Gothic 2 - Retrospective Review (2023)

[@marekkapusta7825]

The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos is definitely worth looking into. Even though it's "just" a mod, it has a size of a full game. It took me over one hundred hours to finish one playthrough. It is a huge love letter to the first two Gothic games.

[@arkadiuszkrzos2999]

I fully agree - Archolos is amazing. It has the same technical shortcomings of G2, but if you get past that, its an RPG that rivals most modern titles.

[@mrcreavill]

I freaking love original Gothic and its sequel. But I think that Archolos might be even better, especially when approaching in 2023. Highly recommend!

[@luofuchen2747]

Agreed. Acholos is definitely a AAA Rpg running on gothic 2 Engine. Incredible game.

[@widedtho]

Agreed

[@madyshae7890]

I wish it was voice acted

[@Daroo180]

Fun fact - the creators of the Witcher series - Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński (CD PROJEKT RED founders) and many employees, were big fans of gothic, they repeatedly emphasized in various interviews that the Witcher 3 is a game built on the foundations of the first two Gothics themselves - world building, quest arrangement, hero progression. So you can say that Gothic is the grandfather of the Witcher series games :D.

[@justinqualls4964]

That is an awesome fact. It's funny that I remember trying the first gothic right around the same time I played Witcher 3

[@michiganjack1337]

That's wild. I always thought Witcher 1 felt like Gothic oddly enough.

[@lukasmoncek9480]

witcher 2 is very like gothic

[@zahreel3103]

One of the greatest RPGs ever made. I might be biased since I grew up with such games, but Gothic I and II are special titles. The gameplay is not for everybody, but few RPGs have captured me the same way Gothic II did. The sense of progression and exploration in this game are incredible. You start the game feeling like just another insignificant person in this world, and you end up involved in epic fights and feeling like the hero. Thanks for covering this legendary classic. German people sure do know how to make good RPGs. Gothic, Drakensang, and although not a full RPG, Europa 1400 - The Guild are all games I absolutely love.

[@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968]

The Guild was great. I do wish the 2nd game was better. I've not played the 3rd but know it had a lot of issues in pre-release. I've not had a chance to see how it is now it's been released.

[@zahreel3103]

@@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968 I haven't played the latest yet, but reviews aren't encouraging. While the concept is the same, the original game is quite different when compared to the sequels. I didn't hate Guild 2 or Renaissance, but they don't nearly come close to the same level of charm that the Europa 1400 had.

[@vince9260]

The guild 2 was so good, gothic too, diablo, stronghold crusader etc

[@buga125]

I agree with the first sentence, it's truly one of the best out there. But merely a hero? It's more like you start as a literal nobody prisoner and you become the single most powerful being in the game's universe. What's interesting is that playing Gothic I and II, only at the start I felt slightly underleveled. From the first levels, the progression is so smooth (if you play normally, not slaughter everything on the map with a cheap trick), that I've not seen a spike up or down in the difficulty level once. I remember when I was a kid, I went to a dragon way too early by accident and it obliterated me to smithereens in one hit (boy what bullshit I thought that was), but when I go to the dragons in the intended chapter with kinda balanced character, it's a reasonably fair fight. I have to say, even Dark Souls, Sekiro, God of War, Witcher, Skyrim, none of them ever gave me the quality of a progression curve that Gothic has.

[@GeoGyf]

@@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968 You should definitely try the 3rd game, i guarantee its good. i'll talk about its strengths and weakness a bit later. I played Gothic 1, Gothic 2 and Gothic 3 a few years back to back as i never got the chance to play them at release. So i wasnt mired by nostalgia. IMO many Gothic players do a mistake of wanting an ad nauseum repeat which imo isnt a good approach because the games dont evolve with that approach. Anyway to talk about Gothic 3 which greatly expands the scale of the world. You finally explore all those areas talked about in the previous 2 games which is Myrtana, . In Gothic 1 (the Prison) you learn the importance of the magical ore, in Gothic 2 you learn about the gods a bit more (the Paladins of Inos, the invading Orcs, the Blue Mages of Adanos (if you played the DLC Jharkendar) and the spy network of Lares that has ties to Adanos (i generalize a bit too much but you get the gist) and the forces of Belial. Now Gothic 3 has an ingenious trick that was also used in Gothic 2. It uses the NPCs you know as questgivers in various specific areas. And you will see many important ones from Gothic1 and 2. I was impressed most by Lee, i remembering founding lore books in Gothic 1 about his wars, and exploring the areas (Nordmar, Varant) mentioned in the lore book. So essentially Gothic 3 does good on the core values of worldbuilding the Gothic series (similar thing with the Risen series but they are more unpolished games), whether its music, gameplay, progression etc. It changes the Gothic map design formula (because its more open world) which is why some people are bummed about Gothic 3. IMO it would be extremely restrictive if they followed the older formula, Gothic 3 is far too large, they would have to cut it in 5 games to do that. They havent abandoned it (which is a good thing, it shouldnt abandon its original values) but it has evolved as well. IMO Gothic 3 is a good finish to the Gothic series. I can understand why the devs wanted to do other IPs and not follow the Assassin Creed formula and i truly respect them for giving us a meaty game when they could do a half-job because they were pressured. Lastly Gothic 3 probably has the best music in the franchise, there are some themes there which are the best the franchise has to offer (example some are Myrtana Vista Point, Trelis at Night, Varant: Ishtar/Lago, Ruinfields of Sora Mul, the Al-Shedim Dig. The overworld map themes are also great, there are about 6 of them). They are very similar to JRPG music, ie they are both very destinctive and they set the tone of an area. I can foresee Gothic 3 could win GOTY music awards if they existed back then.

