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. 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.
  2. kolarz3
    May 19, 2023
    8
    Pretty nice gothic like game. It was my favorite game from the risen serie. Nice main character
  3. IamNader
    May 17, 2023
    8
    As an avid GOTHIC player, I can say that this game is truly an epic adventure that offers many positive aspects - 8/10
  4. 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»
  5. Nick7000
    Mar 7, 2023
    8
    Ну это Готика ребят, Во всех смыслах. Добротная, хорошая Готика, ни больше, ни меньше.
  6. 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
  7. Czechinator
    Oct 18, 2022
    9
    Last good game from PB. Great music, great ambient sounds, beautiful world where I enjoyed exploring every corner. The last game they made where I wanted to try another faction right after I finished. When it rained at night it was absolutely magical. Combat was fun. The story was interesting. Dialogue was pretty much ok.
    It really gave off a gothic vibe
    Too bad after this game, every    Last good game from PB. Great music, great ambient sounds, beautiful world where I enjoyed exploring every corner. The last game they made where I wanted to try another faction right after I finished. When it rained at night it was absolutely magical. Combat was fun. The story was interesting. Dialogue was pretty much ok.
    It really gave off a gothic vibe

    Too bad after this game, every game they made got worse and worse in every way.    … Expand
  8. aecsuter
    Sep 5, 2022
    4
    It's a little complicated to talk about this game, because it's a little dated, but I'm going to talk about my experience with the game currently, which was when I played it.
    The idea of ​​the game is good, with great difficulty and an acceptable story, but it has several technical problems, which made me end up dragging myself to the end of the game.
    Pros: - History OK - Well done    It's a little complicated to talk about this game, because it's a little dated, but I'm going to talk about my experience with the game currently, which was when I played it.
    The idea of ​​the game is good, with great difficulty and an acceptable story, but it has several technical problems, which made me end up dragging myself to the end of the game.

    Pros:
    - History OK
    - Well done and well voiced dialogues.
    - Beautiful Armor and Weapons

    Cons:
    - Very ugly and clumsy Jump System. When he jumps from a high height, it looks like there's a ladder in the air that falls from step to step. I have often escaped traps by standing in the air.
    - First Teleport Stone was to appear after 21 hours of gameplay. Too tiring to go from one side of the map to the other, in that mequetrefe run. Even more that there are no arrows indicating where to go in the quests.
    - Boring and Repetitive Combat. (I found out later watching videos that as a Warrior he is much more boring than a Mage).
    - I went to find a Helm after 28 hours of play.
    - Complete imbalance between in-game weapons
    - Complete imbalance between classes in the game (Mage is much easier).
    - Final fight very dull and extremely easy due to quicksave.

    Basically in my opinion the game could be good, but the mechanics make it boring and very tiring not to say frustrating at times.    … Expand
  9. KIrillooss
    Dec 9, 2021
    8
    Великолепная игра с хорошей историей и классным геймплеем, не считая боёвки. Она так себе
  10. rezo_21
    Sep 19, 2021
    7
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 67 IIIIIIIIII====================
  11. Deant_Magnetic
    Sep 5, 2021
    9
    Отличная рпг, которая достойна внимания, особенно если тебе полюбилась готика.
  12. Gorbunov2004
    Aug 13, 2021
    5
    У игры сюжет полное дно непонятно что делать и зачем, боевая система такая же ужасная и отвратительная. Персонажи неинтересные, главного персонажа вообще никак не раскрывают.
  13. svansolojo
    Jul 18, 2021
    9
    A very good game. Definitely very underrated game. By far better than the other Risen games and Elex.
  14. 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
  15. nexus151196
    Feb 27, 2021
    8
    Классная рпг , в которую всем стоит поиграть. Атмосфера игры - поражает и затягивает, музыка бесподобна, чего только стоит главная тема. Остров очень красивый и живописный, всегда за любым кустом пожно найти какие то руины и приключения на пятую точку, Один раз в начале нарвался на ящеров в каком то храме и меня за секунду развалили, ох весело было :) Сюжет интересный, мифология мира тоже,Классная рпг , в которую всем стоит поиграть. Атмосфера игры - поражает и затягивает, музыка бесподобна, чего только стоит главная тема. Остров очень красивый и живописный, всегда за любым кустом пожно найти какие то руины и приключения на пятую точку, Один раз в начале нарвался на ящеров в каком то храме и меня за секунду развалили, ох весело было :) Сюжет интересный, мифология мира тоже, фракции со своей мотивацией. Годная игра, можно и сейчас перепройти.… Expand
  16. Pekaboyare
    Jan 26, 2021
    8
    Клёвая игрушка, проблемы у нее конечно есть, но она стоит того чтобы пройти её.
  17. Torgall
    Dec 12, 2020
    8
    Very good RPG that made me nostalgic because of how it resembled the good ol' Gothic. The way this series went after this first game is just sad.
  18. TaQkful
    Nov 16, 2020
    10
    A perfect reincarnation of PiranhaBytes’ Gothic series. Game is overall similiar to Gothic 2, yet it is so different. Lovable NPC’s, gripping story, thrilling atmosphere. The fact that you need to stick to one role (mage, warrior, thief...) really makes you role-play and offers countless replays. For me, one of the best RPGs - 10/10
  19. DaniloNovakovic
    Aug 26, 2020
    8
    Personal favorite game from Piranha Bytes since Gothic 2. Honestly, it might have the best melee combat system out of all of their games (it still has it's flaws but much better than Risen 2,3 or Elex).

    The only major flaws that I have with this game are: - magic feels more like shooting something from a gun which is a major step down since Gothic 3's amazing magic system - it feels a    Personal favorite game from Piranha Bytes since Gothic 2. Honestly, it might have the best melee combat system out of all of their games (it still has it's flaws but much better than Risen 2,3 or Elex).

    The only major flaws that I have with this game are:
    - magic feels more like shooting something from a gun which is a major step down since Gothic 3's amazing magic system
    - it feels a bit too short (I wish they made DLC in NotR style that introduces new questline with maybe a new map)

