Risen takes the best elements of the Gothic trilogy and combines them in one harmonious whole.
SETTING, STORY AND EXPLORATION:
The game starts off in a rather cliched way: you're a stow-away on an Inquisition boat, which gets hit by a massive storm. The boat is utterly destroyed, and you wake up on a beach, with nothing but the rags on your back. After this intro, it's up to you where to go and what to do. Though it's worth mentioning that the area near the beach is rather gentle on the player, allowing him to get familiar with the game.
This island you've just shipwrecked on is a colorful and interesting place. There are three major settlements (as well as a few smaller ones, plus plenty of wilderness, caves, old mines, and ruins) and two major factions battling for control (The Don and his men, and the Inquisition). The story is very run-of-the-mill stuff, but it's the details that make the difference, specially when it comes to portraying the daily struggles of the island's inhabitants. Indeed, interacting with NPCs is surprisingly compelling, in a nice understated way. NPCs feel deep without ever needing to blurt out their life's story at the first question asked. Their reactions to the overall state of affairs, as well as events immediately affecting them, are very plausible, real even.
Piranha Bytes also shows remarkable subtlety in the way the two factions are portrayed. PB left things vague (which I imagine was deliberate), instead letting the player form an opinion based on the perspectives of NPCs, which almost always exhibit bias towards one or the other. So the choice of faction is kind of difficult. What's more, there's really no absolutely right or absolutely wrong, both factions make genuinely valid arguments when explaining their actions, which makes choosing between them that much harder. Lastly, the faction quests are simply brilliant, all allowing different approaches and multiple endings (depending on the faction you wish to side with). PB really hit a home run with NPCs and factions this time. This is also why the last part of the game feels disappointing, because you just don't get to interact much with NPCs at that point. Plus there's too much combat in linear and semi-linear dungeons. If only the last chapter was a bit more creative (and open-ended), this would have easily been a 9.0 game.
Exploration is one of the main reasons to try this game out. The gameworld is big and filled with things to do. Like I mentioned in the previous section of this review, interacting with NPCs and factions is one of them. Another is taking advantage of the open-ended structure of the game and exploring every corner of the map in search of interesting places and loot. It's not going to be easy though, as the gameworld isn't level-scaled. But it's worth braving whatever the game throws at you, as rewards tend to be generous.
CHARACTER SYSTEM AND GAMEPLAY:
Building up your character is obviously one of the main reasons to play this game (or any RPG for that matter). And thanks to the very flexible character system this will be quite enjoyable. You'll encounter plenty of hostiles, and the game gives you about five major build types to take them on: an axe-wielding brute, a sword and shield fighter, a bow-wielding hunter, a staff-wielding monk, or a mage. But of course, you can mix characteristics from each of these builds and make your very own build.
Having a job besides the murdering of things presents massive advantages. You can become completely self sufficient this way. For example, you can take your pickaxe and go prospecting for ore and gold. Obviously, you can sell what you find, but it's much better if you combine your find with a bit of skill in smithing, so you can craft weapons, items, and jewelry. Or you can learn the secrets of alchemy, and craft your own potions and spells. Or be a thief and a scavenger by using skills like sneak, pickpocketing, and lock picking. The options are there, and it makes for a varied gaming experience. Besides, you'll need the extra money, since Risen takes the Gothic route to leveling up (paying trainers to train and improve your skills).
If you break it all down, and examine every gameplay element individually, you'll find that they all hold up very well. You could say that after three Gothic games, Piranha Bytes are getting the hang of it. Melee combat works on the same principles as melee in Gothic 1 and 2, but small tweaks make it feel more responsive and engaging. The differences between someone fighting with a sword and shield, and someone fighting with a huge warhammer, are pretty obvious. You can almost feel the weight of the weapon as you swing to strike. Ranged combat also feels good, and is appropriately deadly, and useful I might add. I'd recommend putting a few skill points in bows or crossbows regardless of build. And playing with a mage build involves a little more running around during fights, but it is no way more difficult than a brute fighter, or a hunter. So it's all balanced quite well.
Secondary gameplay elements, like smithing, alchemy, stealing or sneaking are all quite satisfying to use. PB have always kept things as realistic and active as possible, and Risen's no different. For example, when crafting a sword, you need the appropriate smithing skill, raw material (ore, obsidian etc.), then you heat up the material, work it into shape, cool it down, and then sharpen it. So it's an active process, you're not just sitting at a workbench with your greatsword recipe in hand, waiting for the item to appear in the inventory if you pass the skill check.
Lastly, I must mention enemy A.I., which works really well. Enemies will dodge your attacks, gang up on you, try to flank you, sometimes even flee etc. I've only encountered minor pathfinding issues with the big Ashbeast, but otherwise the A.I. is surprisingly good and consistent.
AUDIOVISUAL PRESENTATION AND TECH ISSUES:
Risen is a good looking game, no doubt about it. The environments (both interior and exterior areas) are beautiful and very colorful. The island has this great picturesque quality about it. Catch a sunset in Harbor Town and you'll see what I mean. The only aspect that doesn't quite hold up are the human character models, which are kind of rough looking.
Sound design is excellent through and through. Ambient sounds are varied and fitting, the voice work is generally good (sometimes even excellent, from the likes of actors Lena Headey and John Rhys-Davies), and the music is great (mellow and organic when it comes to exploration, percussive and primal when it's time for combat). So in terms of sound, Risen is a 10+ game.
Lastly, this game is polished. I have had no crashes or bugs whatsoever. None. Nothing. Niente. Also, after Gothic 3 I was very concerned about performance, but Risen not only looks much better than its predecessor, it also runs significantly smoother. The only issue I've heard of is some sort of issue with the fog effect on nVidia hardware, but there's a patch addressing this issue. It's great to see that PB is a learning creature, proving they've learned from past mistakes.
CONCLUSIONS:
Risen takes the best elements of the Gothic trilogy, puts them into a new setting, and combines them in one harmonious whole. It's not the most ambitious of PB's outings, but it's certainly the most polished. And had the last chapter been more interesting, this would have been a 9.0 game easily. So, is Risen worth buying? For RPG fans, most definitely yes!