Gothic Is Still A Masterpiece Of Immersive Design | Gothic Review

[@TheSaltFactory]

If Gothic is so good, where's Gothic 2? Checkmate.

[@cakes2785]

Preach

[@thesummerofmark]

Ah shit, I’m busted

[@polishscribe674]

*tries to hold the laugh knowing that there IS Gothic II*

[@aligmal5031]

where is chronicles of myrtana

[@pbandjaymes2844]

its amazing how good the devs were able to replicate The day to day life in Germany

[@cakes2785]

This tbh

[@thesummerofmark]

lmao

[@vojtechjanda9684]

Been watching Sseth, eh?

[@Nr4747]

All of the first hand experience in the mines of the Ruhrgebiet finally paid off xD

[@shen6232]

day to day life in poland

[@HeyBlondieGamer]

A man talking about Gothic in a positive light has discerning taste indeed 👌 Great video!

[@thesummerofmark]

Thanks Blondie! Gothic 1 video from you when?

[@HeyBlondieGamer]

@@thesummerofmark One day, my friend.

[@Beleghoster]

The right of passage for every single european gaming youtuber is to review Gothic 1 and 2. Its the Morrowind of EU.

[@thesummerofmark]

Yep, pretty much. Gothic and Heroes 3

[@Orrphoiz]

it would be, if Morrowind was good.

[@alexbiehn978]

@@Orrphoiz Correct , i tried to play morrowind after gothic back in 2002 and wow it was so bland and slow ...loading screens everywhere dead open world and walls of boring text...to bad for the excellent music.

[@polishscribe674]

I actually like how Gothic I has less side-quests as it progresses. No needles distractions when I want to focus on the main story, you hear it, HAGEN!? Also I don't get it why youtubers don't like the ending. It's great. Maybe too far with the whole chosen one thing but it's really a detail.

[@sjoerddondersteen1337]

nostalgia (for simpler times) "Immersive" is an understatement with the OG Gothic games, so many hours through all those years. Good times mate. Fingers crossed that one day you'll blow up and get your rightly deserved respect one day. Greetings from the Netherlands, you absolute madman!

[@thesummerofmark]

Thank you so much! Even if I won’t blow up, I’ll be making videos for as long as I’ll enjoy the process

[@Pork80085]

Also I doubt anyone who hasn't played Gothic will watch this but if by chance you want to replay with magic, you have to go with the Old Camp to be viable since the Swamp Camp are limited to the 4th circle and have a kind of battle mage playstyle in terms of build or just raw two handed damage.

[@thesummerofmark]

You know what, I might take you up on that since it’s such a short game

[@TacticalProjectGaming]

What about new camp?

[@Pork80085]

@@TacticalProjectGaming you join the New Camp after being in the Old Camp anyway. So there's no real point.

[@Geraduss]

You only really need 4th lvl magic, anything beyond it is not even viable unless in neash circumstances, and besides for the last part of the game the best spell you'll ever need is 4th lvl. *Spoiler* Destroy undead.

[@Hynotama]

I don’t think the piss has any physics. But some guards do take a leak in some areas at certain points of the day. I know for certain it happens in Khorinis, in Gothic 2.

[@trythis2006]

crazy how there is still NOTHING compared to this game, immersion-wise, just insane

[@BrovarSpirytus]

Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines are on par (or even better) immersion-wise for me.

[@trythis2006]

they are indeed very immersive games and i love them too but something about gothic is different because there is no map markers, the npcs have a life cycle and you actually remember what they do, when they work, when they sleep, when they hunt, its just on another level of immersion since you build kind of a relationship with these npcs, it feels like a true adventure@@BrovarSpirytus

[@miguelbranquinho7235]

@@trythis2006 Morrowind is even more immersive.

[@trythis2006]

@@miguelbranquinho7235 morrowind is great i agree

[@electricant55]

Stellar video my dude. You're definitely more critical of the game than I am but the points are valid. Still blows my mind that 20 years later I can't think of any other RPGs that would offer the same kind of freedom in interacting with NPCs, being able to beat them up without killing, people reacting to pulling your sword out or walking into their homes etc. The atmosphere of the colony and the absolute cockroach power level you start at are also unparalleled and the main reason I still shill this game to anyone who doesn't run away fast enough.

[@thesummerofmark]

Thanks for watching man! I agree. There's nothing quite like it out there. Not even Piranha Bytes makes these kinds of games anymore, sadly

[@suddenimpulse030]

Elex 1 and 2 are VERY similar to Gothic in a lot of ways. Particularly the power level scaling. If you like Gothic you should check it out. It's in a mixed scifi/fantasy world. Can do magic, can do guns, can do scifi guns, can do axes and swords etc.