    Genuinely would recommend this to anybody who enjoys a solid RPG game :)    … Expand
  20. 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
  21. KaianMatheus
    Jun 21, 2020
    10
    Jogo ótimo e super explorável para um RPG da época. Marcou muito para mim tanto no desenrolar do jogo quanto na trilha sonora.
  22. hoanns
    Jun 6, 2020
    9
    great fun. you have different ways you can go, funny characters, good rpg .
  23. bancandrei
    May 12, 2020
    5
    I didn't pick this up when it came out and I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Although it was definitely dated, as this feels mostly like a remake of Gothic (& Gothic 2). That being said, those are some great RPGs and this one would have been just as great, but there is no reason to pick it up unless you have nostalgia for it.
  24. GraysonUA
    Mar 31, 2020
    9
    Ну це Готика 1 у новій обгорці, а що мені ще треба. Моя улюблена з усієї серії, саме через темну атмосферу.
  25. Genek13
    Nov 15, 2019
    8
    As a fan of Gothic game series I think this is a very good game.
    Very enjoyable playthrough :) Not as good as Gothic, but still worth to play.
  26. 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
  27. InQuasi
    Apr 14, 2019
    10
    A masterpiece of sound, atmosphere and world building. A small yet dense world feels so alive, so real for a fantasy game this is truly amazing. I remember many scorching summer days spent wasting away in the immense game that is Risen. Thank you PB, for the best game ever made.
  28. MadnessisRising
    Mar 15, 2019
    10
    A game totally done right! Focus on gameplay not on graphics. Beautiful world with an even more beautiful soundtrack and like I said a perfect combat system. Great story, great characters, great monsters ... everything is great in this game. I played it so many times, one of the best games ever created.
  29. Yabs
    Mar 9, 2019
    8
    58.2 hrs on record
    Wheww.. finally beat Risen after 58.2 hours, solid game. Combat is a bit clunky thus leading to lots of deaths and reloads (also due to traps), However, the setting and narrative of Risen is beautifully crafted. The Island is fun to explore and is open world. I enjoyed the game very much, albiet progression in the beginning is slow. It takes nearly 15-20 hours of game    58.2 hrs on record
    Wheww.. finally beat Risen after 58.2 hours, solid game. Combat is a bit clunky thus leading to lots of deaths and reloads (also due to traps), However, the setting and narrative of Risen is beautifully crafted. The Island is fun to explore and is open world. I enjoyed the game very much, albiet progression in the beginning is slow. It takes nearly 15-20 hours of game time just to get the first peice of armor (unless the player steals it from the first farm they encounter). Great game, though lacking much replayability, going the 'Don' path really isnt a fun or worthwhile option.    … Expand
  30. 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
  31. MillersWeeb
    Nov 16, 2018
    0
    Калька с готики 1, практически полностью копирует старую игру. Квесты в стиле ммо. Неиграбельно.
  32. 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
  33. Gelaos
    Sep 20, 2018
    8
    Risen is a great spiritual successor to Gothic 1 and 2.

    The world with it's inhabitants feels authentic, like a real living place. The combat is pretty good, I don't understand why so many people hate it so much. Quests are typical RPG standard, factions and characters intrigued me, story isn't bad. Risen is easier than Gothic 1 or 2 but it won't hold your hand and you must learn to    Risen is a great spiritual successor to Gothic 1 and 2.

    The world with it's inhabitants feels authentic, like a real living place. The combat is pretty good, I don't understand why so many people hate it so much. Quests are typical RPG standard, factions and characters intrigued me, story isn't bad. Risen is easier than Gothic 1 or 2 but it won't hold your hand and you must learn to play this game. Solid RPG with old-school vibe.    … Expand
  34. Broyax
    Apr 14, 2017
    3
    Techniquement c'est pas trop mal (et parfois assez joli) et Risen a le mérite de ne pas être trop exigeant côté config ! en outre la VF bien que caricaturale est bien faite. Passons à ce qui fâche, c'est-à-dire tout le reste... La musique par exemple est assez pathétique (elle a du être écrite sur un Bontempi), le système de combat est délicat et la difficulté élevée (la touche F8 est tonTechniquement c'est pas trop mal (et parfois assez joli) et Risen a le mérite de ne pas être trop exigeant côté config ! en outre la VF bien que caricaturale est bien faite. Passons à ce qui fâche, c'est-à-dire tout le reste... La musique par exemple est assez pathétique (elle a du être écrite sur un Bontempi), le système de combat est délicat et la difficulté élevée (la touche F8 est ton amie).

    La progression est très lente et laborieuse, les quêtes peu claires et pour couronner le tout, des bugs empêchent le bon déroulement des scripts et donc la résolution des dites quêtes. Enfin, l'interface est globalement perfectible sur bien des détails : on ignore si c'est pour faire chier ou si c'est tout simplement l'incapacité des développeurs. Bref, voilà un jeu bien pénible.    … Expand
  35. shadorn
    Feb 18, 2017
    9
    If you like RPGs and retro-gaming don't miss this one: it is technically quite poor for nowadays standards (it has been released in 2009), but this game has a soul. Art, music, gameplay, balance, are all well crafted and the experience is overall extremely pleasant.
  36. KayVen17
    Jan 4, 2017
    8
    Deutsche Review - Kritik

    Der folgende Test ist in 5 Kategorien zusammengefasst. Diese 5 Kartegorien ergeben die Gesamtpunktzahl von 0 - 100 Punkten. Um einen passenden Userscore zu geben wird auf oder abgerundet. Bei 84 Punkten ergibt das einen User Score von 8. Bei 86 einen von Userscore von 9. Falls eine 85 kommt entscheide ich ob ich es eher positiv oder negativ nehme. Regeln    Deutsche Review - Kritik

    Der folgende Test ist in 5 Kategorien zusammengefasst. Diese 5 Kartegorien ergeben die Gesamtpunktzahl von 0 - 100 Punkten. Um einen passenden Userscore zu geben wird auf oder abgerundet. Bei 84 Punkten ergibt das einen User Score von 8. Bei 86 einen von Userscore von 9. Falls eine 85 kommt entscheide ich ob ich es eher positiv oder negativ nehme. Regeln verstanden?
    Dann sind hier meine Punkte.

    Mein persönlicher Score = 75/100
    Mein User Score = 8/10    … Expand
  37. Jernas
    Oct 27, 2016
    9
    There's never enough of good RPGs out there in fact, there's a lot of options on the market, but many are underwhelmingly boring and make you question if they're worth the usually huge time investment. Luckily, Risen is a very good option if you want to spend countless hours in a world of monsters, magic and heroes.

    Risen can sure look good, dense forests with tons of vegetation,    There's never enough of good RPGs out there in fact, there's a lot of options on the market, but many are underwhelmingly boring and make you question if they're worth the usually huge time investment. Luckily, Risen is a very good option if you want to spend countless hours in a world of monsters, magic and heroes.

    Risen can sure look good, dense forests with tons of vegetation, beautiful night skies and lighting strikes during a storm. The story is good and well presented. It's not overcomplicated like it happens way too often in the RPG genre. Main characters are well designed and have interesting personalities, more so than in The Elder Scrolls series, but not as much as in The Witcher or Mass Effect series. Gameplay remains interesting throughout the entire experience and If we compare Risen to the preceding Piranha Bytes game, Gothic 3, which had some pretty broken combat mechanics, dull quests and an underwhelming main story, Risen comes out as a clear victor. One of the stronger points of the game, taken straight from the Gothic series, is that enemies don't scale with you as you level up. This makes you feel the progress your character is making on the environment. Once tough enemies become easier and easier to fight, unlike in The Elder Scrolls games, where enemies are constantly equally (easy) to defeat, despite all the leveling up. Risen is no Gothic 4 (or 5), but that's a plus. After a solid, but not great, Gothic 3, it's an improvement in almost every way. The world is smaller yes, but it feels alive. It is both, small and big, but in a good way.

    On the other hand, despite the nice graphics, many textures are of low resolution and polygon count is not the highest. This becomes very apparent in the largest town on the island and in many dungeons throughout the game where most of the buildings are made out of stone, yet all the walls stand completely straight. A technique called tessellation would have helped tremendously in this case. Human characters are also copied and pasted a bit too much throughout the island, which takes away from the illusion of an authentic world. The combat is unfortunately still quite literary a hit or miss and is liked by some and hated by others. The truth is, it can get frustrating being killed by a pack of wild hogs or wolfs at mid-stages of the game, when you should be slaughtering such weak animals without problems. It's a far cry from Gothic 3 though, where a single wild hog could have easily killed you at the late-stages of the game. Sword, axe and staff fighting is designed around parrying and blocking enemy attacks, but that becomes almost impossible when multiple enemies attack you at once and surround you. In such cases, it's crucial to use either, a crossbow, a bow or magic, and your legs to run away. This becomes a problem in enclosed environments such as underground dungeons, which offer little room for maneuvering. In the first half of the game, there's a lack of variety in weapons and armor to choose from. In fact, there's only about three worthwhile swords, two axes and two shields available. Not to mention, you only get to wear a proper fighter's armor about 25 hours into the game, which is absurd for an action RPG. In addition to that, most of the early quests are basic and can get a bit boring and the game only picks up after you leave Harbor town, about 15 hours into the story. Interestingly though, later parts of the game turn into a little bit of a dungeon crawler and you suddenly start getting better and better equipment.

