Venetica

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 78 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 78
  3. Negative: 10 out of 78
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  1. NielsvanK.
    Jan 26, 2010
    9
    A very nice German RPG, which feels very fresh and simple, but is eminently addictive and playable. It somehow reminds me a lot of Beyond Good & Evil and Arx Fatalis and just like them won't probably get the attention and sales it deserves. The story is nice and personal, and gradually gets you involved in the greater scheme of things, without giving you the feel to be lost in it. A very nice German RPG, which feels very fresh and simple, but is eminently addictive and playable. It somehow reminds me a lot of Beyond Good & Evil and Arx Fatalis and just like them won't probably get the attention and sales it deserves. The story is nice and personal, and gradually gets you involved in the greater scheme of things, without giving you the feel to be lost in it. The backstory is simple but gripping, no overcontrived lore is needed. The focus stays on a single main character, so no bickering party to (micro)manage, which I think is a breath of relief after recent Bioware games. The environment is great: I've recently been to Venice and it surely nails the atmosphere if not the precise layout. Characters look slightly cartoonesque, which paints their personality in a few broad strokes, but the environments are pretty realistic, and looking out over the sprawling multilayered town in can take your breath away. Fights are very visceral, with action oriented blocking and dodging combined with a melee combo system akin to the Witcher but done more intuitively. Secondary powers and spells are done through a standard action bar. Skill gain is slightly less intuitive, with certain skills/trees locked out until unlocked in the storyline or encountering certain trainers. Skills do make a difference though, unlike the other recent German RPG: Divine Divinity 2: Ego Draconis, where level alone make too big a difference. Here, difficult fights can be brought to a successful end by making good use of your skills. Technically (with the 1.02 patch) the only problem I encountered was not being able to alt-tab, but that problem might be specific to my 3D monitor and driver. I've been playing for about 6 hours, and am halfway to the second of what I suspect will be 5 bosses, so the game will have a good 30+ hours of gameplay. All in all, a great game, and something I heartily recommend to gamers that find a lot of current RPG's take themselves so seriously they forget games are about having fun.… Expand
  2. mechanicarts
    May 26, 2011
    10
    A great game, with an comprehensive story and easy-to-understand mechanics. The game begins fairly simply and the difficulty escalates properly so that new RPG players can understand how it works, and seasoned players can enjoy a simple game. Unlike most new RPG's, this game does not make you upgrade thousand of stats. It's fairly simple, Health, Strength (Melee), Mana, Strength (Magic).A great game, with an comprehensive story and easy-to-understand mechanics. The game begins fairly simply and the difficulty escalates properly so that new RPG players can understand how it works, and seasoned players can enjoy a simple game. Unlike most new RPG's, this game does not make you upgrade thousand of stats. It's fairly simple, Health, Strength (Melee), Mana, Strength (Magic). There is however an abundance of physical and magical skills you can buy or upgrade to, and also a multitude of weapons of 4 different styles (Swords, Spears, Hammers and Axes and Moonblades). The storyline is pretty straightforward, the bosses are as hard as they should be and there are many sidequests to keep one busy.

    All in all, I'd certainly recommend it to an RPG newcomer, or to a WoW dropout.    … Expand
  3. uk_john
    Jun 11, 2011
    8
    It reminds me of Beyond Good and Evil in graphics, art style, main character and the whole vibe of the game. Because it's not your normal AD&D elves, wizards and goblins, it makes it all the more refreshing. The graphics are timeless in nature, being of the cartoon variety, but there is good facial animation, especially on the main character, to impart emotion. You do build a rapport withIt reminds me of Beyond Good and Evil in graphics, art style, main character and the whole vibe of the game. Because it's not your normal AD&D elves, wizards and goblins, it makes it all the more refreshing. The graphics are timeless in nature, being of the cartoon variety, but there is good facial animation, especially on the main character, to impart emotion. You do build a rapport with the main character as she goes through her adventure, and this all helps with the immersion.