[@Meetchio]

Another great video as always. After your Gothic 2 review I actually went and checked out the first Gothic for a bit. It was quite fun. The controls are horrendous but I had a good time

[@thesummerofmark]

Thanks Meetch! Awww man. I could've given you my control scheme and make your life easier. If only I had known you checked out Gothic 1

[@bhaktapeter3501]

Actually after 100 hours of playing gothic 1 i got used to the controls and now i like it. What an insidious addiction lol

[@khatack]

criticals do double damage, not 10x. In Gothic 2 the "criticals" are pretty much just hits that deal full damage while normal hits are kind of like glancing blows that deal one tenth of the damage, hence crits dealing "10x" in G2. The damage in G1 is weapon damage + strength, the whole thing doubled in case of a critical, in G2 it's one tenth of weapon damage + strength and full weapon damage + strength with a "critical"

[@suddenimpulse030]

While still not at the level of the Gothic series, if anyone wants a game that as similar as you can get to this series, check out ELEX 1 and 2 (which recently came out). Its set in a medieval/scifi/fantasy mixed world. You can use swords and axes, magic, regular guns, scifi guns, and more. Pretty fun with similar power scaling.

[@thesummerofmark]

Elex 1 was a step in the right direction. I heard they really screwed up with the sequel tho

[@suddenimpulse030]

@@thesummerofmark I am only early on in the sequel, so I can't really comment on that authoritatively. So far it has some big improvements from the first game, but yes in some areas it's a step back. Kind of par doe the course with this studio lol. The way I look at it is, these types of games are pretty few and far between, and they are already firmly in the "Eurojank" genre as it's called, so I mind of just go in expecting a mixed bag and generally enjoy my overall time with them, but obviously opinions on these things will be across a spectrum for different people.

[@Korn1holio]

It's the same studio, so yeah, it's similar.

[@Orrphoiz]

Both Elex games are absolutely horrible, especially the second one. Sadly, likely not worth your time, unless you like what feels like trying to brew coffee from the same coffee grounds for the 8th time. it feels like "we're trying to make this game feel like Gothic but not" at the same time as "we're desperatley trying to make something that isn't like Gothic, but can't make it". The games also suffer from far too high ambitions and scope for the size of the team, a AA developer trying to measure up to AAA titles without the manpower to do so. both games feel empty, uninspired and bland. I haven't been as bored in ages than in the last 8 to 10 hours of Elex.

[@jimx45]

Elex is nothing like Gothic. Risen 1 is the closest to a sequel after Gothic 2.

[@Komix777]

The idea that the story of Gothic is ruined by "being the chosen one", which isn't even IN THIS GAME, is ridiculous. It's only mentioned in G2, and literally does not influence the story besides explaining why you're able to use the Eye of Innos. What's exactly generic about the story of G1? It's not "a chosen one saves the world", it's "a random inmate ventures into the demonic source of his imprisonment to regain freedom".

[@thesummerofmark]

Maybe I mixed the 2 games up in my mind when I wrote the script. Maybe the game doesn’t specifically use the expression “chosen one”, but The Nameless Hero’s journey from a random shmuck to an armor-clad dude who ventures into the BIG SCARY EVIL PLACE to confront THE BIG BAD EVIL evokes that trope. You’re not just a random inmate at the end of the story, you’re a literal killing machine. Even if I might’ve been too liberal with the use of that specific expression, I still think the story lost its identity towards the end when it turned into “hero goes alone to fight the scary monster”

[@bhaktapeter3501]

Gothic 1 did many things better then G2

[@bizznick444joe7]

Well of course the Sect Camp has to have templar warriors. Have you seen the kind of hostile world the colony is?

[@Geraki0n]

Gothic fuck yea

[@thesummerofmark]

Hell yeah brother

[@K_hessel]

I liked your cameo in this video

[@xitsar727]

You should check out the mod to G2... The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos. It's totally free (but i think you should have G2 to play it, but I'm not sure) and in my opinion it's the best Gothic ever made (and I played G1 and G2 around 6-7 times each). It's the best game of 2021. And before you start you should say goodbye to your family and friends because you will not see them for like a month.