    All in all, Risen is a very well made RPG, that has a good story with, for the most part, well made characters, interesting world and varied enemies. The ending might be a little bit underwhelming, some of the early quests boring and combat not for everyone, but it's a very good game nonetheless. Low scores and ratings this game received upon release and later are, in my eyes, not justified.    … Expand
  38. reviewthis4u
    Jul 15, 2016
    1
    Who decided to separate magic from combat from plot from character customization from... well, everything? Did no one play test this tripe? I can see a developer shipping their ego out in a box, but surely someone, ANYONE else looked at this and thought, wait, maybe it should actually be playable?
  39. 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
  40. chemgeeked
    Jan 11, 2016
    10
    I have been out on my gaming for awhile for personal choice; I use to play a lot of games and felt burnt out and overall just bored with video games in general. Its been around a year of me not playing games besides the brief occasions of dabbling for a few hours through out for the nostalgia. I recently had an urge to get into a fun rpg, something open world that had a survival feel toI have been out on my gaming for awhile for personal choice; I use to play a lot of games and felt burnt out and overall just bored with video games in general. Its been around a year of me not playing games besides the brief occasions of dabbling for a few hours through out for the nostalgia. I recently had an urge to get into a fun rpg, something open world that had a survival feel to it. though I was very limited on games I could get, because I sold all my consoles awhile, and all I have is a 4 year old 300 dollar HP pavillion laptop. So with hours spend looking up reviews then checking if my laptop could run them I decided on risen. I AM SOOO GLADD I DID!!! My choices were down to gothic 3, two worlds 2 and risen. Which all of them have mixed reviews so it was hard to decide. I crossed out gothic even though it looked fun I didnt like the fact that it needed a mod patch to even run right. So HERES MY REVIEW. GRAPHICS - To me graphics really don't matter much if the game is really fun and this is the case here. keep in mind I play on all low for better performance but even at that I think the world is beautifully done. The weather and the lighting are awesome. when the sun is shining its really bright and actually looks like how bright it would be in real life. Then when its dark its as dark as it really would be in real life. its soo awesome looking when its dark out, your exploring, its storming and lightening and you get flashes of bright light where you see everything, it really looks badass. (now on high settings the graphics are really nice for its time.) so torches are actually a must if your going in really dark caves or traveling at the dark of night or you can wait to journey and sleep in a bed till morning. I think it really immerses in the world. GAMEPLAY- Now what I really really like about this games is the overall small details that a lot of games over look that really makes the world feel alive IMO. For a RPG I think this details im about to explain are really important to a RPG because theirs people who play and really wanna get into the role of there character and the world hence ROLE playing game. First I'll start off with getting food and cooking it. in this game food really does matter idk how many times i was out exploring and if i didnt have food to boost my health I would of died. and you can find water barrels to drink from that will really boost your health when your in need like being out of potions or only having a few and want to save them. I like how when you cook food you need to get a pan and you see your character really cook the food, and when you drink you see your character really drink or when you eat whatever your eating he will actually take it out and eat it. when you kill someone in the game no matter who it is they will stay dead for the whole game, IT MAKES SENSE. when you go into someones home they will get mad and threaten you, it makes sense. when you want to up your stats in lets say pickpocking or swords you have to find someone who specializes in that art and pay them to trai n you, again it makes sense. the map isnt that big compared to like gta or skyrim but I think its pretty much perfect because there is a lot of content packed into it and it feels actually pretty damn big because you only run as fast as you do in like fallout 3 and new vegas. Plus in the beginning there is a lot of unknown places you cant explore because there are monster their that are just to hard to kill untill you get stronger and better gear. So it gives you something to work for on the side. youll find a cave and get half way through it then find there to be an monster that is just to strong so you take note leave build up gear up get stronger bring potions and go back later and find treasure and what not. The game has so much dialoge and you can basically talk to anyone and your character actually speaks what you pick and he is such a smart ass 98% of the time I love it. The story is not that special but I think its cool its kind of like star wars but no force instead magic and theres the iquisition(which is like the empire) and then the bandits/ dons men (which is like the rebels) and your fighting for control of the island basically and you have the choice to choose what side you want to support. Now a lot of people dont like the combat and a lot love it, I love it even though it is basically 2 buttons, block and attack, what makes it really fun is you have to be really good with timing, its kind of like a timing mini game. if you attack at the wrong time you leave yourself open to get hit blocking is really important and swinging at the perfect time is also important cause this game is really hard and if your not smart you will die tons. If you like games that hold your hand this isnt for you then. But if you like games that really give you a challenge then it is for you. #noquestarrows. theres a lot more I can say about this game but it would go on too long. This game… Expand
  41. 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
  42. Lucassmdt
    Nov 16, 2015
    10
    One of the best gamer I played! The history and the realism cativate until now. The history, centrated in a misterious organization (Inquisitors) and the fate of the world and me, I lone wolf in the mid of all this.
    One of the best gamer ever!
  43. keefbaker
    Nov 4, 2015
    8
    When I first attempted to play Risen I played for 30 minutes, noticed all it's flaws and decided to rename it "Risible". I've never been so happy to be convinced to give something a second try.

    Risen is as wobbly as a dog with 3 legs, you will need to ctrl-alt-del out of it more than once in your game. The voice acting can be a bit "amateurish" at times, the graphics a bit wonky, the    When I first attempted to play Risen I played for 30 minutes, noticed all it's flaws and decided to rename it "Risible". I've never been so happy to be convinced to give something a second try.

    Risen is as wobbly as a dog with 3 legs, you will need to ctrl-alt-del out of it more than once in your game. The voice acting can be a bit "amateurish" at times, the graphics a bit wonky, the quests so vague you'll occasionally need to use google...

    But you know what? Absolutely none of that matters because the world it's in is brilliant. When you start the game nearly everything is tougher than you, you'll learn to fight by grinding enemies down and parrying to stop them 3 hit killing you but by the end you'll be mashing them down like a tank.

    Risen is a gem in the rough. Stick with it and try to ignore it's (many) foibles and it'll reward you in spades with the kind of game freedom rarely seen and the kind of tactical combat that teaches you to treat enemies differently and not simply button mash.

    I'd love to give it a 9 or 10 but with the bugs and wonky bits I can't bring myself to do that.    … Expand
  44. deathbringer
    Oct 17, 2015
    10
    One of the best RPG experiences i've had! Truly a 10/10 and this game is so underrated, i don't actually know why, but i guess it's because many played it on the crappy ported xbox version.
  45. Nuker
    Jun 29, 2015
    8
    - Good: Setting, Atmosphere, Exploration, Combat system, Character progression
    - Mixed: Story, Characters
    - Bad: Second half of the game

    The first half of this game is very good, sadly the whole game didn't maintain such a high level
  46. 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
  47. Matseb2611
    Apr 9, 2015
    4
    I should've listened to my skepticism, considering this game was made by the same developers that made Gothic series. This game is exactly like the Gothic games, except in slightly better graphics. Tedious menial tasks such as harvesting, collecting, and finding n number of some item are back again. No story hook whatsoever. It's just a random island your character finds himself in afterI should've listened to my skepticism, considering this game was made by the same developers that made Gothic series. This game is exactly like the Gothic games, except in slightly better graphics. Tedious menial tasks such as harvesting, collecting, and finding n number of some item are back again. No story hook whatsoever. It's just a random island your character finds himself in after being washed ashore. To add to this, the character's walking speed is very slow and the map isn't detailed enough and shows no landmarks, making exploration a real chore.

