Gothic - Series 75% Off on Steam

I played Gothic 2 and liked it quite a bit but it was a ROUGH start. I think I had to shove the difficulty all the way down to easy and start again before I had fun - but then it was good fun.

Gothic 3… well, I liked it more than most when it came out but not enough to finish it. I haven't gone back to try it again with community patches but, really, there's just too much good stuff showing up to go back.

Originally Posted by Ovenall
This is probably the only place online where PB games are revered. I guess you guys have the "everyone else is crazy!" defense. Pretty much everyone disagrees and finds these games to be… sub-par.

You are frankly delusional. The Gothic games actually have widespread acclaim across a wide number of communities.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/gothic-ii

http://www.pcgamer.com/best-rpgs-of-all-time/2/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/39510

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201…retrospective/ (read the comments)

http://au.ign.com/articles/2003/11/1…-review?page=3 (Original release review prior to patches/night of the raven)

Originally Posted by Ovenall
Eh, Steam reviews are from people who put money into the game… In other words, fans, fan-boys and people who decided it was good enough to buy from the start.
…

That can be said about any set of user reviews?

pibbur who likes a lot of things, G1 and G2 included, but may be less critical than he should.

Originally Posted by bjon045
You are frankly delusional. The Gothic games actually have widespread acclaim across a wide number of communities.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/gothic-ii

http://www.pcgamer.com/best-rpgs-of-all-time/2/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/39510

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201…retrospective/ (read the comments)

http://au.ign.com/articles/2003/11/1…-review?page=3 (Original release review prior to patches/night of the raven)

Yep. Both Gothic 1 and 2 has a higher user score on metacritic than Divinity: Original Sin 2, Skyrim, Fallout 4 and so on and so forth. They are widely considered excellent. Only a few RPG's, like Baldur's Gate 2, have a higher overall rating.

Originally Posted by Zloth
I played Gothic 2 and liked it quite a bit but it was a ROUGH start. I think I had to shove the difficulty all the way down to easy and start again before I had fun - but then it was good fun.

Gothic 3… well, I liked it more than most when it came out but not enough to finish it. I haven't gone back to try it again with community patches but, really, there's just too much good stuff showing up to go back.

I don't remember gii having difficulty settings…

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Pladio
I don't remember gii having difficulty settings…

Indeed it does not. The only way to "adjust" difficulty in G2 is to play vanilla instead of Night of the Raven, as the latter is much more difficult (and a more complete game due to how good the expansion is).

I just finished re-playing Gothic 2 NotR last night. What an awesome game!!
I really don't understand the negative comments I've seen here. The combat is not the greatest, yet it's quite easy to master - and when you do, you can actually rely on you skill to defeat tougher enemies, not just stats. Speaking of stats, you actually feel every increase in stats, the sense of progression is acute and gratifying. The exploration is great… I enjoy it way more then in Skyrim (which i also love) for instance. Khorinis feels quite alive, and the list of positives can continue.
Sure, there are things I can criticize … but nothing that can stop me from enjoying such a great game.

Originally Posted by Odrid
I just finished re-playing Gothic 2 NotR last night. What an awesome game!!
I really don't understand the negative comments I've seen here. The combat is not the greatest, yet it's quite easy to master - and when you do, you can actually rely on you skill to defeat tougher enemies, not just stats. Speaking of stats, you actually feel every increase in stats, the sense of progression is acute and gratifying. The exploration is great… I enjoy it way more then in Skyrim (which i also love) for instance. Khorinis feels quite alive, and the list of positives can continue.
Sure, there are things I can criticize … but nothing that can stop me from enjoying such a great game.

Couldn't agree more with this. The exploration is also gratifying when you can finally survive in certain areas where tougher monsters exist (and they exist there since the start of the game in some spots, not artificially inserted based on your level.) Before someone mentions that the game does have spawns, it's only between chapters, not random spawns as you move about the terrain. And some monsters are always there from level 1, whether it's the Fire Lizards down near the coast, Shadowbeasts in the forest or caves, a wolf who can eat you alive in the forest near the Old Camp, etc.. This design makes the world feel real, consistent and handcrafted. And it also makes the lore of the game impacting. When the hunters near that forest tell you not to go in, it's dangerous and you'll die without armor - they mean it.

Great stuff.

I was never as fond of Gothic three as I was of the second, and I doubt that will ever change. However, that is a comparison between two of the greatest games of all time, Gothic three would smash most other games into oblivion in a true heads-up match. Great games, all!

Originally Posted by JDR13
That may be true, but it's a very small investment for a very gratifying game.

I'd bet quite a few people also passed on System Shock back in the day because of the unorthodox control scheme.

I can't get into System Shock either. Its too much of a shooter - and now its too much of an old shooter.

--

I think for forums we were about the loudest for Gothic than anybody because of the strong Euro bias we had on the Dot.

There's some sensibility about some games like this and Witcher I don't get.