[@thesummerofmark]

Thanks for the recc dude. I do plan to cover it in the future, but as you said, it’s a huge time investment. I might play it for myself first and then do a second playthrough sometime in the future for my channel

[@JankbaronDom]

The only Gothic I've played properly was Forsaken Gods

[@thesummerofmark]

My sincerest condolences

[@suddenimpulse030]

Well that's a tragedy.

[@Hynotama]

It just occurred to me that the old and new camps are a perfect example of diverging ideologies that are currently in the real world. Leftist commies would hate the old camp and anti-woke rightists would hate the new camp. But anyone with a brain and no political bias would see that they both suck. However that’s not to say the game is political, it’s just a funny coincidence that it’s a cautionary tale.

[@XardasLP]

Greetings from Germany :) Thx for your review.

[@thesummerofmark]

My pleasure, super happy you enjoyed it!

[@jimx45]

I know what 2000 games are like, I had a feeling to revisit and get some nostalgia what they were like. Lot of people were gushing about this game. It looked like a 2000s old ass RPG perfect, I downloaded, installed it and then all my RPG senses were blown away.

[@kageakiminato8536]

this game is better than gothic 2 because it doesnt have the atrocious crit system of gothic 2

[@Senumunu]

sure the fact that you become the chosen one, kind of, is a little misguided but Xardas and his tower were a very memorable aspect of the game it never bothered me

[@thesummerofmark]

Xardas steals every scene he’s in. Great performance from the English voice actor

[@Bread4Hero]

Gothic is just built so well, you can call it the magnum opus of many devs who have worked on it, even though the largest audience it attracted was but a small niche audience. That changes nothing for this legendary game

[@lexter8379]

I totally agree with the critique! Ah the start of the game is so good, but the end is really not. If instead we could have several possible endings at least for each camp! Just the idea of becoming a ore baron, blowing up the barrier or to become a slave to the sleeper would be fantastic. Honestly I would be happy with such a mod, even if it cut of the Sleeper and replaced him with something lets world ending.

[@Pork80085]

3:15 nice Mandalore reference

[@thesummerofmark]

Is it that easy to spot

[@Pork80085]

@@thesummerofmark hehe it was for me since I listened to his clip two or three times.

[@bizznick444joe7]

Would of been nice to have other skills like Mercantile skill. Let's you trade less value in YOUR items for higher values on the trader. Charisma/Speechcraft whatever you want to call it.

[@jimx45]

Back when RPGs were you just wandering around. All you had to do was get a letter to the mages but the amount of stories you have to get through before you get there and the multiple ways of doing it was amazing. I hate these games where they set a premise and the main bad guy.

[@NarrativeController]

Wait is there really a "Stunt Bonus" for +100 experience? Gothic is a favorite of mine and I've never heard of this! @0:45

[@ISHESUAPLEYADES]

You don't understand why Piranha bites thinks that screenshot is relevant cause You are not german 🤣🤣🤣

[@philippmethling6216]

Gothic II is NOT better. Sure, the mechanics and faults were polished - but 1 has the better world building and atmosphere.

[@arkham666]

Ah yes the legend of Gothoamu Thicton. I'm looking forward to watching this.

[@thesummerofmark]

hope you'll enjoy it!

[@LordKeram]

While 4 years to make an engine is a huge time investment in the 90s. It definitely payed off. While the original engine was only used for Gothic 1 and 2, the engine Piranha bytes uses till this day is basically an updated version of the original ZenGin as far as I know. This is the boon and bane of Piranha bytes games. On one hand it makes all the games feel quite similar and works well with the design elements Piranha Bytes favors. On the other it's essentially an amalgamation of over 20 years of additions to an extremely old engine that is in many ways outdated and inefficient.

[@Stealth86651]

Thanks for the effort/content, it's appreciated. Really like some of the unique choices you've made for reviews/videos.

[@thesummerofmark]

Thank you!

[@Stealth86651]

@@thesummerofmark No problem, looking forward to more videos!

[@ISHESUAPLEYADES]

In this 2023 i've enjoyed Gothic 2 Archolos much more than Elden RIng.

[@HerzogvonArteros]

The English speeche is so bad if put next to the German or Russian sadly.....

[@thesummerofmark]

To be honest, I kinda enjoy the camp of the English VO. I like snarky edge the Nameless Hero’s VO put into his delivery

[@Senumunu]

this game had such a nice retro sci fi touch but medieval with the art style the rework that is coming up has nothing of that left such a waste

[@thesummerofmark]

I still hope they’ll capture at least a fraction of Gothic’s charm in the remake

[@Deadforge]

Damn I did forget to comment yikes 😬. Well anyway great video as always man and I would love to play Gothic. I got into ARPGS with Risen 1, 2, and Two Worlds two which the last I didn't care for. I never beat the Risen games but I enjoyed them and I never played Risen 3. Elex was fun and I still have to beat it. I recommend Kingdoms of amalur re-reckoning or the original but I think the remaster is best for someone who hasn't played it in case you haven't.

