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. JubalH
    Oct 30, 2009
    0
    The game is very good, but the DRM is unacceptable, only 3 activations is an absurd. The support for revalidation at deep silver ignores you. Don't buy and don't loose your money.
  2. Kiblams
    Feb 3, 2011
    4
    This game could have been very enjoyable, thought his is stunted somewhat by the awkwardness of almost every aspect of the game from combat to levelling.

    I am a huge fan of RPG games and after oblivion and Dragon Age this simply does not stand up against modern titles. One thing that I will say for Risen is that the graphics are very pretty indeed, this may be of the only feature of    This game could have been very enjoyable, thought his is stunted somewhat by the awkwardness of almost every aspect of the game from combat to levelling.

    I am a huge fan of RPG games and after oblivion and Dragon Age this simply does not stand up against modern titles.

    One thing that I will say for Risen is that the graphics are very pretty indeed, this may be of the only feature of the game which held my attention for the duration that i played it, more a desire to see more of the lush surroundings than the want to develop my character and see where the story would take me.    … Expand
  3. WadeG
    Oct 8, 2009
    0
    This game was flawed in every way I could think of. The graphics are way too dark. It looks like a PS2 game. Lighting in the environment pops in a random when it feel like working. There is no collision detection on various pieces of the scenery. When swing your weapon at a wall or any object other than an enemy your arms simply go through the walls. The voice acting seems like it was This game was flawed in every way I could think of. The graphics are way too dark. It looks like a PS2 game. Lighting in the environment pops in a random when it feel like working. There is no collision detection on various pieces of the scenery. When swing your weapon at a wall or any object other than an enemy your arms simply go through the walls. The voice acting seems like it was ripped out of Troma movie. The difficulty is set way too high and the controls are horribly laid out. This game makes Two Worlds look like game of the year and thats saying something.… Expand
  4. OveM.
    Jan 26, 2010
    3
    This game could have been so much better. The RPG elements are very well implemented and the fighting is cool. BUT i the quests are almost impossible to do since there is NO quest tracking system. Thats why i uninstalled the game after a while.... i couldn't manage to do the quests... I mostly ran around wondering what to do next.
  5. MillersWeeb
    Nov 16, 2018
    0
    Калька с готики 1, практически полностью копирует старую игру. Квесты в стиле ммо. Неиграбельно.
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. 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.
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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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