    There are a lot of items to find and the combat is semi-decent, but nothing in this game really stands out. Everything has been done before by other RPGs and done better.

    Some of the dialogue is not bad and can be kind of witty, but some of the voice acting isn't all that great, especially the main character, who hardly puts any emotion in anything he says, and this is coming from someone who is rarely ever picky about voice acting in games.

    Some NPC and enemy A.I. is a bit strange too. I got into the arrogant guard captain's house and stole stuff from his treasure chest right in front of him and he did not bust an eyelid. I then took a mug of beer from his table and he got all pissy at me all of a sudden. Another enemy was doing a decent job stopping a few feet away from me, letting me shoot them with a bow, then to chase me for a few steps, and to repeat the same procedure till he was dead.

    If you liked Gothic games, you'll probably like this one too, but it's way too slow paced for me personally. The most fun I got from this was when I decided to stop doing any quests and to simply mess around. Piranha Bytes just keep rehashing the same old boring formula in every single game, and until they make something new and different, I don't think I'll be buying any more of their games.    … Expand
  48. nolte11
    Mar 28, 2015
    9
    I liked Gothic 2 very much and this game many points similar to it. I think the best non Gothic game Piranha Bytes made till now. Better than Risen 2 or 3 and in my opinion at least as good as Gothic 3.
  49. Phobius
    Oct 14, 2014
    10
    I must start by saying i can be a little subjective on this game because my favourite childhood game series was Gothic. When this game appeared i had a lot of expectations of it and i must say it surpassed my expectations. In my opinion this is the true genre of rpg's with a little of open world to explore for your own pleasure. I can proudly say i finished this game 5 times now and iI must start by saying i can be a little subjective on this game because my favourite childhood game series was Gothic. When this game appeared i had a lot of expectations of it and i must say it surpassed my expectations. In my opinion this is the true genre of rpg's with a little of open world to explore for your own pleasure. I can proudly say i finished this game 5 times now and i didnt get bored on any of the occasions. So for the ones that are wondering if they should try it my vote goes for definitely yes.… Expand
  50. Danil
    Oct 7, 2014
    4
    Annoying voice acting. Poor combat system with Über-imbalanced enemies. In some early game quests you will have to spend 10-15 minutes of clicking-and-saving just to defeat someone and move forward in the storyline, which is EXTREMELY frustrating. Also the quest log is horrific, it simply saves dialogues in the journal and you have to keep track of all those long tedious conversationsAnnoying voice acting. Poor combat system with Über-imbalanced enemies. In some early game quests you will have to spend 10-15 minutes of clicking-and-saving just to defeat someone and move forward in the storyline, which is EXTREMELY frustrating. Also the quest log is horrific, it simply saves dialogues in the journal and you have to keep track of all those long tedious conversations narrated by crappy actors. Oftentimes it doesn't even place (or misplaces) quests on the map. Oh and there is no minimap as well.… Expand
  51. slappyface
    Sep 8, 2014
    4
    This game is the RPG version of a "B" movie. Sincere, ambitious, but ultimately flat and often absurd. I felt sick after 30 minutes of constant flashing of endless thunderstorms. How hard could it have been for them to simply tone down the lightning? I slept and it was still happening the next morning.

    My character jumps inhumanly high but in slow motion. The creatures in the forest    This game is the RPG version of a "B" movie. Sincere, ambitious, but ultimately flat and often absurd. I felt sick after 30 minutes of constant flashing of endless thunderstorms. How hard could it have been for them to simply tone down the lightning? I slept and it was still happening the next morning.

    My character jumps inhumanly high but in slow motion. The creatures in the forest apparently do not fight or fear each other because at one stage there were like 10 of four different species all attacking me at once, seemingly oblivious to each other.

    If you want to experience a game these guys pulled off right, try Gothic II Gold. It is flawed but forgivable, whereas this one got uninstalled after 30 minutes.    … Expand
  52. Ninja7Everin
    Aug 29, 2014
    1
    The combat system this game is absolutely horrible. The moment you let your shield down is when the enemy strikes, you die quickly, and is even worse than Dark Souls. At least Dark Souls is worth playing. Nothing about this game can make up for its lack of definition of enjoyable combat. BLEH. I HATED this game.
  53. subglitch
    Aug 20, 2014
    10
    This game is very odd, they are a lot of characters that are doubles and voices are re-used often too, the game even seems to acknowledge this with a quest to help the identical triplets. A lot of people in the game are very rude and curt when you try to talk to them and they don't have a mission to give. It's such a bizarre game, a lot of things don't seem to connect. For me thisThis game is very odd, they are a lot of characters that are doubles and voices are re-used often too, the game even seems to acknowledge this with a quest to help the identical triplets. A lot of people in the game are very rude and curt when you try to talk to them and they don't have a mission to give. It's such a bizarre game, a lot of things don't seem to connect. For me this generates a lot of humour and I think there's a lot of value in that.
    Also the combat is great.    … Expand
  54. nightshark
    Aug 11, 2014
    8
    I have been very pleased with the quality of this game, playing for the first time in 2014.

    The good: a great open world to explore and never a lack of things to do. Graphics are decent for 2009. Voice acting has been good, I am usually not a fan of listening to a lot of dialogue in game, but there is interesting lore to be found in this game. The development of your character feels    I have been very pleased with the quality of this game, playing for the first time in 2014.

    The good: a great open world to explore and never a lack of things to do. Graphics are decent for 2009. Voice acting has been good, I am usually not a fan of listening to a lot of dialogue in game, but there is interesting lore to be found in this game. The development of your character feels very sandbox and earning your way through the game is less of a chore/grind and more interesting than your typical RPG.

    The bad: While I have seen others praising the combat, I have found it unnecessarily difficult to start and frustratingly boring. Maybe I haven't mastered it yet, but almost every enemy will kill you in just a few hits, while it will take you 20-30 hits to kill your enemies. Due to this I find myself saving before and even during almost every encounter I have.    … Expand
  55. Zerook
    Jul 1, 2014
    9
    Played a heck of a lot of RPGs but this one really gives a challenge. It's really easy to die in this game if you're not careful. Did get sick of how incredibly hard combat was so changed the mode to easy to get on with the story. While challenges are good, the combat became more of a boring and frustrating hassle rather than something to triumph. Risen surprised me at how addicting it wasPlayed a heck of a lot of RPGs but this one really gives a challenge. It's really easy to die in this game if you're not careful. Did get sick of how incredibly hard combat was so changed the mode to easy to get on with the story. While challenges are good, the combat became more of a boring and frustrating hassle rather than something to triumph. Risen surprised me at how addicting it was despite the slow pace of gameplay and story and was hooked before I realised it. Very similar to Gothic.

