Gothic, my sworn arch-enemy in video games. Alright, it's not THAT bad but boy do I have a few bones to pick with the series and the studio in general.
I found out about the series through my best friend raving about it so I had to give it a go and I'm not gonna lie, the games have a lot going for them. The setting, worldbuilding, characters and interacting with them are top-notch. It might be the first 3D world that felt alive on its own rather than something meant exclusively to cater to the player. Unfortunately it matters little in the face of two things that really suck:
1. Gameplay, or more specifically, the combat. Good lord is it bad. I hate how clunky it is with every fiber of my being. I know that your character gets a bit better at swinging weapons after you train with masters but there is no saving it imo. Even at the end of the game I never felt that my character became a swordmaster, I just brute forced my way through the sheer force of my stats.
2. The glitches and crashes. I only ever played the first 3 Gothics so maybe it got better later on but those first 3 games make Bethesda look like a competent studio. Yes, I said that and I meant it. These games are held together by duct tape and clown jizz, even with the hundreds of community-made bugfixes.
There is a lot to like about the series and I wish I could say I love it but to quote AVGN - 'What's the most important thing about a video game? Being able to fucking play it!' And Gothic fails hard in that regard imo.
I have tried one of the Risen games since and it doesn't seem like Piranha improved all that much. Great concept, horrible execution seems to be their motto. I feel like I'd harbor much less animosity toward their games if they were just crap but I so desperately want them to be good and they just aren't.