[@ockblogt3387]

Gothic 1+2 are my Favorite rpgs of all time. They aged so Well. Many mechanics and Design choices were better than the content in current Games.

[@nocturnaljoe9543]

Agreed.

[@guyincognito959]

The art design and animation are a masterpiece each. That athmosphere is magic.

[@SonicTheFrenchHorn]

Modern game bad

[@guyincognito959]

@@SonicTheFrenchHorn Some are good and better. But too much is standardized. Often modern games try to cater to the mainstream and dumb down so much that it kills all the fun. Games like Gothic were made by enthusiasts. Eg. Witcher 3 has awesome details and design, VO and graphics are outstanding. What kills the mood for me (low-key, it is still a masterpiece) is when I see that the monster has more levels, literally because it has a number next to it, and I don't even have to try to fight it because it is impossible. Also, Gerald has his swords. The need to put in loot-gear to bloat this up is detrimental for a game with a fixed setting, like Witcher. Imo. Skyrim has that problem, the players choice feels irrelevant and you can basically be in all guilds, decide one or two things and in the end it equals just another item that you get or don't. Interaction is still unilateral, you answer and get another wall of text. A lot seems pretty shallow and generic. Still better than whatever they tried to do in oblivion, but not enough quality or flavor for my taste. Dragons feel underwhelming after a few encounters, although those first times are pretty epic, NGL. But all in all the game is very boring and easy without mods. That combat alone...bah! Yep, Gothic was better than many of the modern games, at least in some ways. Some of us care for a little meaning and drama that is remotely believable, and combat that doesn't boil down to simple numbers and checks, not some generic lowbrow writing, so it doesn't overstress the people with smoother brains, and mechanics that would let my dead grandma have success without even trying.

[@notlikethis9932]

The only thing in these gems that really suck - the controls and the control feedback. Horrible - was horrible and still is, BUT those 2 games are real gems and would def. recommend them at any time! :)

[@PatrickZigart]

Gothic is one of my favourite Games Series of all time, thanks for making a video about it! :)

[@パンダの死体]

What I love most about these games is how impactful the faction choice is.. Elder Scrolls etc could never compete

[@fenharel2137]

Lmao how is it impactful, it literally changes a few dialogue options and nobody even cares about your choice except for the first time you speak to a specific NPC, where in Elder Scrolls games you get the respect and get recognized based on who you are from like 3/4 of the game's world

[@4LiveRastaJoy]

No

[@rudolfgernd8760]

Elder Scrolls never intended to compete. The core of Elder Scrolls is freedom. Decision making would limit your freedom.

[@rudolfgernd8760]

@@fenharel2137 Chosing a faction has a huge impact. It restricts access to areas, gear, skills, and quests.

[@fenharel2137]

@@rudolfgernd8760 and how is that a good thing exactly?

[@thegreatmaximilian]

Gothic 2 is my favorite game of all time. I know every detail, every secret and every enemy location on all the playable areas, having finished it a over dozen times. Nowadays I find great joy in breaking the game by overleveling into an unstoppable beast, but back in the day the game was a real challenge for me. Thanks for the nostalgia trip down memory lane, I hope young gamers give this gem of an RPG a chance.

[@MrAnt-hh3bp]

Through some strange twist of fate, I'm the polar opposite of the ordinary experience. The first Elder Scrolls title I've ever heard about and picked up was Skyrim on release in 2011, never played Morrowind or Oblivion until after I finished Skyrim and wanted more. Gothic, however, shaped a big part of my gaming childhood. Back then one of my classmates got hold of a burned copy somehow, I played with Russian voiceover and German subtitles, because my 4th grader brain didn't think to get into the settings and see if I could change them (or maybe it was because of the copy, there was none, I don't remember). It was pivotal for me. I picked up all titles, legally, multiple times actually, because I repurchased it on Steam when it finally released there, so I could have all of the titles in my library to proudly present, somewhere in my parents attic there's probably some old CD's in the original cases from almost 20 years ago. The experiences I had in the first 2 games including NOTR, are burned into my brain like nothing else. Still remember getting ganked by those a**holes outside the old camp, because I was too trusting and wasn't ready for the harshness of the experience to come, lol. Or s**tting my pants encountering that Ork in the Cave near Khorinis, having only leathers and a war scythe equipped. Spending hours with my friends just f*ckign around in Khorinis by spawning in dragons through console command, or defying gravity by T-posing through the air. Good times.

[@patinho5589]

What is NOTR?

[@MrAnt-hh3bp]

@@patinho5589 Night of the Raven, the Gothic 2 expansion

[@patinho5589]

@@MrAnt-hh3bp thank you

[@satans_pet_penguin]

Can't believe it's been 20 years. I have such fond memories of playing this game back when I spent all my time gaming in my parents box room

[@mhjmstultiens]

Such a landmark title and an example how to create an immersive role playing world. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Mort.