    Don;t get this expecting an Oblivion, but rather a AA title from Europe that comes to the market from a refreshing new angle. I hope to see this character again in another story, and you cannot say better than that!    … Expand
  4. KacperPL
    Dec 4, 2018
    9
    Well, I really did enjoy to play this game, the world is beautiful, story good and overall I really liked it.
  5. JakeW
    Jan 25, 2010
    9
    I think this game is good... I don't usually play RPG's except for diablo, but this is way different! It has nice graphics and an entertaining story-line.. And Scarlett looks nice.. But install the latest patch, because it tweaks it for the better! Overall a must-try (9/10)
  6. PeterB
    Dec 6, 2009
    9
    Different from the othercRPGs I played. Since I had played everything on the market since 1990 that IS a compliment. Try it for yourselves. You won't regret it.
  7. Larux18
    Feb 18, 2020
    9
    Probably my favourite game that I've played in a long time. From a slightly removed point of view It's a very flawed RPG in the same vein as Risen or the Gothic series is, but I really did love this game. The aesthetic in both the design of the city of Venice and the design of characters has a ton of uniqueness and personality to it, and something about the game kept me playing constantlyProbably my favourite game that I've played in a long time. From a slightly removed point of view It's a very flawed RPG in the same vein as Risen or the Gothic series is, but I really did love this game. The aesthetic in both the design of the city of Venice and the design of characters has a ton of uniqueness and personality to it, and something about the game kept me playing constantly until I finally finished the it. The combat is definitely not great, and the story, while not terrible, and often interesting, is relatively weak compared to other RPGs. Regardless, the quests felt varied and the gameplay felt unique in key moments. Despite my high score for it, I wouldn't recommend it except for hardcore RPG fans who want an incredibly unique experience and are okay dealing with the many flaws this game has.… Expand
  8. Armitas
    Sep 5, 2021
    8
    This is a solid 8 held back to a 7.5 due to 2 universal bugs that cause a crash (they can be avoided without consequence),no great side quests or guild progress, and several broken side quest pointers. The graphics are good enough for the modern age, though the men in this game are horribly ugly. You play a girl but there is nothing woke or man bashing here. The Story is interesting, theThis is a solid 8 held back to a 7.5 due to 2 universal bugs that cause a crash (they can be avoided without consequence),no great side quests or guild progress, and several broken side quest pointers. The graphics are good enough for the modern age, though the men in this game are horribly ugly. You play a girl but there is nothing woke or man bashing here. The Story is interesting, the game is mostly linear in it's progression but does not prevent backtracking, and doing quests whenever you want. There were no interesting quests, but the main story was good. Combat was fun, but spells were a little broken because they get turned off on boss fights (the only spell you need is the green dot one, and the moonblade dot) Overall it was a refreshingly new game, from a new perspective, and at this point is far cheaper than it's value so with a pick up. It doesn't drone on but keeps you at a regular pace without taking you off on long tangents. Go here, go there, do some meaningless things along the way for xp/gold. I never found myself wanting more from the side quest category though, I was happy to continue with the meat of the game and develop along the way.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17
  1. RPG Fan
    Feb 8, 2012
    62
    While Venetica is completely playable, I never would have beaten it without a review assignment. Gamers deserve a little more incentive than the bare pleasure of leveling up and hoarding loot to no real end. Even if that's your only ambition, there are much more attractive and fun venues for it. The developers seem to have infused Venetica with at least a portion of their hearts, and I hate to see passion so wasted. Then again, I could be wrong, and Venetica is the dreary result of pure industry.
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  2. PC Gamer UK
    Feb 24, 2011
    60
    The shallow mechanics and technical problems make this one to avoid at full price. [Mar 2011, p.97]
  3. GameSpot
    Jan 29, 2011
    60
    A strong protagonist and enticing visuals make Venetica worth playing, but problems with the questing and combat drag this role-playing game down.
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