[@thesummerofmark]

no worries, thanks for commenting! I’d say don’t bother with Risen 3 because it’s so far removed from the core design of OG PB games. I’d much rather recommend playing Gothic 1 and 2 because they’re PB at their peak

[@Deadforge]

@@thesummerofmark I'm still pretty impressed that they keep making games because allow there work is very overlooked and doesn't seem to be very successful. It's kinda similar to Spiders in a way with being a small indie RPG studio. I love Spiders games though.

[@kageakiminato8536]

@@thesummerofmark Risen 3 is a great game and i'll never understand the hate. Risen 2 is irredeemably awful one and most of you """fans""" can't see the difference

[@timmyp6297]

I just put grass in Gothic and omg it looks so good. Already had the dx11 mod etc.

[@gamemast15r]

I'll say this, the series looks fascinating as hell and I wanna sit down and play it one day! However, it's intimidating looking at it. Idk, one day I'll get there.

[@thesummerofmark]

once you get over that mental barrier you'll discover one of the most immersive RPGs out there

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

There's going to be a remake for G1, by THQ Nordic, but I don't know the release date. And Piranha Bytes made other RPGs, but they're not as good.

[@gamemast15r]

@@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y I tried that and I sucked at it so hard I took a long ass break. I hope to eventually get back into the demo though.

[@suddenimpulse030]

@@gamemast15r the demo is very rough and looks nothing like the nee teaser trailer they put out, it was more just a marketing/proof of concept thing to test the waters. So if you dislike the demo it won't necessarily mean you will dislike the remake.

[@DragosCCostache]

There were 69 comments before this one so i ruined the lol sex number lol.

[@thesummerofmark]

Shit, gotta delete a comment. And the one and I’m writing rn too

[@augustinadriancristea5873]

Foarte frumos review, respect, am dat subscribe! Poti spune ca in 2022-2023 Gothic poate fi recomandat foarte bine, daca vrei sa investesti timp in el, 100+ ore, si daca iti place grinding-ul chiar sa-l termini. Eu l-am jucat prima data in 2003, cand nici nu stiam engleza bine, aveam 12 ani, si l-am terminat impreuna cu fratele meu, cu greu, ne-am blocat la quest-ul cu Focus Stones cand trebuie sa te transformi in Meatbug. Da, ne-am blocat la poarta, la gandac, eram mici si newbiez. Mult spor cu acest canal, ai o engleza foarte buna, am crezut ca esti neamt, dar apoi am cautat si am observat ca esti roman. Salutari! Succes

[@thesummerofmark]

Multumesc mult, ma bucur ca ti-a placut! Iti spun sincer ca nu stiu cum am putut sa le joc, daramite sa le inteleg si termin cu engleza mea proasta de copil. Ma bazam pe intuitie, habar n-am

[@jedediahjehoshaphat]

yes, going through the video makes me want to install the game once more 😔

[@thesummerofmark]

Insert *every time you mention it, someone reinstalls it* meme

[@kryp7777]

great video, bro! gothic 1-3 are all time classics

[@damienblack6749]

Gothic could have and should have been where TES is

[@XardasLP]

Cool video, where are you from? (because it's interesting to know especially for the gothic series where fanbase is only really present in mid and east europe)

[@thesummerofmark]

Thank you for watching! I’m from Romania, so your theory tracks haha

[@XardasLP]

@@thesummerofmark cool :)

[@indrast5203]

Wait , you can cook!?

[@thesummerofmark]

IKR???

[@christophfaistauer]

God I love this game so much

[@verrigo]

Can’t wait for you to review the remake

[@thesummerofmark]

Thank you! Let’s just hope the remake will capture the original’s magic 😄

[@kageakiminato8536]

>putting action button on Lctrl and jump on LAlt What the...? Are you trying to break your pinky? E is fine for actions and space for jump, also Q for draw weapons. Thank me later

[@PartyQuest]

my favorite game of all time.