[@bobfreedlund2796]

I bought the original Gothic at Best Buy because it had RPG on the box. I was also trying to play Morrowind at the time, and while you could obviously customize your playstyle more, it just didn't give me the fun that Gothic did. I was also amazed that the Gothic programmers were able to do a seamless open world where Morrowind paused to load as you moved from area to area. When I saw Gothic II it was a no-brainer! It is still my personal favorite. Also, I loved it because I was able to totally complete it without any guides or cheats, which was rare for me at the time. When I learned there was an expansion and they eventually made it available in the US, I was even more excited and played the whole thing again and was not disappointed. Two standout highlights for me: 1. Having to return to the original map from the first game after the fall of the shield. It brought back such memories and it was so cool to see what had happened to it after it had been altered by events. 2. The day-night cycle and coming across a group of seekers at night. It totally freaked me out and was to me a great example of the immersive nature you can get in a video game. As you go to Gothic 3, I still have very good memories of that game, especially how absolutely huge it was for its time. It was enormous! But maybe a little too ambitious. But Gothic II still is the best.

[@giehlemanns]

25:24 i love it 😂 you're not a gothic player until you start carefully shimmying towards an enemy that is just a little bit too strong in groups of two

[@jeremyabrahamson2872]

Reality, man!

[@seciak595]

Here in Poland we love Gothic series. It's really classic and nostalgic games for us, and we probably (well in most cases) love Gothic more than, for example Morrowind, which was released in similar time.

[@flonkplonk1649]

Morrowinds mechanics are more complex but it can't hold a candle to the lively, believable world and characters of the Gothic series. It's not near as immersive and atmospheric as Gothic..

[@seciak595]

@@flonkplonk1649 Yeah I remember this like yesterday, first time walking in Old Camp, hearing all those dialogues NPC has, grouping up on campfires at nights etc. It was reallt magic for me then.

[@bulanet271]

I remember playing both morrowind and then gothic 1 around 2002. These were my first open world games and while I was impressed with how big morrowind is, ultimately the rpg aspect and scuffed leveling of bethesda turned me off, while Gothic fixed these issues and offered an experience where you really need to work up the ladder (the food chain). And when you get strong enough to come back and take revenge on the enemies that stood in your way before, that's when you get a huge satisfaction and the world opens up more and more as you get strong enough to explore the more dangerous areas of the map.

[@jaikee9477]

@@flonkplonk1649 Agreed! I love Morrowind but after playing G1/2 for 2 years straight back in the day, Morrowind felt like a dead, uninspired generic world in comparison.

[@AEGISDEFENSE]

@@flonkplonk1649 Dagoth Ur disagrees.

[@charles_carette]

I would add that Kai Rosenkranz's OST was amazing in this game! ❤ ❤ ❤ Thank you for this review 👍 👍 👍

[@theblobconsumes4859]

The Chronicles of Myrtana is an important one to give a review for. Mods that big do deserve their own big reviews, just as Enderal and Tamriel Rebuilt do.

[@MichaelWard-le1ck]

Old comment but Enderal is my favorite game of all time

[@theblobconsumes4859]

​@@MichaelWard-le1ck A very understandable pick indeed. It's far from being my favorite, but I fully understand why it would be someone's favorite. It's really incredible. Btw, have you tried out the gameplay overhauls for it? They do make it a very fresh experience gameplay-wise.

[@fafnyr2537]

I definetly recommend checking out the mods for this title, Archolos and returnings are awesome.

[@krisnatherryano4610]

this game still has one of the coolest armor in RPG games i've ever played, the Heavy Paladin armor in particular looks like one of those armor set you can see in a museum. The merc armor has that fur+plate vibe that i like as well.

[@Darkholow]

Thank you for the review and checking out this series, because it's in my top 3 of all time. Gothic II is truly an underrated masterpiece in my eyes. I have so many fond memories with this game in particular. My favorite faction is Mercenaries (which I played the most) and the whole paladin of Innos questline and finding the hidden sword was an amazing experience and questline.

[@ReaperCH90]

G1 and G2 were so great. Very important games for Germany, a bit like the Witcher series for Poland I say. Especially if you speak German, because the voice actors are so great with a very realistic,, rough language,, very uncommon during this gaming era.

[@cathulionetharn5139]