    Graphic mods are available and really enhances the game.    … Expand
  56. mike88100
    Jun 21, 2014
    10
    Gra chociaż swoje najlepsze lata ma już za sobą, nadal jest bardzo wciągająca, także graficznie nie jest najgorsza przy najwyższych ustawieniach, polecam każdemu kto ma słabszy sprzęt a oczekuje jak najwięcej z rozgrywki. Osobiście jestem fanem serii "Gothic" a "Risen" To godny następca tej serii.
  57. Jazzkill
    May 9, 2014
    9
    Just decided to look at rpg games on pc that is really old then i found this in some forum.this game is so awesome even its already too old, glad i borrowed it from my friend haha :D
  58. Andante
    Mar 22, 2014
    10
    Words cannot really describe what a masterpiece this game is. It's the best game I ever played after 2009, nothing comes close. Today I'm not really into gaming (tight schedule/engineering student) but I always remember THIS game....I tried to play some other RPG's but I uninstalled them immediately because after Risen almost everything felt crap...
  59. IcecreamSnowman
    Mar 12, 2014
    8
    Apart from the ending, Risen is very good. The ending gives you no choice and I didn't agree with the choice being made for me: I would rather risk the lives of a handful of people to try to save the entire world than ensure that one island survives and everyone else is left to be killed by monsters. I understand in the sequel (I haven't played it) some stuff get's done but that's notApart from the ending, Risen is very good. The ending gives you no choice and I didn't agree with the choice being made for me: I would rather risk the lives of a handful of people to try to save the entire world than ensure that one island survives and everyone else is left to be killed by monsters. I understand in the sequel (I haven't played it) some stuff get's done but that's not made apparent in this game so my point still stands. As with other games by Piranha Bytes there's no wasted space in the game world. Paths are divided by cliffs, separating areas and making the world feel larger than it would in, say a Bethesda RPG where the whole world is one big meadow. Enemies are everywhere, around every corner, lurking in every bush. Step off the beaten path and you'll be mauled by the indigenous wildlife. Enemies don't respawn so eventually you'll kill all the indigenous wildlife and destabalise the ecosystem but that doesn't feature during the game's timeline so never mind.… Expand
  60. SoftwareWulf
    Mar 6, 2014
    10
    Gothic 2 remake? One of the best games Ive ever played and I dont understand a metascore from 77/100 o.O Nice Soundtrack, Nice open world, a really good story and last but not least gothic feeling and this is exactly what we want!
  61. matthew11
    Dec 9, 2013
    8
    Another old-school RPG from Piranhas. I always loved Gothic and this is his spiritual successor. You have whole island to discover, you can do quests for every fraction you want, smithing, hunting, magic, fighting, nobody tells you what you must do for progress in story. In current time, there's not so understanding for RPGs like this, but for old Gothic players (like me) it's a greatAnother old-school RPG from Piranhas. I always loved Gothic and this is his spiritual successor. You have whole island to discover, you can do quests for every fraction you want, smithing, hunting, magic, fighting, nobody tells you what you must do for progress in story. In current time, there's not so understanding for RPGs like this, but for old Gothic players (like me) it's a great reminder for legendary games Piranha Bytes. 76/100… Expand
  62. 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
  63. Thanatos4x
    Nov 5, 2013
    3
    Risen is buggy and frustrating. During my 38 hour play-thorough the game crashed 5 times with exceptional errors.
    The biggest problem with Risen is the combat which is very frustrating. The developers are trying to prevent a click fest of hacking your opponent with strategic combat with blocking, parrying and then carefully timed attacks. However, a good idea, it is poorly implemented.    Risen is buggy and frustrating. During my 38 hour play-thorough the game crashed 5 times with exceptional errors.
    The biggest problem with Risen is the combat which is very frustrating. The developers are trying to prevent a click fest of hacking your opponent with strategic combat with blocking, parrying and then carefully timed attacks. However, a good idea, it is poorly implemented. Enemies can block and parry all your attacks and counter attack you super fast that there is no way to block. Worse of all many difficult enemies attack in groups making the strategic combat a joke because the enemies gang rape you from all sides prevent any possible block or parry. Most of the time you hop around a group of enemies while quickly hacking them before they counter hack you. If you don't have full health death is certain unless you get lucky.
    Save very often because you will die a lot! Mostly from cheap kills like enemy gang bangs, but also traps that kill you without any hint of a trap being there. I feel like you almost have to die in most areas in order to proceed. Not fun.
    There are lots of glitchy things like NPCs pooping through things and how enemies cannot seem to follow you down short drops (exploit to kill them easily, but not fun), and the WORST thing ever is the NPCs can defect you anywhere in there house if your not sneaking. They will "see" you through a wall and know you just stole from them really?! But the worse is a stupid glitch that happened to me many times, if you accidentally or intentionally hit and/or stole from a NPC they will attack you this is normal, but after I sleep and the crime is forgotten other NPCs in a completely different area will attack me even though that NPC already forgave me. This glitch will try your patient to the limit. I never knew if all of a sudden NPCs were going to attack me. Many times one NPC would be fine and then they would call a witch hunt for a crime that they previously had forgiven or forgotten -really really WTF!    … Expand
  64. TranscendentalX
    Nov 3, 2013
    10
    This is by far the best single player RPG i've played in a long while. I really love how you start off with little more than a branch in your hand and a lungfull of seawater, and essentially claw your way up until you're an unstoppable god. The game has the right level of difficulty (every time I got an upgrade I breathed a sigh of relief), great story, great conversation with NPCs, and isThis is by far the best single player RPG i've played in a long while. I really love how you start off with little more than a branch in your hand and a lungfull of seawater, and essentially claw your way up until you're an unstoppable god. The game has the right level of difficulty (every time I got an upgrade I breathed a sigh of relief), great story, great conversation with NPCs, and is all around so enjoyable. There are a few glitches (don't try jumping up ledges or you might fly into space and have to close your game) but I can overlook that because I had more fun with Risen than all the last 3 elder scrolls games combined.… Expand
  65. Keychain
    Nov 1, 2013
    9
    By far one of my favorite RPG experiences. A very unique world filled with feral creatures to slay, people to talk to, and missions to take on. Risen provides a decent combat system, a decent variety of equipment to obtain, and a large amount of world to explore. It is challenging, and rewards you fulfillingly.
  66. 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!
  67. Count69
    Sep 30, 2013
    9
    Great backtrack to the original Gothic model, but the feel of it is not exactly same, which is not exactly a bad thing.
    It's pretty, and well optimised, with a steep learning curve, something like the original gothic had.
    The story and the world is interesting enough to keep you up, and I hope I learn more of this world from the second game. Ending boss was a little lame, but the    Great backtrack to the original Gothic model, but the feel of it is not exactly same, which is not exactly a bad thing.
    It's pretty, and well optimised, with a steep learning curve, something like the original gothic had.
    The story and the world is interesting enough to keep you up, and I hope I learn more of this world from the second game.
    Ending boss was a little lame, but the fighting mechanics were overally allright.    … Expand
  68. tanim
    Sep 4, 2013
    3
    Poor visual, no problem. Poor story, no problem. Poor combat, problem. Without combat progressing is not possible. I believe they tried to provide a realistic combat mechanics. Unfortunately they messed up. A counter system could probably solve this but there is none. Movement in battle looks joke and poor visuals make them even worse. They tried to reinvent the wheel and that's where theyPoor visual, no problem. Poor story, no problem. Poor combat, problem. Without combat progressing is not possible. I believe they tried to provide a realistic combat mechanics. Unfortunately they messed up. A counter system could probably solve this but there is none. Movement in battle looks joke and poor visuals make them even worse. They tried to reinvent the wheel and that's where they messed up. As a 2009 game, it is surprisingly poor.… Expand
  69. NooblordFocker
    Sep 4, 2013
    2
    Perhaps I'm not giving this game a fair judgement,perhaps it was due to certain circumstances that I was unable to fully enjoy the game.There must be some reason why this game received so much acclaim,from players and critics alike.Well,the idea and setting are nice,the story sounded promicing...and that's pretty much it.This game has numerous problems.Let's start with the technicalPerhaps I'm not giving this game a fair judgement,perhaps it was due to certain circumstances that I was unable to fully enjoy the game.There must be some reason why this game received so much acclaim,from players and critics alike.Well,the idea and setting are nice,the story sounded promicing...and that's pretty much it.This game has numerous problems.Let's start with the technical ones.My pc exceeds the recomended system parameters,but the FPS I'm getting is complete sh*t (15-20).Changing the graphic settings doesn't really do much either.Turning shadows off is the only thing that makes a little better.Now,maybe it's not fair to blame the game for this,maybe it's just not compatible with my graphics card in particular.So ok,i can bear with low fps,but it wouldn't piss me off so much if this game's graphics weren't this crappy.I personally don't judge a game for it's graphics,but "Risen" just looks ugly. No AA,low res textures everywhere.And it's not just the textures,character models are unappealing and have very little variety.Combat system sucks,there's not a lot of startegy into it.Enemies are way to OP.Normally a little more challange is OK,but with this piece of sh*t combat system it's just plain frustrating.The story sounded promising,but I couldn't bare with this game long enough to get into it,because of the dialog.My god,the dialog is so boring.The voice actors sound like they're going to fall asleep.The quest log is the most useless pice of sh*t I have ever seen. Classic WoW had a more useful quest helper than this,at least there you could find the approximate position of the quest target by reading the actual log.Here it just shows a simple objective and highlights the f*cking quest giver.Not the objective,the quest giver.I get where they were going with this,trying to make a more hardcore RPG,but it just doesn't work.It's tedious and unsatisfying.Maybe this isn't such a fair judgement,because I only endured 2 hours of this game.Perhaps it picks up afterwards,but I can't see how with the horrible combat system and visuals.… Expand
  70. NecroMnemic
    Aug 26, 2013
    8
    Good game, unfortunately still some bugs, weird animations and not enough weapons, but every true gothic fan will find this to be a pleasent experience.
  71. BinarySplit
    Aug 20, 2013
    10
    Risen is the RPG I've been dreaming of. You have complete freedom in the open world, but there's a strong story and never a moment where you've run out of quests to pursue. It has fun combat and no grinding.

