INTRODUCTION
RPG's have been very popular since the begining of the videogames industry. In present, they are arguably the most popular genre when it comes to gaming. Great series like The Witcher, Elder Scrolls and Fallout have left a big impact in this genre history. Sadly, no one talks about the "Gothic series" anymore. I believe that the first game is certainly underrated and should be up there when it comes to the Best Role Playing Games of all time. That's why i am going to write about this beautiful game today. If you ever played this game, i am sure that you will follow my post. If not, i hope that you will give it a chance if you are a fan of RPG's.
About the Game
Gothic is a single player RPG developed for Microsoft Windows only by the company named "Piranha Bytes". It was realeased in the year of 2001, first in Germany and after that came the English version. The system requirements are not high at all and it will run on everything.
The Story
Maybe the best part of the game. It was so unique and original at that time and it stays like that to this very day.
You are an unkown prisoner that is about to be thrown in a place called "The Mining Colony". A place where prisoners mined "magic ore" for the king, a powerful metal with magical abilities that increased the abilities of all weapons forged from it. There is a strange thing about this place. The best magicians of the kingdom used their powers to rise a magical barrier to prevent all prisoners from escaping. During this process, something has gone wrong and they became trapped inside their own barrier too. During these seconds of confusion, the prisoners took advantage and they took over the entire Colony by killing the King's troops.
You are thrown into this place and you don't know what to expect on the other side. You were given a letter that must reach the head of the Magicians. You are "welcomed" by some guys by being punched in the face. A strange person comes to help you. He offers you some useful informations and he tells you that you should join his camp. From there on, you don't know what to do further. You don't know your role in this game but for the moment, all you have to do is survive. You have to join one of the 3 camps from this valley and you have to become stronger in order to survive in this harsh environment.
The World
Gothic is an open world game and that's beautiful. You are free to explore almost any place from the very begining, but do you really want to do that with just a rusty sword or pickaxe ? Because monsters don't level with you. You can run into some nasty beasts even at level 1 and you will die in ea heartbeat. The world is not necessary big but it's well done. Every corner of "The Colony" looks different and it's well done. Every place there is unique and that's the beauty of it. I will say that the graphics are decent enough for 2001. Some people will disagree but that's the way it is. The visual effects are great and they surely add to the atmosphere of the game. There is a day and night system and there is also rain in the game. Unfortunately, we won't see snow no matter how much the time advances.
This is a photo from the game, in a place named "The Old Camp". Notice the grim and lifeless aspects of the world and that magical barrier is a thing of beauty. I think that these things make the atmosphere of the game.
The Gameplay
You are playing the whole game with a 3rd person camera. You have the option to switch to first person on some ocassions and to look around closely. The controls are not very complicated at all but you will surely have to learn to fight properly here. You have to be able to time your moves because this is surely not a hack & slash game. You start out swinging a rusty sword like an old lady but after you find some teachers, you will be come an experienced figther and your moves with one handed and two handed weapons will become better. Some players like to take the path of magic. There are some sick magic animations in this game for the year of 2001 and you will surely feel great when you will use some of these magic spells. You are able to interact with many things around you so that brings a little realism to the game.
The Soundtrack
It surely adds to the overall atmosphere of the game. Every song is unique. They are beautiful and creepy at the same time. Some parts are really nice and calm and others are very scary. You will surely feel scared when you spend the night in some cave, not knowing where you are right now. The in game sounds go very well with the songs in the background. In conclusion, one of the best soundtracks ever in RPG's history.
Conclusion
Gothic 1 combines a lot of elements and is surely one of the best RPG's ever. Because it has a great atmosphere and you will get hooked in that world after playing for some hours. Many games have better graphics but they certainly can't achieve the same feeling. It's my favourite RPG of all time and one of my favourite games as well. I will recommend it to anyone that hasn't played it yet. If you are still following this article, i want to thank you very much for reading and i have to ask about your opinion on this game. Cheers guys !