there is a little variety of enemies and most of them attack the same way. The leveling system is also nothing spectacular.

    Nothing really stands out from this game, and if i look at it on paper it should be bad. But i just enjoyed most of my playthrough, what keeps this game going is the exploration of the island, you just wanna see more and more and find everything. I spent 72 hours in my first playthrough which is quite a lot. As i have said this game is not really amazing in anything but it has some magic in it and if you like RPG games, you should enjoy this one.    … Expand
  13. rezo_21
    Sep 19, 2021
    7
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 67 IIIIIIIIII====================
  14. IdleSpace
    Nov 4, 2022
    7
    Чуть ли не полная калька с Готики 1 на более современный лад. Это не минус, любители Г1 точно оценят)
    Очень сложно выбрать оценку между 7 и 8, поэтому напишу так - эта игра лучше, чем Г1, но до 8 совсем немного не хватает.
    Главные отличия: - простая боевка, которую нужно понять лишь один раз, и можно будет проходить всю игру, без вкачивания мастерства (вывозить на силе); - наполненный    Чуть ли не полная калька с Готики 1 на более современный лад. Это не минус, любители Г1 точно оценят)
    Очень сложно выбрать оценку между 7 и 8, поэтому напишу так - эта игра лучше, чем Г1, но до 8 совсем немного не хватает.
    Главные отличия:
    - простая боевка, которую нужно понять лишь один раз, и можно будет проходить всю игру, без вкачивания мастерства (вывозить на силе);
    - наполненный мир (в каждому углу лежат ништяки, что стимулирует к исследованию, да и дизайн мира вроде неплохой);
    - снижен порог входа;
    - все 3 прото-класса стали иметь смысл, т.к. все 3 стали играбельными.
    Главные сходства:
    - мир хоть и стал более дружелюбный и простой, но атмосфера ощущается приятно мрачной (тут ближе к Г2);
    - слитая концовка;
    - местами - ощущается вырезанный контент (не так критично, как в Г1, но все же);
    - иллюзия весомости принятых решений (игра достаточно линейная).
    Итог: мне игра очень зашла, с ходу прошел 2 раза за разные лагеря и классы (маг/лук). Ощущается короткой (25 часов на первое прохождение со всеми побочками).
    В своем топе поставил бы её между Г2 и Г1, но до 8 баллов по ощущениям не дотягивает)