About night of the raven: part of the dificulty increase is a massive increase of npc stats compared to their equipment Say there is a bandit with a bow, in classic he has 30 dexterity and the bow requires 20 and deals 25 base damage, in notr he has 90 dexterity and the same bow requires 40 dex and deals 40dmg, meaning the equipment you pick up from human enemies is significantly less valuable compared to the strenght of the enemy and often times by the time you can beat an npc (much less have similar stats to him) the weapon is bad. Also they tend to have more stats then they could naturally learn with their level (say bandit with melee weapon is level 30 but strenght + weapon training alone require him to be level 35 or more) One thing I like about the entire series is the game (world, music, graphics, combat, difficulty) progress with the main character -gothic one is dark, dangerous, brown, grey, muted; you start as absolute shit and it takes a long while to get good, it's a closed off world where best gear is owned by established characters, people are rude, self-centered and don't care about you; it takes until end-game for you to start doing things other characters couldn't (sleeper) -gothic two is still dark in places but most areas are lighter, you again start as shit but not absolute shit (now you know not to two-hand a dagger), the world is bigger, more open, more accesible, established characters still have good gear but it gets outclassed by magic ore weapons and swords sprinkled with literal god-tears; significantly quicker then last time you get to a point of dragon-slaying -gothic three is all in epic fantasy, everything is bright, the music reflects it, you start the game rolling into a village, stare down an orc chieftain and immediately it's a fight, your character is kinda weak but compared to armed, armored war veterans and not stick wielding farmers, you can very quickly get better gear, put a few levels into strenght and equip better weapons and BOOM you can do whatever, you are the hero and this is your world to change. Outside nordmar that is And yes I do realize it almost definitely wasn't a conscious decision by the devs

[@Wormopera]

Gothic 3 makes sense tho, since it's a continuation of gothic dude's story and at that point you're supposed to be a hero But the sidequest were soooo repetitive

[@TheUrionak]

@@Wormopera the cities are also isolated bubbles, with very little reason to return somewhere, where youve done all the quests already(with most of them being available the first time you walk in), gothic 3 is obviously an unfinished game released way too early, and even though its enjoyable and has its moments, it still begs the question "what could have been?"

[@Quallenkrauler]

@@Wormopera But that is exactly one of Gothic 3's problem (aside from all the other stuff): The story of the first two games has led you to this point but this time the game doesn't give you an excuse for why you're so weak. Gothic 1: You're a nobody, a common criminal freshly thrown into prison. Gothic 2: You were buried under rocks for weeks, and rescuing you destroyed all your stuff. Gothic 3: Pirates stole your stuff. But how did they steal your strength/dexterity and weapon skills? Did the Nameless Hero forget how to swing a weapon while on the ship? Did all those amazing warriors you took with you not spar with you while journeying to Myrtana? Sure, they added a 0 to all your stats but that doesn't change the fact that you're a starting character in a new game again. All the weapons require at least 100 strength, are we supposed to believe that everbody in Khorinis was ten times weaker than the average person in Myrtana? Of course you can finish the game with those 100 strength but only because the combat system is a mess. No, you're not a hero when you arrive in Myrtana. You're an average dude again, but this time with no plausible explanation.

[@syressx9098]

Thank you so much! Gothic 2 is my favorite game of all time. Even after all this time, I still love coming back to this world. First of all the combat system - I guess it's fair enough to call it a bit clunky but even after all these years it's still my favorite. Being able to go through the whole game with a stick and not putting in any power or dexterity at all - just because of your sense of timing is just a magical feeling of my childhood. I still love climbing from Xaradas Tower to the nearby mountains, where by running up the rocks you can run to the colony and start the game there. More than one orc is lethal, every battle with an orc is on the verge of death by a single hit. Find enough experience and weak enemies in the colony to improve skills, not to mention the difficulty of finding suitable weapons there. We have a youtuber here who has only been going through the first 3 Gothic in different ways for several years. Only magic, only melee, only shooting, do not distribute skill points, do not use armor, do not use scrolls and potions, do not heal throughout the game. No healing throughout the entire trilogy and death throws you off at the beginning of the first part. And a bunch of other trials. The fact that he was successful with all the restrictions was always proof to me of the greatness of the combat system. I truly love the world and the characters in it. It really feels alive. I remember almost all of the Nps exactly and about each one I can briefly tell what their quest was about, what kind of people they are and what their relationships are with the other Nps. While the game wasn't heavy on the lore or history of this world, I never felt lacking in those aspects until they were pointed out to me in the reviews. I would say this is a Stardew Walley effect even before it was a thing. I don't care that much about the history of this world if I want to live in it and have a great time with its inhabitants. You could write a whole ode just about the music. The ambient and soft music is a masterpiece in all 3 parts and I still listen to it for nostalgia or to relax. How I love the progression in this game. The fact that you have to learn from teachers gives the game a realistic feel not to mention another immersion factor in the world. The fact that it gets harder to learn over time is also raelistic and allows you to painlessly master many skills at a bearable level before concentrating on one thing at a time. Min-Maxing just feels amazing in this game. If you understand how the system works, you can squeeze in a lot more money/experience/skills than a beginner. Where in the second Elex the potions just felt like a grind, in Gothic the potions, experience and skill points are limited and each new point felt special and important. I just love the simplicity of the game's formulas. You always deal 5 damage no matter what, which allows you to overpower any opponent if you're stubborn enough. But you can do "real damage" with a chance of wielding your weapon. Which is easy to calculate: your strength or dexterity parameter plus weapon damage. At the beginning of the game it's 10 strength+10 stick damage. From this you must subtract your opponent's armor and don't forget to divide by 10 if the "critical damage" didn't pass. Reaching the city is more than easy to be a level 5 and find a decent sword. Your 20 damage every tenth strike easily turns into 30+30=60 damage every third. It's a Gothic formula that makes you feel like a god at the end of the game. I have so much respect for the creators of Gothic I'm so glad that even after all these years people are still playing and enjoying it. I hope every year that there are people who can recreate the spirit of Gothic or a new Elex can achieve the greatness of their first games. I hope that I can one day create a game in that same spirit.