[@RobinOttens]

My left pinky is still traumatized by the control scheme. I always wondered if it would work better on a controller, with the ctrl key mapped to one if the triggers. There's nothing quite like this game and its sequel (and Risen maybe). Piranhabytes definitely peaked early and never quite recaptured this magic. And the one time they did try something this ambitious again in Gothic 3, it failed miserably. The world and encounter design in Elden Ring made me think about Gothic. The Witcher games have a lot of Gothic in them. But none of them have this level of simulation and the feeling that this is a living world that you're just a small part in. That said, I'm not sure I could ever go back and revisit these games. So thank you for doing it for me! Love the video.

[@venepskeuten9206]

no Bromor in game, 0/10.

[@thesummerofmark]

A fair rating. Bromor was funny

[@irascible5119]

i just started playing this 3 days ago. im kinda stuck on it, but at the same time ive only completed a few quests and feel so roadblocked and weak. guards jamming me up for money i dont have, hiring people to lure me away to rob me for money i dont have. the old camp sucks! X D great review, youre channel will get more attention in the future im sure

[@skinvestor9168]

Man, atmosphere in this game

[@thesummerofmark]

Ikr?

[@SirCobraXI]

Lol, you got me at the research grants! :D Also found it funny how you showed only the chest when highlighting howNPCs ignore you, but one could already feel the gaze of Lee in the background "just take what you want".

[@bizznick444joe7]

The trading system is one of it's strongest suits. Just like in a prison system the currencies are ambiguous and the value of items is more important than have a wad of cash or in this case a bag of gold/ore. The ore is just so you can add up or minus up the values.

[@columbo47]

Great video! The Switch port I played wasn’t perfect but the UI and control changes seem like a godsend.

[@alexursu5233]

Ah yes, the content itch can finally be scratched 🤩🤩

[@thesummerofmark]

awwww thanks Alex!

[@DaoistYeashikAli]

Comment for the Algorithm

[@ingineru1337]

the remake better be good,omg im waiting so long for it

[@Korn1holio]

it won't be good. This is done by another studio, so it will be a different game from different people trying to replicate the original, which never works. Just look at US-made Silent Hills.

[@arkham666]

Took me longer than expected to get to the end because my phone just wasn't showing me anything of the darker footage so I had to wait till I got home to finally see this. Man you can really tell just how much you love these games. It really shines through in your writing and presentation. I am such a sucker for these low poly low resolution texture rpgs too. I've got Vampire the Masquerade redemption sitting my pc ready to go and it looks a lot like this. Despite it's flaws I can still really see myself diving into these one day. Anyway peace man.

[@wiktorb6846]

it has many great mods

[@ingineru1337]

i love this game

[@danieladamczyk4024]

Different controls means a different experince. In the era of this same games something that stand out is a better option.

[@quarlmephystodot2201]

this boi speaks like hes hungarian smh

[@gamemast15r]

He is

[@quarlmephystodot2201]

@@gamemast15r awful accent

[@gamemast15r]

Awful person

[@quarlmephystodot2201]

@@gamemast15r dont know him personally

[@gamemast15r]

Not him

[@seanfager8063]

I'm getting "less concise but slightly deeper Way Of The Samurai" vibes. Is that very far off?

[@thesummerofmark]

I thought you were referring to some obscure Wu Tang Clan mixtape or something and then I looked it up and saw it’s a game lmao. I’ve never played it. Should I give it a spin?

[@SuddenlyPaulP]

1:03 T H I C C atmosphere

[@SuddenlyPaulP]

go THICC

[@thesummerofmark]

I love your comments

[@kikicoot]

The KCD song in the start of the vid ❤

[@tavitafish]

This really is a Wawiff moment

[@thesummerofmark]

Wawiff

[@shakma_X]

Great video sir

[@K_hessel]

HELL YEAH, FUCK YEAH! Haven’t played Gothic, but I’ve listened to American Football, so I’m sure I’ll get around to it

[@thesummerofmark]

Neeeeveeeer meaaaaaant

[@aligmal5031]

play chronicles of myrtana if i haven't yet despite being a mod it's the best out of the gothic series

[@kanker5256]

your english is pretty brokie... try to use less text

[@suddenimpulse030]

How many languages are you fluent in?

[@kanker5256]

@@suddenimpulse030 about 6

[@thesummerofmark]

Thanks for the feedback, I’ll try to speak in less brokie english in the next video

[@kanker5256]

@@thesummerofmark you can keep the comedy, but overly long texts are not received well when your accent is slow. it sounds staggered. its not about being fluent, but being slow. and it can lose you audience. i ran an ad/social media marketing, that is the advice source

[@thesummerofmark]

ok