Just started playing

So I've gotten around to playing Risen and I just can't seem to get into it very much. Does it get better, am I missing something?

Any feedback to get me to play it a bit more ….

Are you a fan of the Gothic games? Risen 1 is the Risen game that is most like Gothic. It has a very good melee combat system, is very challenging, and has a good degree of exploration. It also has a great soundtrack from the same guy who did the music for Gothic 1-3.

If you don't like it, there might simply be something wrong with you.

I think the combat is inferior to Gothic 1 and 2 and is mostly about clicking at the right times like a QTE.
Never really played it really far into it though.

The combat is definitely nothing like a QTE. In fact, it might be the best melee combat in a Piranha Bytes game.

These games are largely about the world and tremendous atmosphere - which I think PB excel at creating.

I also think the (melee) combat system was excellent, though the actual encounter design grows stale after the first half of the game. There's simply not enough variety there.

But, I think the game is very good overall - and is only really let down by the last third of the game which isn't at the same level as the fantastic beginning and middle parts.

Generally, I'd say get better at combat, complete the bandit camp in the swamp and then go to Harbor Town when the quests lead you there. If it hasn't picked up by then, it probably never will.

Thanks everyone…I will stick with it..

The combat gets more complex when you spend some skill points on it. In the beginning you can only fight like that dude with a big stick. A couple of skill points, a better sword and an armour make a huge difference. Take the visual feedback seriously - don't attack somebody early on who looks like Conan the Barbarian and carries a broadsword.
The beginning is a bit slow. You should talk to every named NPC, collect a gazillion quests and start doing them. At that point you should see more action. Save in several different slots - PB games usually have a couple of decisions which are final.
Explore a lot. If you find enemies you can't beat, which will happen quite often, just run away.
Generally speaking keep your options open.

Stick with it, Celtic, but keep in mind that it's not ever going to turn into some action-packed, intense adventure, so to speak. The first Risen game is more like a laid-back stroll through a lovingly created world, rather than a hectic race to the finish. You should try to smell the roses a bit with a game like this, much like the first 2 Gothic games. If you give it some patience, it will reward you very nicely with some beautiful game mechanics and top-notch open-world design.

After a little more play last night and reading your guys post here I figured something out.
I had started Risen right around the time I gave Skyrim a forth chance. Over my holidays at Christmas I put about 150 hours into Skyrim. So when I started back up with Risen last week the combat through me a bit. I guess I was just use to a walking around with a two hand weapon killing everything in my way without any thought.
I think I am just going to restarted Risen today as I am not that far into it and give it a real go.

Any pointers on combat???

Combat is tricky. Try to focus on one enemy if you encounter them in packs. Make sure not to let enemies get behind you if you can help it. And if you think someone or something is tough, don't even try it. At least save first and you should be fine.

That's some of the top-notch open-world design I'm talking about. You can actually find tough enemies right from the start. Love that about the first Risen and first 2 Gothic games.

Well, do I even post this, sure why not.

Well I knew from reading that the combat was hard. But I have played my share of games over the last 30 years. So I couldn't figure out why this combat was so hard, I mean dying every battle almost.

Well I have no clue what I did when installing the game but I didn't have my shield option working. I could see a shield in my hands but could block with it. Anyways combat is still hard but a bit easier now that I can block attacks.

Risen is more challenging than the average modern RPG. I'd say the normal difficulty is equal to the hard setting in most other games. I played on hard which is close to Gothic 2 + NotR difficulty-wise.

Originally Posted by CelticFrost
Well, do I even post this, sure why not.

Well I knew from reading that the combat was hard. But I have played my share of games over the last 30 years. So I couldn't figure out why this combat was so hard, I mean dying every battle almost.

Well I have no clue what I did when installing the game but I didn't have my shield option working. I could see a shield in my hands but could block with it. Anyways combat is still hard but a bit easier now that I can block attacks.

There is a "cheesy" way to win almost every fight:
- Get axe level 2 for power attack (a ring of +1 axe will do, and one is found in the bandit camp).
- Increase Strength to 30+ and buy a good axe from the blacksmith in the bandit camp.
- User power attack by holding down left mouse button. Jump back twice by tapping backwards. Use power attack again. Repeat. Sometimes you need to jump back once, sometimes three times, but it's mostly two times.

This will get you through the majority of the game. Later on, at axe level 5 or 6, you can use shield + axe, which will get you through the rest of the game (when combiend with the power attack tactic).

Well I restarted it last night, I wasn't past the Bandit camp. I figured I had made so many mistakes in the beginning and missed a bunch of stuff. Much easier now that I got my feet wet playing it.

Thanks for all the advise, it is a very enjoyable game now that I have worked out all the things I was doing wrong.

Yes, dodging attacks per Maylander's advice makes seemingly impossible situations doable. Unlike Skyrim, you can't just stand there and get hit most of the time.

Well, I was done in the swamp last night which I enjoyed very much(Quest from the Don now). There just seems to be something soothing in the way the game has played so far. I started to head out to Harbor Town and the world sure does seem to open up now.

Hard to believe this one has been sitting on my hard drive for awhile.

It's a great game, Celtic. I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Not everyone has enjoyed that one, unfortunately. I know you "get it", so you're cool with me. Haha.

Yeah, Risen is generally underrated imo, but I also think that about the entire series.

@Fluent - What's your new avatar pic? It's kind of hard to make out.

Agreed about the series being underrated. Risen 2 was great, too.

The avatar pic is from Konung 2.

It's another gem that's unheard of/underrated. It's a bit slower-paced, but a fine RPG with some good ideas. I wrote an article here about it last year.