[@ComissarYarrick]

One thing I love about Gothic combat is that both your gear and stats and skill as well matters. If you know how to fight, you can "easyly" beat monsters technicly well out of your reach. And at the same time even with best gear, there are enemies who can eat you in seconds if you are careless.

[@AndresReviews]

Ttah's a nice coincidence. Out of the blue I remembered the Gothic 2 and searched for it for nostalgic reasons and this amazing, and quite unique in insight retro has just been uploaded for like only 4 hours ago.

[@tesselesk8]

This game changed my life! I found this about 3 years ago, and since then, I'm playing the original, and the huge amount of mods, I just love the engine, the grapgics, the atmosphere. Gothic have some qualities that none other open world rpg managed to reach in the same level.

[@parttimehero8640]

The third rpg I played, after Baldur Gate 2 and Icewind Dale 2. It's a cultural jewel! I love Gothic 1&2 so much I start playing both at least once a year!

[@Pulsar9788]

Greetings from Germany, I appreciate to see that not only us German enjoy the Gothic Series.. Had been my first RPG I ever played and I still come back to it every 1-2 years

[@franciscobutte]

One of the most influential WRPG series ever.

[@pendeyo]

@@chongli8409 western

[@wormerine8029]

@@chongli8409”western”?

[@fenharel2137]

@@chongli8409 "Worst" I guess

[@v4r00]

It's the greatest WRPG imo but i don't think it has been very influential.

[@madyshae7890]

This will forever be my favourite game

[@flonkplonk1649]

I remember when i first met Diego... Gothic 1 (and 2 as well) was one of the greatest game experience ever, such a lively and believable world and rough characters with their own humour...

[@PartyQuest]

My favorite game of all time and ages. You did a review of it in 2023? Amazing!

[@ihor854]

Not so many time ago I have done Archolos. Its definitely worth your time! Its not feels like mod, but actually have quality same as original gothic 1&2. And Archolos is free for Gothic 2 owners on Steam!

[@ihor854]

@@randalthor6872 it is exactly the same universe. Its just a time when Xardas was high fire mage and a king was mobilizing everyone to fight orcs after huge sea battle defeat.

[@pendeyo]

@@randalthor6872 archolos is in the same universe as gothic. its basically a prequel to the gothic series. you will even meet some people from G1 and learn how they end up in the mine colony. i dont know how PB sees it. but in my head Archolos is canon.

[@fujin0x587]

I finished this game for the first just the other day. I never played this growing up, I saw this come up in a video and thought it looked amazing. It did not disappoint, one of the best RPG's I've played in a long time, with mods from steam this game does look really nice! And chronicles of myrtanna archolos (or however you spell it) is amazing.

[@revoltingpeasantry8796]

The great atmosphere is one of the major positives for me.

[@caubert]

Thanks to this video I decided to replay Gothic series again, thank you! : )

[@wenchinatrenchcoat8459]

Gothic 2 also has a world that changes somewhat depending on the quests and choices you make. Something that hardly any game can pull off convincingly. Also, there are spesific class quests that are kind of hidden. Just yesterday i found out that there is now a mod that let's you play in multiplayer

[@officialgruber]

I remember when I started walking back to town after one of the chapters and those creepy dark mages came out of nowhere just spawning everywhere. Such a cool thing, I got a bit creeped out at first haha

[@rudolfgernd8760]

And than the second thaught: Wow! They give a huge amount XP. Time to hunt.

[@officialgruber]

@@rudolfgernd8760 Haha the good old days

[@MortismalGaming]

On classic, my first run they caught me a bit off guard when I ran into them and I was like wow thats creepy, but then they hit me for almost zero dmg and it kinda diminished the threat a bit lol

[@flonkplonk1649]

And it was always fun to provoke monsters, running away with the monster in the back, and leading them to another group of enemies to make them fight each other..

[@mr.gandalf6647]

Gothic 2 is still my favourite RPG of all time and the world design and mechanics are almost unmatched til this day

[@taomahNEGEV]

Have you tried the The Chronicles of Myrtana MOD?

[@mr.gandalf6647]

@@taomahNEGEV no, but someday i need to

[@SinclairDante]

Thank you for the review, Gothic 2 is one of my all time favorite games and knowing that is compatible with steam deck makes me want to buy it.

[@insanity8026]

G2 is a game I grew up with and for me personally, Its the best game i've ever played. Despite its bugs the overall feeling you get by playing and exploring the game is amazing and Ill probably play it until the day i die.

[@janondrej]

Exactly, this game has created the strongest nostalgic feeling I can think of - the game of my childhood, I will never forget.

[@Plexpara]

Sad not much people out there knew about our Gothic Games. To me it was on the same level with the Elder Scrolls and Fallout Games etc. It was that good!

[@detailLiebe]

Gothic 2 was a perfect sequel. Thx for making this video. :)

[@DiabloQFDB]

I'm playing Chronicles of Myrtana with the DirectX 11 mod and it looks quite good for Gothic 2.