But think of the sales they missed out on if they had just made the controls something people were more used to.

I gave up on gothic 1 after a few hours because of the controls.

I quite enjoyed 2 though and 3 after the community patch.

When I first played Gothic 1 I mapped the controls to a gaming mouse. It worked very well. Later when I moved to the Steam Controller I play all my games now with it, and it also works well after setting up a proper profile. So I never really experienced the original controls much. But I have to say, @sakichop, you have no problem adapting to Dark Souls controls, yet Gothic is just too much effort? You can probably speed run DS without taking a single hit at this point!

If anyone's planning a G2 NotR play through, I made a post on this page that has step by step instructions on how to install a graphics upgrade mod.

Gothic 1 and 2 are two of my all time favorite CRPGs. They are the classic style where the game world is very hard at the start but you become a force to be reckoned with by the last 1/3 of the game which makes character progression very satisfying. These games are older now, but still hold up pretty well. When G1 first released way back in the early 2000s, I disliked the UI so much I didn't play the game. Years later, I came back to it, learned the UI, and really enjoyed the game… it changed me for the better in that I'm far more likely to give a game a chance even when I dislike the UI. Turns out that the UI in G1 (and G2), though not conforming to standard UI implementations, is actually quite efficient.

Originally Posted by Fluent
When I first played Gothic 1 I mapped the controls to a gaming mouse. It worked very well. Later when I moved to the Steam Controller I play all my games now with it, and it also works well after setting up a proper profile. So I never really experienced the original controls much. But I have to say, @sakichop, you have no problem adapting to Dark Souls controls, yet Gothic is just too much effort? You can probably speed run DS without taking a single hit at this point!

I played gothic 1 15 yrs or so ago. At that time I didn’t have a gaming keyboard and mouse with 13 buttons that can be totally remapped with 3rd party software.

I may have to revisit it and see if it’s tolerable for me now. Plus I was much less patient when I was younger.

Originally Posted by Pladio
I don't remember gii having difficulty settings…

Definitely did when I played it. I remember joking about how the German was mistranslated when they did the difficulty screen.

Originally Posted by TheMadGamer
If anyone's planning a G2 NotR play through, I made a post on this page that has step by step instructions on how to install a graphics upgrade mod.

The D3D11 graphics mod is pretty great, I recommend it. I have videos of it on my channel for anyone interested in seeing it.

Originally Posted by sakichop
I played gothic 1 15 yrs or so ago. At that time I didn’t have a gaming keyboard and mouse with 13 buttons that can be totally remapped with 3rd party software.

I may have to revisit it and see if it’s tolerable for me now. Plus I was much less patient when I was younger.

True. If you aren't spoiled by DS (G is slower, clunkier, etc.) you might enjoy it. I finished G1 + G2 not too long ago and they make me wish modern RPG devs studied them more. Great games full of really good ideas.

Originally Posted by Zloth
Definitely did when I played it. I remember joking about how the German was mistranslated when they did the difficulty screen.

You must be thinking of Gothic 3. Neither of the first two games had difficulty settings.

I think Fluent should break out the ban stick for anyone who dares criticize the Gothics. Shame. SHAME!!! But seriously while I can see folks being frustrated by how cruel the difficulty is I'm surprised there weren't sucked in by the atmosphere and endured. That was pretty much my experience with G2 which I played first. After wanting to smash my laptop and burst into tears like a little girl I settled in and started carving my way through bit by bit until I reached God Mode. By the end I was in love and back in man pants. True these games aren't perfect and neither is PB. I'll take Gothic 3 unpatched any day over Elex. Any. Day.

I fired up G1 a few days ago and again last night. Sure the controls are different but there's a certain logic to them and they aren't that difficult to get used to.

That said I think my main problem picking it up again now is I don't know what to do. I didn't enjoy the first 4 level enough to really want to go back and do them again.

I've been to all three camps, the mine, explored a lot of the map - except past the gate to the Orcs. Haven't managed to join any group yet. If I recall in the new camp I have to beat some guy up and in the old camp I have to win an arena fight… Both of which seem beyond my skills at the moment. Wandering the map grinding to level up is kind of boring.

What am I doing wrong?

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
I think Fluent should break out the ban stick for anyone who dares criticize the Gothics. Shame. SHAME!!! But seriously while I can see folks being frustrated by how cruel the difficulty is I'm surprised there weren't sucked in by the atmosphere and endured. That was pretty much my experience with G2 which I played first. After wanting to smash my laptop and burst into tears like a little girl I settled in and started carving my way through bit by bit until I reached God Mode. By the end I was in love and back in man pants. True these games aren't perfect and neither is PB. I'll take Gothic 3 unpatched any day over Elex. Any. Day.

I'll never understand why people think PB's games are hard though. I guess I got lucky because G1 & 2 were easy to me. And I even borked my Mage build tremendously. But then again I get crazy deep into games which is probably why I don't find them hard. Most people probably on Facebook while playing or sumn.