    Some people might not like that character advancement is at the whim of story-unlocked trainers (e.g. to even start learning magic skills, it can take up to 10 hours to get to the    Risen is the RPG I've been dreaming of. You have complete freedom in the open world, but there's a strong story and never a moment where you've run out of quests to pursue. It has fun combat and no grinding.

    Some people might not like that character advancement is at the whim of story-unlocked trainers (e.g. to even start learning magic skills, it can take up to 10 hours to get to the trainers and pass their initiation trials), but I see this as a bonus. It adds to the immersion quite a bit (access to magic is strictly controlled by The Order), and unlike Morrowind/Oblivion, it's a lot harder to build an overpowered min/maxed character.

    Also, the graphics/art are amazing. It has the most attention to detail I've ever seen in an open-world RPG.    … Expand
  72. ReviewsForFolks
    Aug 10, 2013
    8
    Remember that game called Arcania: Gothic IV? Well? Forget that, put Risen in its place and name Arcania Risen. Mindf**ked! Risen is Gothic with its soul and heart and nothing else. And those nasty bugs are gone too!
  73. 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
  74. Predikit
    Jul 26, 2013
    2
    Playing Risen, a game I’d bought during the Steam Summer Sale along with it’s sequel, and am sorely disappointed already. Little to no tutorial in the beginning, no explanation of game mechanics, and most importantly when you die you just… lay there? It doesn't drop you back to your last save, it gives you no on-screen prompts, it simply leaves you there wondering what to do next (this isPlaying Risen, a game I’d bought during the Steam Summer Sale along with it’s sequel, and am sorely disappointed already. Little to no tutorial in the beginning, no explanation of game mechanics, and most importantly when you die you just… lay there? It doesn't drop you back to your last save, it gives you no on-screen prompts, it simply leaves you there wondering what to do next (this is the FIRST time I have ever played a game that, upon death, you are not prompted with at least a direction to reload a past save, I actually had to tab out and search to make sure this wasn't a glitch).

    If this is all supposed to be to amplify the sense of immersion into the game world, it’s not doing a very good job at all. If I were dead, I highly doubt I’d just stay there hovering over my corpse panning around uselessly, so the more likely answer is that designers were more concerned with making bank than ensuring their finished product had the information necessary to play. Barely five minutes into the game and I’m tempted to simply shrug it off and uninstall; why would I put my time and effort into something that clearly had no effort put into it where I am concerned? For the sake of not judging too quickly (though already, the first impression I’ve had is that this game was a waste of my money), I will continue to try to play… but I don’t see myself writing a comprehensive review on this particular title.

    Edit:

    Ten minutes later, and I’ve quit and uninstalled. I have never been more dissatisfied with a game, or more specifically with it’s complete lack of consideration for introduction to gameplay. Players are expected to somehow know beforehand (or stop playing the game to go through the menu and search) key bindings and core mechanics beyond WASD. On-screen ‘tutorials’ consist of a single, font-only floating text direction on what to do once something has already happened. There are no prompts to explain how to equip or ready your weapon unless you happen upon one specific area that triggers a particular ‘cut-scene’ of dialogue from your companion (and even then, the mapped key was non-functional and I had to remap it to another key for it to function properly). This game is not just raw, it is unprofessional in that those who chose it’s introductory mechanics must have believed what they were thinking was going to by magic or osmosis be what every single other person that chose to play their game would be thinking. Fighting mechanics, if you can call them that, are chunky and awkward, in where a player may be facing their enemy and swing their weapon, but the character will turn and swing in a different direction. On six separate occasions, versus three different mob types, this problem persisted until I finally decided it was practically insulting to myself and my computer to have this game taking up space on my hard-drive. I would give this game a 2/10, the 2 being only for the graphics, as this was the only portion of the game that seemed to get any attention. Would not recommend.    … Expand
  75. 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
  76. 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
  77. ElPitooo
    Apr 14, 2013
    8
    Risen have boring storyline but other thinks in this game compesating it. There were good thinks as living game world, excelent music, solid graphics with good optimalization, good voice acting in dialogs and some excellent quests which is very interesting with great characters. But there are too very well made monsters. But for some difficulty may be too difficult, for me 8/10.
  78. drakenseng
    Feb 12, 2013
    9
    a great rpg with great story and character progression. no option to create your own character and the dialog choices don't really affect your character that much. it would have been great to have 360 controller support on the pc version. the combat takes some time to get use to, and its really easy to get killed even by something that looks harmless. the game uses a lot of exploration anda great rpg with great story and character progression. no option to create your own character and the dialog choices don't really affect your character that much. it would have been great to have 360 controller support on the pc version. the combat takes some time to get use to, and its really easy to get killed even by something that looks harmless. the game uses a lot of exploration and the story has alternate endings. the thing i most remember is the funny things that happen during my interactions with the npcs. lots of random things happen, and the game takes awhile to complete. overall, great game and nothing really new to add to the rpg genre. but great story, and it follows the Gothic game series. although i have never played those.… Expand
  79. Lobby
    Feb 2, 2013
    8
    If you liked Gothic series this is must have title. Nice story, three different sides to join with, where non of them is god or bad. Big live believable world with no loadings. Good RP factor, you can decide how or if you are going to complete quest, sometimes NPC joint to help you with your quest. Nice craftsman skills of creating weapons, jewellery, potions and scripts cooking they areIf you liked Gothic series this is must have title. Nice story, three different sides to join with, where non of them is god or bad. Big live believable world with no loadings. Good RP factor, you can decide how or if you are going to complete quest, sometimes NPC joint to help you with your quest. Nice craftsman skills of creating weapons, jewellery, potions and scripts cooking they are not so deep as in MMO games, but they are decent and make game more complex. The only problem is combat system enemies seams to be stronger than you and seams to be unfairly advanced in combat (quicker attack and block). Also I am not big fan of combat systems that are not purely states based in RPG.… Expand
  80. 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
  81. DrBrogbo
    Dec 6, 2012
    4
    The game world is richly detailed, expansive, and full of life. The graphics are pretty good (for the year it was made anyway), music and sound are well-done, and the voice acting is good too. It's a shame then that the combat is so insanely, brutally punishing as to prevent you from enjoying it. The combat may get better as the game goes on, but the 5 or so hours of this game that I couldThe game world is richly detailed, expansive, and full of life. The graphics are pretty good (for the year it was made anyway), music and sound are well-done, and the voice acting is good too. It's a shame then that the combat is so insanely, brutally punishing as to prevent you from enjoying it. The combat may get better as the game goes on, but the 5 or so hours of this game that I could stomach saw the combat devolving into nothing more than holding down block until the enemy attacks twice, then attacking 2-3 times rapidly before blocking again. It was idiotic. Couple that with how it is entirely impossible to kite one enemy away from a large group, causing you to get swarmed by 5 enemies at once, and you had better get familiar with the load game screen. This is not fun. Everything seemed so interesting that it was really a shame it was kept out of reach. It's like when you were a child, and older kids would hold things in the air out of your reach and taunt you. Eventually you learn to punch them in the stomach, and go do something else.… Expand
  82. hfffoman
    Jul 5, 2012
    9
    A beautifully atmospheric game. Just try the demo and you will buy it straight away. The dialogue and acting are brilliant. You feel like you are dealing with real people. The ending is a terrible letdown but in every other way it was worth 10.
  83. loungegecko
    Jun 3, 2012
    4
    Probably the most linear RPG I've ever played. Crappy voice acting and the backing noise track doesn't fit the game at all. Combat is boring (and once again) linear. I already said this, but I'll say it again: crappy voice acting. At first I was actually laughing at how bad it was until I just stopped playing. Combat is just click-click-other click (hit-hit-parry) style. Third person withProbably the most linear RPG I've ever played. Crappy voice acting and the backing noise track doesn't fit the game at all. Combat is boring (and once again) linear. I already said this, but I'll say it again: crappy voice acting. At first I was actually laughing at how bad it was until I just stopped playing. Combat is just click-click-other click (hit-hit-parry) style. Third person with no option to go into first is obnoxious. Controls are absolutely horrid, and made me change the layout immediately. Good modeling and design is probably this game's only redeeming factor.… Expand
  84. 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
  85. 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
  86. renejr902
    Apr 30, 2012
    10
    Risen 1 is the best RPG i have played in my life. ( except some japanese rpg)
    Its really better than skyrim, even witcher 2 that i love, dragon age...
    BECAUSE the STORY, the characters, the quests, the items, magic, the worlds, the difficulty in battle, ARE AT THEIR BEST !!! no game can beat that. Risen 1 is a game like no other. its the only game that i feel im really living in    Risen 1 is the best RPG i have played in my life. ( except some japanese rpg)
    Its really better than skyrim, even witcher 2 that i love, dragon age...

    BECAUSE the STORY, the characters, the quests, the items, magic, the worlds, the difficulty in battle, ARE AT THEIR BEST !!! no game can beat that. Risen 1 is a game like no other.

    its the only game that i feel im really living in that world. i played 30 hours without sleep the first time i played. Try it for yourself, its really better than any other rpg if you have patience.