[@taomahNEGEV]

I hope it will be reviewed here.

[@nomercy8989]

I still remember how much playing Witcher 3 reminded me of playing Gothic 1 and 2 for some reason.

[@Geraduss]

Well in English versions of the games Vezimir's voice actor is the same as Diego in Gothic 1, and the two had a similar gameplay roles.

[@pendeyo]

CDPR devs were big gothic fans. they said it was one of their big influences.

[@agirotto1]

My favorite game of all time.

[@Fredericco1]

Even as generic fantasy is Gothic 2 pretty good. I like how the world work. Every npc or monster have their daily routine. Every building that exist you can enter. Simple said, if something exist, it have some purpouse. Nothing to just fill empty space or something like that.

[@grey_wulf]

Heya Mortym! Ah yes, Gothic 2. One of the best rpgs ever made. I have a special place in my heart for Piranha Bytes games. I can't wait for your thoughts on Risen 1.

[@grey_wulf]

@@randalthor6872 It's a great game imho. Enjoy!

[@glash3]

great retrospective mate! I think I will give these games a try.

[@casualgaming2351]

Thanks for the video. Fun Fact for the Seekers. When you use console command to control them and then remove there robe..they are using the models of the guys from the swamp camp from the first game

[@Laurentiu-du9kq]

My beloved RPG games:Gothic 1,2,KOTOR 1,2,Witcher all games.Even now at 54 years old i play Gothic 2 with his many mods and total conversions:Velaya,Golden Gate,Archolos,Pirate Life,Velen etc.Good job!

[@benjones8290]

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but your writing for these reviews has gotten a lot better. I've been watching you for a little while because of your Divinity lore videos, and I have always enjoyed the portfolio of games that catch your interest (we have a similar taste) and the reviews that come from that. It is really cool to see a channel I really enjoy grow in both subscribers/variety, but also seeing your growth as a reviewer. Honestly, a privilege!

[@MortismalGaming]

Thank you! The results of spending a couple years refining the approach and incorporating feedback

[@spacemonkeyentertainment6413]

My favorite thing about Gothic II is the minmaxing and how it ties into exploration. Yes, Dex and ranged combat is the way to go without a doubt, no matter what faction you join imo. It feels like Piranha Bytes really embraced their janky system here and leaned into the messy pathfinding and the advantage of high ground (oddly being one of the best representations of that concept in gaming imo, lol). Magic was nuked to oblivion by the expansion for two reasons: 1. Growing mana costs allow a single high impact spell before you need to resort to potion chugging, which you don't have time for seeing how usually a bunch of angry enemies come running at you (yes, there is some janky exploit possible, but still), not to mention that it is not resource efficient, and 2. all scrolls cost 5 mana. The second point is ridiculous ! While scrolls are "expensive" they can get you massive advantages early on. Now, circling back, that system rewards you for pushing your limits and keeping yourself within the confines of those limits to eventually overcome the scarcity of resources. Early game you lack gold, well, time to get "creative", you can do some really funny stuff and the game acknowledges that. Unheard of for me at the time ! I remember taking the long route around the outskirts of the city just to jump into the sea and swim to the port to get into the city. What does the game do ? Have a character standing there to congratulate me on being such a little daredevil. Amazing ! This concept is mechanically amplified by pretty much everything related to progress. Do you use some rare ingredients now or save them for later when LP costs become extraordinarily high ? Do you use the scroll now or save it for some better occasion ? Suddenly the insanity of the scroll balance makes sense and while i still wouldn't want to play as a mage in NotR (which might be a major downside to some people) i think it's a fun dynamic to play around and rewarding the part of the brain that goes "no, i can use this later, i can get through this without it, what if i need it for a boss later ?" just to end up with a bunch of stuff you never used when the credits rolled. But if you look at the situations and ask yourself "how can i get the most out of that situation ?" there are some really nice opportunities, like running into the Orc pass to aggro every single enemy in there just to unleash a fire rain for 5 mana, when everybody told you how dangerous that place is, in fact it was "swarming with enemies" - well, i heard "bring AOE !". The game is full of those moments that make me feel so much smarter than i really am. Going for rare ingredients that give permanent upgrades and in NotR the tablets is also fun and incentivizes the player to push into regions they have no business being in that early. Finding that stuff was so obscure and yet so rewarding. There really are only a handful of games that instill that sense of adventure in me. I know a lot of that stems from the way the base game handled those situations and a lot of the combat related situations were not intended, the game basically assuming you are not ready to be there yet and will come back later to get that sweet sweet XP. But without these moments i think it would have made for a much worse experience for me. Then again, conceptually, while i think a lot of that was "luck", in the sense that it turned out as well as it did, and the willingness to simply force a rebalancing on a game that wasn't made with that balance in mind and just roll with it, i think there really was a profound vision behind that move: I was lucky enough to meet a few people related to the development of Gothic III at the time of it's making and they told me that one of their credos was that with the expansion they really wanted to push people and one of the quotes that made it into marketing was "even a mouse can kill a paladin". I remember being so happy hearing that, because it matched up so well with my experience with the game. So while i rationalize my way through all it's flaws with a heavy dose of nostalgia, what was there had to be special in some way to instill that nostalgia in the first place. At least that is how i see it.