    СС: 2 times.    … Expand
  15. PenetratorGod
    Aug 20, 2023
    7
    A good game that you can still play today. It's one of my favorite games. Don't let its appearance fool you, you should give it a chance. But I can't say the same for the other games of the series. But some parts of the gameplay and story can be extremely frustrating. If you have an angry nature, this game might not be for you.
  16. phanj
    Nov 22, 2009
    6
    I tried to and really want to like this game. I just can't stand the combat, which is very frustrating. Your opponent gets guaranteed hits, but the reflex-based combat system implies that your mouse clicking skills will suffice. So the combat tries to be action-rpg because your coordination with the mouse is important and not so much your player's stats (as opposed to DA:O where I tried to and really want to like this game. I just can't stand the combat, which is very frustrating. Your opponent gets guaranteed hits, but the reflex-based combat system implies that your mouse clicking skills will suffice. So the combat tries to be action-rpg because your coordination with the mouse is important and not so much your player's stats (as opposed to DA:O where 'stats' are everything). Even the simplest creatures seem to have more HP than you do and will take many hits to kill. Also the world is chock full of hostiles at every turn, just amplifying how frustrating the game can get when each fight seems rigged to be unfair. When you engage a hostile, you can't defend and attack (mele) at the same time, so you MUST release the shield and strike. And in this 1/20th of a second window where you release your shield and click to attack, your opponent gets a random chance at a guaranteed hit and you are forced to quaff a heal pot (which are hard to find early on). You can NOT hold the shield up and hit with the weapon at the same time. Other people who seem to have not noticed that the combat is unfair say it's fine, but they just haven't noticed the game is cheating in combat. Also the game forces you to do menial tasks to progress in the game like farm a farmer's field. Things like this serve the story, but absolutely are not fun to do. So from that perspective story is primary in this game, and RPG elements secondary. It's an adventure game with RPG elements, but as far as game progression, you must do many of the quests. What I like about the game is that the world is indeed as PB says, detail rich. The world is immersive. Everything is skillfully made. Time of day is very well done. I wish I could stand this game more so that I could see more of what it has to offer, because the scenery is very nice. I've also heard there are some big dungeons to explore and I'd love to see those. Oh well.… Expand
  17. GlennH
    Oct 21, 2009
    6
    Risen is more of the same... That's the best way to put it. The combat is decent, though repetitive. The graphics are nice, if unimaginative. The story moves you through the game, but doesn't enthrall you. The game is mediocre. One of the strangest decisions is not letting you create your own character... Why do I have to play a premade character, when there is nothing Risen is more of the same... That's the best way to put it. The combat is decent, though repetitive. The graphics are nice, if unimaginative. The story moves you through the game, but doesn't enthrall you. The game is mediocre. One of the strangest decisions is not letting you create your own character... Why do I have to play a premade character, when there is nothing interesting about him? He's the fantasy equivalent of a bald space marine.… Expand
  18. HubertM
    Jan 2, 2010
    6
    I'm a great Gothic fan(real gothic: 1,2 and Night of the Raven) that's why I suffered really much when Piranha made IMHO very crappy G3. So I was looking forward Risen, hoping they would correct previous mistakes. And at the beginning I really enjoyed it - good optymalisation, nice graphics models, interesting plot. But it soon turned out that gameplay is dull, side quests I'm a great Gothic fan(real gothic: 1,2 and Night of the Raven) that's why I suffered really much when Piranha made IMHO very crappy G3. So I was looking forward Risen, hoping they would correct previous mistakes. And at the beginning I really enjoyed it - good optymalisation, nice graphics models, interesting plot. But it soon turned out that gameplay is dull, side quests almost don't exist, the map is huge however, there's nothing interesting to see except hordes of boring mobs. Main quests were all about annihilating more and more mobs to get milion pieces of very powerful artifact, and later another and another. But during my whole 'adventure' with Risen it didn't really bother me, because I was waiting for some development of plot when suddenly...the game ended. I was laughing whole day because I think it took me the same time I would need to get to the 3rd chapter of G2 for example. For me - better than G3, but still average.… Expand
  19. ThomasJ.
    Oct 15, 2009
    6
    The game has it's moments, but it completely fails to provide any kind of depth seen in for example Oblivion or Morrowind by Bethesda. Risen also suffers from some over-detailing the 'shallow spots', if such a term exists. The developer is trying to create an illusion of depth where there is none. As a comparison to anything with Bethesda or Black Isle on the cover, this The game has it's moments, but it completely fails to provide any kind of depth seen in for example Oblivion or Morrowind by Bethesda. Risen also suffers from some over-detailing the 'shallow spots', if such a term exists. The developer is trying to create an illusion of depth where there is none. As a comparison to anything with Bethesda or Black Isle on the cover, this fails miserably - but on it's own, or even when sitting next to the Gothic games, it's well above 'nice'. Unspectacular, kind of shallow but fans of the genre shouldn't miss it.… Expand
  20. Neddy
    Jul 29, 2013
    6
    It's playable to the end with patience. It justifiabley probably deserves more than 6/10, only I was hit with a bug that prevented me upgrading my swordfighting. The game itself is quite brilliant. Controls are easy, the scenery's good, and the story is easily interesting enough.

    However I was hit by two things that slowed the game down badly. Early on, my recommendation letter was    It's playable to the end with patience. It justifiabley probably deserves more than 6/10, only I was hit with a bug that prevented me upgrading my swordfighting. The game itself is quite brilliant. Controls are easy, the scenery's good, and the story is easily interesting enough.

    However I was hit by two things that slowed the game down badly.

    Early on, my recommendation letter was not accompanied with directions where to take it. I wandered for at least eight hours, before I searched online and found where to go.

    Secondly my close combat was hindered by my inability to advance my sword fighting stats. I was regularly locked in battles with lizard warrior foes that took me hours and hours and hours to defeat. Shame. [Plus the disgusting noise the lizards make urghh. It's like the sound of regurgitation and snarling mixed.]

    Another of my grumbles, is that at least quarter of Risen, is spent in the dark. Medieval torches did little to help, and you have to drop them to battle, as your're using two hands.

