The written reports, summarised at WoR:
Disascho
-Risen 3 is more like Risen 2 and not so much back to the roots: menus, skill system, attributes, items and abilities are just like in Risen 2 with the addition of crossbows, swords, magic + old stuff like pistols;
-The player didn't find any Voodoo magic
-Fighting system is mostly like in Risen 2 -- charged up strikes make the hero's hands glow -- combat feels floaty
Antiklimax
-Polished aspect, you only rarely find LOD popping up out of nowhere
-Magic animations are well-made
-NPC animations are a bit less ostentatious than in Risen 2
-Character models are a bit more fine-tuned
-You can block monsters; you have to use good timing in combat; slow-motion animations following combos (I guess like Skyrim kill cams?) but they're not over the top
-The world feels like a mix between Gothic 2 and Risen 1; you can swim and the character is pushed up by waves etc
-Gnomes are to be found in the game
-You can loot fallen enemies
-Interesting background stories for NPCs
Kaesetoast
-Combat is like in Arcania (avoiding hits, rolling around, etc), only slightly better than in Risen 2
-A lot of enemies are back from Risen 2
-Dragon snappers - but they're not like in Gothic 2, visually speaking
-Lizards and alligators follow you through water
-Spell scrolls and magic gloves with crystals embedded in them, which allow for short range (e.g fire explosion) and long range (e.g fireball) attacks, also lightning spells but nothing too impressive or innovative
-Exploration is somewhat limited, side-paths are short
-Attacking people doing certain animations doesn't work -- your hits go through them
-The "soul" system is basically just a good/evil system
-Gnomes work as miners for the mages
-A fleet of "ghost ships" which will be relevant for the story
Eldred's already done his share ;P
Tim Anderson
-Overall positive impression
-Return of the three-guild system, guild specific quests
-Tense atmosphere, a subtle menacing feeling throughout the game
-You start out with 50 (i.e neutral) "soul value"
-Magic works without mana -- instead, it has a cooldown system (probably like shouts in Skyrim), and we have runes again
-The island is full of dangers (i.e Leviathans)