[@nomorealone9158]

the fighting styles are so cool, because even as a full melee tank, I appreciate the scrolls with summons etc makes the combat even smoother

[@coconutologist]

Onward to 200k. All glory to the algorithm.

[@lorgren4002]

Gothic series is one of those I replay every year.....new year started and you are playing them, might as well play now :D

[@kamiljankos3585]

I hope you will do Archolos review.

[@kaidorade1317]

Sweet! Another retrospective review! Thank you

[@giuliosf]

Damn you were really fast for this!

[@jsmith4247]

Mort. I just read a PC Gamer article that featured you in a discussion about the new WoTR DLC. Very nice!

[@MortismalGaming]

I also read that one, cool to see :)

[@MrJenssen]

Wait, what?! The youtube algorithm must've been screwing me, I only had the first impression video for G2 pop up tonight! I was under the impression I'd have to wait a while to see the review, and yet here we are!

[@niklaspotter7003]

Whoever is ultimately most involved in gothic 1 and 2: please i want you to keep making games

[@sjoerddondersteen1337]

nostalgia (for simpler times) Greetings from the Netherlands!

[@lilBugger35]

I love that you put in a Steam Deck compatibility part. Love the reviews!

[@daemon2371]

One of THE game of my childhood. Yes I am Polish XD

[@DrZaius3141]

Essentially, instead of difficulty settings, you decide your difficulty by which faction you join. Paladins with their OP cheap spells are by far the easiest, Mages have a build-up before becoming really strong and Mercs are probably the hardest because you're pretty much forced into melee fighting (they really like to start brawls and defending yourself with magic or ranged combat will lead to deaths instead of knockouts - don't do that). There are three things that keep me from replaying it more often (so buyers beware): 1. Grinding may not be necessary, but the gameplay system encourages it. All enemies re/de-spawn at a new chapter, so if you want to get all the XP out of a chapter, you need to kill everything. This is tedious because some enemies are supposed to be soft blockades. Anyone who wants to get a high level asap will need to do stuff that isn't fun. 2. Progression is rigidly seperated. Deciding you want to be a mage will give you 20 hours of gameplay before you get any actual magic. Until then you need to either bank your learning points or waste them on stuff you don't really want. 3. Far too often you have to actively pick between being strong and having fun. Examples: Trophy skills are a complete waste of LP but it's a lot more fun to loot every animal for all their parts. Your first step is getting a job in the city, but because being a smith (which is boring) gives you infinite money there's no point in picking the other options. Certain plants can enhance your stats, but when you brew them into a potion, they enhance them even more - so you should wait until you can brew said potions. Raising skills gets more expensive the higher your skill already is - so you want to wait with permanent stat increases from other sources as long as possible. It's kind of funny how the more you know about the game and the clearer your idea about how you want to play in a certain playthrough is, the less fun you probably have.

[@Llortnerof]

Actually, they typically don't despawn at chapter start. Which means areas you didn't visit might have a slightly high enemy density. Also, in Gothic 2, spawns are mostly limited to the "active" area for the chapter. As for your last point... you could also read it as the game rewarding patience. Being hasty and doing everything at the first opportunity will leave you weaker.

[@fantazjo]

"persuaded to get past the barrier entry" i sense strong influence of first gothic within you

[@MishaSalnikov]

I remember maxing out forging in one of my playthroughs, and the late game draconic weapons were sick, with various cool effects and everything. And I might be wrong, but I think they've added a ton of weapons there in the expansion

[@Dostwyn]

Night of the Raven was specifically designed to be a sort of Hardcore Veteran Mode for people who are already very familiar with the base game, who know where to find secrets, who know good character builds. So as a new player, if you want to start with NotR, you essentially need to have a guide open on a second screen that tells you where to go and how to level your character.

[@jausat141]

I grew up with Gothic 1 and 2 and they're two of my favorite games of all time. I think a remake of the two paired with a dark souls style combat would be a dream come true. I see a lot of similiaritys between those two franchises and I think they could work really well together

[@Ancientreapers]

1:44 Ah now we're talking. I didn't need any marketing or advertisement for this game. I was waiting for it. Bought the original release when it hit the shelves. I also bought, down the road, the Gold edition that included the Night of the Raven add on. I didn't buy that add on separately for the original box version because I knew they'd eventually come out with the Gold edition. And sure enough they did and I bought that just to play the game with the add on and whatever updates/bug fixes included for both versions.

[@ArniesTech]

Gothic was my childhood and is still today one of my favourite games. But PLEASE Dude, use the Block when fighting melee combat 🙏🤣 BTW: I live about 1 hour down the Autobahn away from the Piranha Bytes Studio 💪😎🇩🇪

[@АлтынбекАнарбеков-й4ф]

Thanks for videos on Gothic! Would be great if you continued this series with Archolos and MAY BE Arcania 😃

[@Priimerra]

I remember few of my friends were playing online RPG servers of this game. So yes, the cult of this game was unbelievable.

[@chadroy16]

I played the first one so many times as kid, but never knew about gothic 2, i played it a few years ago and it was honestly such an awesome experience. May have cried a few times lol

[@Davlavi]

Nice video, thanks.