    Many seem to complain that Risen is slow, and I found it exceptionally difficult in places. However if you're patient, and don't get hit by bugs you have masses of fun.    … Expand
  21. kyosuke69
    Oct 10, 2013
    6
    Beautiful, autistic and buggy. Do you like beautiful game settings? Risen has you. How about grinding endlessly for tiny gains? Screw Disgaea, here's your new joint!
  22. tsakiym
    May 12, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do not have to say anything more. But i need to write one hundred and fifty characters. i think my score can describe it............................… Expand
  23. masi
    Feb 28, 2019
    6
    I loved Gothic 1 and 2, didn't finish the third (too empty and boring to my taste), never tried Arcadia. Now I finally got some time to try out Risen and... well, it's kinda meh.

    It isn't all bad. I quite enjoyed the bandit camp quests and dungeon riddles seem fun so far (I heard they get repetitive toward the end but I haven't got there yet). The beginning also feels very Gothic-like,    I loved Gothic 1 and 2, didn't finish the third (too empty and boring to my taste), never tried Arcadia. Now I finally got some time to try out Risen and... well, it's kinda meh.

    It isn't all bad. I quite enjoyed the bandit camp quests and dungeon riddles seem fun so far (I heard they get repetitive toward the end but I haven't got there yet). The beginning also feels very Gothic-like, in a nostalgic kind of way. But that's about it, unfortunately.

    One of the best thing about Gothic 1 and 2 was the variability. There were 3 distinct factions, each with their own philosophy, equipment and quests. To join the monastery and to join the militia in G2 you had to do completely different things, each fun in their own way, hell, from what I remember there are at least TWO ways to get accepted to the militia. In Risen, however it is reduced to MMO-like collect 5 sets of unit X and give it to the faction you prefer, rinse and repeat 7 times. Thus, the Harbor town was less fun than the bandit camp, but the initial hype was still there, so at that moment I didn't really mind. Then I joined the mages, did the monastery quests and set off to the east where supposedly some gnomes had some quest stuff. Somewhere on the way I got lost and wandered into a huge swamp (it felt almost as big as the G1 one) and there was pretty much NOTHING in there apart from 3 worms and a couple dozen of moths. Literally nothing. That got me wondering if the exploration is actually worth it in this game. Well, it turned out that it wasn't. Pretty much all good stuff (apart from plants but there are so many of those that you can actually miss out some) is found in the quest caves. No more hidden caves with OP loot you could miss.

    Well, let's get back to our gnomes. I looked at this big empty swamp and thought "well, after all i'm not exactly supposed to be here at this point, maybe smth exciting will happen here later". And I set off in the opposite direction to Don's camp. Now, imagine this greedy powerful criminal who got thrown out of his own town by the Inquisitor and wants to get revenge and get it all back. On top of this our nameless hero cheated all his spies, kicked them out of town and sold the criminal's family jewelry to the Inquisition . How do you think he should greet us? "Die, you thieving scum!"? Nope! "Oh hi again! You want a golden disk in exchange for the ruin I already have? No problem! Saving the island comes first!"Just like that. It pretty much killed the game for me. The writing is just awful, and not just in this particular instance. For example, I have absolutely no idea, why the hell I should save this island at all. By tradition, our MC doesn't have a background, but if in G1 it worked due to the setting, here it only rises questions. Just why would this guy want to stow away in an inquisition ship? what exactly is his motivation for coming here, staying here, killing this **** of lizards, for anything? No idea.

    Speaking of lizards, the local fauna is extremely poor as compared to the Gothics. Given the repetitiveness of combat (both melee and magic), it quite discourages exploration as well.

    Magic in Gothic was pretty awesome. I still remember the satisfaction of a dozen orc elites dying together in your fire rain. The was a huge variety of spells to choose from, some were pretty useless but fun nonetheless, you could turn into a chicken just for the heck of it, for instance. Here the are only 3 combat spells you can't even you simultaneously at full potential. The rest are either pure utility or obsolete by the time you get them. That's just shallow and boring.

    And there are bugs. I had to tweak the fps in the .ini to let the Nameless climb up without freezing in mid-air. I found at least one unfinishable quest. NPCs risk dying to a pack of boars when travelling the roads even if you are not there to help (thus the ogre in the prison actually killed all the lizards on his way from one cell to another XD).

