MerlinPlays has a video explaining why he loves Gothic
Gothic was developed by Piranha Bytes. Despite the company being well know in central and eastern europe, the game is not well know in US/Japan, on this countries is like a hidden gem. That said, what Gothic has special?
A unique setting
Gothic is not only just about good VS evil like most fantasy settings. Is ALSO about Law VS Chaos. On the first game, you are not(at least on beginning) the hero, savior of the world. You are just a guy condemned into a penal colony. The story of the colony is simple. Rare ores was being mined, the king ordered that magicians cast a magical barrier to prevent convicts from escaping and for things that i will not spoil, the magical barrier goes wild, expands and now, people can enter but not leave.
The prisoners rapidly took control over the camps and the magicians who created the barrier got imprisoned on the magical barrier. Then “ore barons” gained power, they negotiate ores that the king needs in exchange for outsider world goods, then basically, tree camps developed. The “old” camp, the more lawful of the camps, the “new” camp, the neutral camp and the “swamp camp”, the more chaotic of the camps. There are good and bad in all camps, and on the beginning, you are just trying to get accepted in a camp and get connections.
Amazing AI
Mainly for the first gothic, in most RPG’s, NPC’s or attack a target or run, on Gothic, the NPC’s only attack a wolf who you lured into a city, if they are stronger than the wolf. Same applies to the PC. If you knock down a enemy, and disarm him, he can change his behavior against the same threat.
NPC’s has day/night circles, followers refuse to accompany you into dangerous places, NPC’s if find a better weapon switch the equipment, they go to tavern, have fun and a routine. NPCs looks like living persons and the game fells like a living breathing world.
Living breathing world
The game has a amazing lore. Involving deities, like Innos(lawful), Beliar(chaotic) and Adanos(neutral), the Sleeper in the first game who is worshiped like a deity has a interesting plot twist. You can do everything, but everything has consequences in the game. Enemies won’t respawn if you don’t pass to another chapter, NPCs can permadie, etc.
There are day/night cicles, you need torch/spells at night, can swim, craft eqquipment and on G3, i had the impression that my Ice Lance freezes the enemy for a long duration in the cold climate than in the desert. I an not sure.
Animals has different behaviors. Some are more “sneak”, some more aggressive, some more defensive.
The magic of the game / progression
Magic on the first game is divided in rune magic and scroll magic. Scrolls are consumables. Runes are permanent. Both costs mana but a rune require that you have mastered the circle. The game has a interesting lore about how Innos gifted fire rune magic to humanity and it allowed civilizations to prosper. Similar to how fire allowed humanity to craft more advanced weaponry and become in the top of the nature.
This magic only changes on Gothic 3 when a dark magician destroyed the rune magic by reasons that i will not spoil, but he has a hidden agenda and as consequences, Orcs easily dominated most human cities. Most humans turned into slaves and few ones, mercenaries serving orcs. People started to research another way to do magic.
But what is interesting on Gothic is that nothing comes for free. You don’t level up and insta get a new skill. For learn how to lockpick, you need to find someone who can teach you it. In order to learn a spell like Ice Lance, you need to find a water magician who knows the spell to teach you and some times persuade then to teach you by doing quests.