[@carlosstevericardo5497]

You did a review of this amazing game in 2023?! Possibly the best game ever.

[@ruinerblodsinn6648]

Gothic 1 & 2 are the best RPGs of all time!

[@D1n0nlyD1v94]

You don't know how nice it is to see a thumbnail without a photoshopped smile on characters faces.

[@Maesterful]

One of the most fun and magical games iv ever played. So ahead of its time. Shame the sequels were so disappointing

[@LeonserGT]

The thing I liked about magic in specifically 2nd Gothic is how you really need to dedicate yourself to it, it's not like you're born with firebolt and healing spell pre-equipped (how it feels in TES), even when you join the monastery they quite directly tell you that only chosen by Innos are capable to wield magic. So when you finally get promoted to just "mage" and get your first firebolt spell, it feels so satisfying. And of course troll the paladins guarding the ship, because you're basically higher rank than them. They still slightly ruined it with scrolls, however, but I always had "consumables syndrome" with them and didn't use them for 99% of the game.

[@t.e.b.2565]

Writing from Germany, we have sometimes exclusive access to a set of semi-professional Overhaul mods for this game. The modding community is strong, much of it is organized in the World of Gothic Forums. The biggest are of course, Archolos, but also Legend of Ahssun, Xeres' Return, Dirty Swamp, a professionally translated Returning Mod, Odyssey, Der Weg des Schläfers (G 1).. Each from that list has at least 40 hours for the main story. Then we have the Spine Modding framework, which is available for international audiences, although often less known there.. oh and btw: have you realized that you can backstep hordes of enemies for i-frames or the sideward evasion for Orcs? What did you think of the progressive animations system?

[@user-if7zm]

For forging weapons it is enough to just learn how to make the first sword. Vendors that sell steel have their inventory reset after a couple of days. So you you will never run out of steel to make swords and can sell them for more gold than it cost to make them. Basically leads to infinite money.

[@Double_P94]

i live in germany and i still remember going to a gamestop like store with my uncle to buy it, i was totally flabbergasted when i first played it

[@skarpantre]

Hell yeah, many of my classmates played it when we were like 10-12 in Hungary

[@samuelkulisek1276]

One of the pirates in jharkendar can teach you pickpocketing as well.

[@freeman37]

Much better than Elder Scrolls series.

[@permissionBRICK]

For Steam deck i recommend the zGamepad Mod, which fixes basically all your issues by adding full gamepad compatibility

[@jimmybaby6484]

currently on my first playthrough gothic 2 notr it has an old school Elden ring feel lol

[@guyincognito959]

They were some of the first playable and good open world 3d games. Seems odd from todays perspective, but there was a time when this was the latest tech and when it became just possible to realize such concepts. And imo NotR makes it much easier: more experience and stuff to grab, the Beliar sword is OP, also bonus stats through the stone tablets. Creating weapons yields tons of currency and access to some better options than what is available elsewhere. But it is all optional really. But it´s true, this comes from a pov of "I beat this game 26 times", so...good video, about Gothic, in 2023 :D

[@DadBodFit]

Gothic is like the Witcher series (before it's main stream) it's a great European RPG with heavy cultural significance. I played a ton of PBytes games as a kid and am getting back into them now as an adult.

[@LandrosTane]

awesome... just one small bit about the difficulty... you didn't use the backstep dodge and block :D that would have made the game significantly easier, especialy against groups of orcs. Also, about the story being more generic, I would agree on it beign a bit mroe generic, but dragons, and a full on dragon hunt especialy, I will remind you it hadn't yet been done at the time the game came out. Skyrim and other dragon hunt games came after this one

[@largetrout]

still playing it every 3 months. it.just.doesn't.get.boring.

[@aleksandargaciczagor]

Gothic 1 and 2 and Chronicles Of Myrtana - Archolos are my Favorite rpg

[@Post5775]

I know those games are very old, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on classic Ultima Underworld 1&2 and Arx Fatalis.

[@farkasabel]

In Risen 1 they tried to recreate the style of Gothic 1 with a smaller world and old camp/town, new camp/town and sect camp and probably the closest in style to the Gothic style.

[@swinglow6580]

You should check out the summoner series, me and my brother were absolutely enthralled by them!

[@Backtrack3332]

Gothic I+II best games

[@veidt3764]

nice that you present classic german games to an international audience!

[@woelfingskund]

Awesome! Never heard of Spine but now I can finally play Gothic (Bought the collection on steams years ago but it did not run)

[@danigza96]

If you're playing Night of the Raven, you can actually learn pickpocketing from one of the pirates! So finding the Thieves Guild isn't absolutely necessary

[@unendlicherping318]

For the steamdeck or general gamepad support there is the zgamepad mod.

[@Anton-cc7yc]

Replayed this game probably 15 times since I was 9. Still returning to it from time to time. Absolute classic in Russia, and back in the 00s was a choice of a gentleman, compare to a peasant Elders Scrolls 😂 Kinda Apple/Samsung situation.

[@Tessou]

Great news for those that can’t get this to play nice with their setup. The first two Gothic titles are now on Switch and play decently. G2 does include NOTR and you cannot play the vanilla version.