    Right now I've just begun the chapter 3. I'm not sure if I play Risen to the end but I'm definitely not gonna replay it. Ever    … Expand
  24. Jeyker
    Jul 18, 2019
    6
    First couple of hours I was feeling like I wanna walkthrough Risen again but after first completion, I understand that Risen's world is very limited. There are no differences if you decide walkthrough Risen in another way (another faction for example).

    Also, there are no reasons to collect armor, weapons, because you will get the top weapon and armor at the end of the game. Weapons and    First couple of hours I was feeling like I wanna walkthrough Risen again but after first completion, I understand that Risen's world is very limited. There are no differences if you decide walkthrough Risen in another way (another faction for example).

    Also, there are no reasons to collect armor, weapons, because you will get the top weapon and armor at the end of the game. Weapons and armor are really boring and usual.

    Gothic was really better I think. It could be worse, so I will give this game 6 out of 10.    … Expand
  25. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    6
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»
  26. AndyG.
    Jan 14, 2010
    5
    Started fine, but very soon became apparent that I'd played it before. Piranha Byte's brand of RPG will die like 'Might and Magic' for its chronic inability to advance, improve or develop their creation. At least Bethesda take some risks to build on what they have.
  27. GabrielU.
    Oct 13, 2009
    5
    Well... I'm very disappointed by new PB's game. Firstly, they were shouting about "NEWS, NEWS, NEWS, other look of their games". They even showed few concept arts with big nosed people, a dwarf. But they didn't want to work much, so we have a Gothic 3 except it's called "Risen". That's because i wouldn't rate it above 7 already. JUST THINK ABOUT SOMETHING Well... I'm very disappointed by new PB's game. Firstly, they were shouting about "NEWS, NEWS, NEWS, other look of their games". They even showed few concept arts with big nosed people, a dwarf. But they didn't want to work much, so we have a Gothic 3 except it's called "Risen". That's because i wouldn't rate it above 7 already. JUST THINK ABOUT SOMETHING NEW, PB! I played this game, almost the same, in 2001 when Gothic 1 had had realesed, and again when G2 and Night of the Raven came out, and once more in 2006. Just cut this out. But I leave that graphic and gameplay issues... Don't care, after all i wanted a great story in this game, which will memorize me great moments from G1 and NotR. But no. The beginning is SO, so BAD, with sucky "training missions", when i felt like an idiot, when the game had showed me how to jump or pick up an object. Later is a little better, i had been played almost 10 hours with joy, a great moment when I've entered with Mendoza into volcano, lizardmen showed up and... OH NOEAS, betrayer Mendoza! Fire Titan! GO, you nameless fella, with tragic voice actor! BECOMA LORD OF THE TITANS and gather 5 pieces of my SUPERDUPER ARMOR and beat the bastard! No, that's not a good and epic story. Sorry PB, you made 3 almost same games with much better stories. Cut it out and make something NEW!… Expand
  28. JeffA
    Nov 15, 2009
    5
    Blah dialog, blah combat, blah voice acting and character animations. Blah enemies, very very dull all around. Try gothic II or oblivion, this game is lame.
  29. JohnS.
    Oct 12, 2009
    5
    Its a bit like gothic 1 with new decent graphics, less interesting character development, boring and very repetitive fights and a bit dull story. Not a bad game, but waaaay behind what i would expect from Piranha Bytes.
  30. JohnW
    Nov 25, 2009
    5
    A lot of glitches. Poor battle system. Poor maps. Not worth the price at all.
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Awards & Rankings

67
#67 Best PC Game of 2009
19
#19 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
21
#21 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Meristation
    80
    Fun, large and with many things to do, Risen is a good game for medieval RPG lovers. It has its flaws, specially due to technical issues, but overall it's a great experience, where every choice has its consequences. The great storyline and the different paths that we can follow are the strongest points of this game.
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  2. SpazioGames
    80
    While Gothic sails away to other developers, Piranha Bytes turns the tide with this return to the origins of true RPG. Deep, polished, compelling, Risen is an RPG for RPG true lovers. Some small glitches and a general lack of accessibility make it step down a little bit on the score, but it's still THE game to have if you love RPGs.
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  3. Everyeye.it
    80
    An old-fashion RPG, with an impressive number of quests and NPC, and a deep level-up system.
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