    i played both the PC and xbox 360 version. the xbox 360 version is not beautiful VS PC, but its still the same game. RISEN 1 is the best !    … Expand
  87. Nichtswisser
    Apr 24, 2012
    8
    A very enjoyable game until the last act. Far too many lizard people in far to similar dungeons and a very low quest density make the end a lot less enjoyable than the rest of the game. It still gets an 8, a very low 8 at that, from me because I had a good deal of fun with it.
  88. Levardos
    Apr 19, 2012
    8
    For me this game is a solid 8. It has decent graphics, quite innovative attempt as for fighting and pretty looking open world which is neither too huge nor too small. We start off on the beach, after surviving a shipwreck, in an unknown island. Then we learn about the island and it's problems, and we get pulled into the story... Which is, I must say, so-so. There are too many similaritiesFor me this game is a solid 8. It has decent graphics, quite innovative attempt as for fighting and pretty looking open world which is neither too huge nor too small. We start off on the beach, after surviving a shipwreck, in an unknown island. Then we learn about the island and it's problems, and we get pulled into the story... Which is, I must say, so-so. There are too many similarities to Gothic series in the story, so it was a little bother to me. For someone who didn't play Gothic, it shouldn't really be a problem. As I said, the story is linear but we get the possibility to join one of two factions. We don't create our character, and neither we choose it's class. But it's up to us how do we want to develop skill-wise. With each level we earn skill points which we are able to exchange for strength, dexterity or other useful skills like brewing potions or smithing. Overall, it's really a game one can enjoy. Mostly for the gameplay. Side quests aren't really anything special, and main story line isn't all that fun, but it could be worse. I really think the gameplay makes up for it. As I said, fighting is really fun. It's partially about tactics, but mostly about our reflex, dodging and attacking at the right time... The more we boost up one fighting style the more various things we are able to do, like parrying an attack, then doing a counter attack.. or combos. We can play as a mage too, obviously. Overall, I think it's really a good solid RPG. It's all that Gothic 3 should be but wasn't. The game seemed a bit short in my opinion though. Doing everything what was possible, including killing almost every single evil creature on the island, it took me 25 hours to finish the game. Oh, and I won't spoil but the last boss fight should have been better. As for difficulty, I think it's just right. It may seem a bit difficult for some people, but mostly because most of the new games are terribly easy. Pros: -Innovative fighting. -Nice open world. -Decent graphics. Cons: -Story could be better. -Too many things seemed like in Gothic series... I could give many examples but I'll just throw one. A port city to which ships aren't able to come right now. This alone made me think "Again?".… Expand
  89. Awesomebutton
    Mar 21, 2012
    10
    Risen is one of the best RPGs ever. Its behind Gothic 2, because it is shorter an with less choices and dialog and the end boss is just not right for the game. But the combat is amazing, the world is beautiful as always with PB games. Their games are extremely involving and engaging and has a unique atmosphere. Piranha Bytes are the real kings of RPG games. Hope Risen 2 will be as good asRisen is one of the best RPGs ever. Its behind Gothic 2, because it is shorter an with less choices and dialog and the end boss is just not right for the game. But the combat is amazing, the world is beautiful as always with PB games. Their games are extremely involving and engaging and has a unique atmosphere. Piranha Bytes are the real kings of RPG games. Hope Risen 2 will be as good as Risen, that would give me a new chance to keep up playing games. I am extremely disappointed about games like Skyrim, Dragon Age 2 etc.. They made me thinking about quit playing games for ever. Sorry for my bad english, Im a north with an arrow to my knee..… Expand
  90. Horrux
    Mar 13, 2012
    5
    Dialogs are delivered in a monotone. Quests are obviously filler quests that are meaningless, at least at first, letting you see that you're up for a grind. Combat is fraught with false difficulty, meaning it's a kind of randomness instead of there being something you can do about it, like get better at controlling your chararcter, or upgrading your stats. The graphics are good, though.Dialogs are delivered in a monotone. Quests are obviously filler quests that are meaningless, at least at first, letting you see that you're up for a grind. Combat is fraught with false difficulty, meaning it's a kind of randomness instead of there being something you can do about it, like get better at controlling your chararcter, or upgrading your stats. The graphics are good, though. Overall, it's a pretty frustrating RPG.… Expand
  91. BigOn85
    Mar 11, 2012
    8
    Risen is a good production, although it still needs a number of cuts. If you are fans, or just love the Gothic series, this work also fall in love with you. Additionally, if you plan to test the Risen 2, it is useful to first reach for the first part, because I secretly believe that it will close follow-up adventures. I leave you, you may miss the chance to buy this game and remember ...Risen is a good production, although it still needs a number of cuts. If you are fans, or just love the Gothic series, this work also fall in love with you. Additionally, if you plan to test the Risen 2, it is useful to first reach for the first part, because I secretly believe that it will close follow-up adventures. I leave you, you may miss the chance to buy this game and remember ... Do not let the counter bison!… Expand
  92. wowtgp
    Mar 7, 2012
    9
    a must play game for those who love rpgs.this game is fantastic.once you get into the game you will start to understand how deep and big this game is.there are some peoples and animals with whom you cant fight until you level up your skills.i played and finished this game after almost sixty hours.there are a lot of things to explore and loot.you need to make wise decision about what sidea must play game for those who love rpgs.this game is fantastic.once you get into the game you will start to understand how deep and big this game is.there are some peoples and animals with whom you cant fight until you level up your skills.i played and finished this game after almost sixty hours.there are a lot of things to explore and loot.you need to make wise decision about what side you want to be with(don or inquisitor).i chose to be with don.ifv you havent played it yet then play it.… Expand
  93. Dziver
    Mar 5, 2012
    9
    Great game but takes around 10-15 hours to really get into if you don't already know what you're doing. You might be a bit disappointed at first but if you're willing to give it a chance and you will surely like it.
  94. ZOMBIEWINEGUM
    Jan 22, 2012
    9
    When I first saw this game I had no idea how good it was going to be. I will start with the graphics. The graphics are the only thing that make me give this game a 9 rather than a 10. The character models and building have a polygon count a bit on the lower side. The aesthetics on the other hand make this the nicest looking game I have seen for a long time the use of depth of field is justWhen I first saw this game I had no idea how good it was going to be. I will start with the graphics. The graphics are the only thing that make me give this game a 9 rather than a 10. The character models and building have a polygon count a bit on the lower side. The aesthetics on the other hand make this the nicest looking game I have seen for a long time the use of depth of field is just astonishing. The gameplay can only be describes as classic RPG. It looks, feels and plays like a high quality RPG. In my personal opinion this is better than skyrim.… Expand
  95. roboticsun
    Oct 14, 2011
    8
    Risen is said to be the successor of the gothic series. I used to try playing gothic 1and 2 but never get into them, because of their weird interface and controls. but I actually liked Risen. the interface is intuitive and easy to handle. the controls are better than gothic games. you just use left mouse button to attack, right button to block and space to jump which makes it quite easy toRisen is said to be the successor of the gothic series. I used to try playing gothic 1and 2 but never get into them, because of their weird interface and controls. but I actually liked Risen. the interface is intuitive and easy to handle. the controls are better than gothic games. you just use left mouse button to attack, right button to block and space to jump which makes it quite easy to get into battle and of course this game is hard, so at lower level, you'd better not get involved with some high level monsters or persons. In this game you have to learn skills from certain NPCs and they will charge you gold for that which is quite realistic. I suggest start with talking to various NPCs and get some easy fetch quests first. The exploration in this game is fun and level design is well-done though the characters' animations are very awkward. story wise it's not impressive however this game has several factions, when you joined one, the quests from other factions will be locked so there are some replay values here. overall if you want to find some realistic open-world RPGs, Risen is a good start but just keep in mind the world in Risen is dangerous even at the beginning if you used to a easy run like in oblivion you will be pissed :).… Expand
  96. mrrgl
    Sep 25, 2011
    8
    A fun little adventure, appropriately challenging combat, an initially engaging plot. Very rough around the edges upon closer inspection but not in a game-breaking manner. Ultimately what this game lacked entirely was character. No goofy cast of recurring characters like in the Gothic series. Just a series of faceless plot devices. An amusing game that is great need of some goodA fun little adventure, appropriately challenging combat, an initially engaging plot. Very rough around the edges upon closer inspection but not in a game-breaking manner. Ultimately what this game lacked entirely was character. No goofy cast of recurring characters like in the Gothic series. Just a series of faceless plot devices. An amusing game that is great need of some good storytelling, humor, drama, tragedy, something. Nevertheless, Risen is a rich game that is fun to play from beginning to end which is more than I can say for most games.… Expand
  97. 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.
  98. laxleonidas
    Sep 16, 2011
    5
    Come on! I don't know how RPG's like ,,Risen" can still exists in this generation. Age of games like ,,Gothic" is ended. I don't like games that shows everythings in the start and then, there's nothing what can surprised.
  99. Spartan111
    Aug 22, 2011
    5
    I only played an hour of this game but that was all that was needed to totally bore me. First of all the graphics are mediocre, oblivion looks better and it's 3 years older, the music is great... if you want to fall asleep and i read that the voice acting was supposed to be great, it's not, it's actually the opposite (piss poor ) there voices are all expressionless. The actual presentationI only played an hour of this game but that was all that was needed to totally bore me. First of all the graphics are mediocre, oblivion looks better and it's 3 years older, the music is great... if you want to fall asleep and i read that the voice acting was supposed to be great, it's not, it's actually the opposite (piss poor ) there voices are all expressionless. The actual presentation could have been so much better the dialogue is in a boring font and the dialogue options are very plainly done. The world itself may be big but it is also dull, lifeless and just to damn plain . Many people complain about the combat being very hard, how is simply clicking for attacks and holding in for block difficult it's just about timing although it feels as though the enemies attack at random which might make it feel hard, there is not much technique involved and ends up being more shallow than Fable's combat. I don't know much about the story at all but the intro did nothing for me and basically just showed how the main character got stranded. I applaud this game for trying to be a hardcore RPG which it does some what succeed with but overall it falls flat and if you've played oblivion or mass effect than this game will just be plain boring. 5/10. Waste of time.… Expand
  100. desik
    Aug 5, 2011
    10
    Best RPG since it's release so far. Piranha Bytes keeps my hopes alive that RPG genre didn't died out yet. And the graphich is really amazing for a 2009 game. Managed to get 30 FPS medium, 1024*768, Radeon 5750.
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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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