Gothic 1+2: Masterpieces of Immersive Design

[@GrandMaster.Smile.]

Good to see that Gothic is still in the people's heart and mind!

[@Relluria]

Some legends never die, warms my heart to see

[@TodyId]

Truee

[@wilddreams]

and on their PCs :p

[@kingprone7846]

german world of gothic is still very active.

[@Wulfescu]

It has a special place there.

[@Nr4747]

The German voice acting for the games is excellent, btw., which is why Gothic I and II are widely considered true masterpieces in Germany.

[@samyotix]

I thought they were considered masterpieces mainly because they bribed Gamestar / PC Action / all the other bullshit review mags into giving it really good ratings. (Not sure if "bribed" is the correct term: They bought many full-page advertisement pages so the magazine gave the product an excellent rating in order to keep the cash flowing.)

[@Nr4747]

@@samyotix I mean: I don't know about that, it's mostly just them being excellent games and almost all German speaking RPG fans knowing about them and loving them for their great qualities. The very good to great German voice acting (especially compared to the English dub) also helps, of course.

[@KVPMD]

@@samyotix No, they ARE masterpieces. And to be honest I even doubt the writers at Gamestar etc know what ads are in the next paper when they write the tests.

[@hgtugdz25]

im german it is excellent

[@dead_meat8362]

same with Polish audio, really great job, only con is that some characters have 2 different voice actors in G2 Night of the Raven

[@Kacp3rrak]

Alternate Universe where Piranha Bytes is pretty huge and Bethesda isn't. Now that's a dream...

[@gherdi]

Everybody who is petty huge makes the mistakes...

[@Kacp3rrak]

Yes of course but imagine the publicity Pirahna Bytes would have today and the content they would have done. Maybe not go down the Arcania route but down the Gothic 1 and 2 route

[@Norbert_Sattler]

@@Kacp3rrak If I remember correctly, Gothic 3 was the last Gothic title done by Piranha Bytes themselves, with the addon and followup titles being made by different studios and developers who bought the Gothic license, while they went on to make the Risen series.

[@Kacp3rrak]

@@Norbert_Sattler good point, good point.

[@KraszuPolis]

@@Kacp3rrak Allot of original developers did left, but they last game Elex was pretty good.

[@Iwmar]

Glad to see Gothic gets even a tiny bit of recognition in Western world. Gothic games have a massive following here in Slavic Europe, probably even bigger than in Germany with some of Polish parodies, remixes etc. getting millions of views on KZbin. I just replayed G1 and G2 few months ago with some graphical mods and yes those games are as good as I remember them from 20 years ago. I also recommend playing first Risen, spiritual successor of first Gothic.

[@ShinyShilla]

Now I wish I could understand those languages...

[@kingprone7846]

id say popularity is the same but you guys have a higher population.

[@Maggifix00]

Hmm interesting. That explains why i found Gothic 2 in a polish store many years ago. I was wondering why they would sell a german game. I guess Gothic also paved the way for the witcher series in poland then?

[@AzUthred]

@@Maggifix00 it did indeed!

[@rreece90]

@@Maggifix00 Yes it did, Witcher devs said they were inspired by Gothic.

[@TheRealCHIMShady]

Bromor legit has the best voice, its so memorable.

[@studenastrana273]

Ayem Bromor dis is ma house and these are my guuurls i like mah guuurls. Dat bish made out with part of mah savings a really valuable golden dish eeh? If i get holdovhar ill give har what for 😅😅

[@Kevin5279]

@@studenastrana273 Hahahaha you nailed it flawlessly

[@ninetynein6853]

Bromor smol brain

[@DetectivePoofPoof]

Bromor is literally just Tommy Wiseau who somehow got transported to the Gothic world by accident and hes trying his best to fit in and make ends meet.

[@chadhardt6136]

This... i want to make a rpg someday and i believe that even ¨bad¨ voice acting but that is kinda memorable, isn't bad to begin with. let's be honest, of course that the petty merchant and the poor beggar are going to sound like fucking idiots.

[@TheMpamMpam]

The feeling of immersion that I got from playing gothic 1 and 2 was never reproduced since then. These 2 games were made by gamers who made their dreams come true.

[@jerzy8585]

9:08 - lectors in Polish version are outstanding and this is also why it become so popular here

[@jarlfenrir]

But still there is an issue with repeating voices. Sometimes NPCs are even talking with two voices...

[@LordNezghul]

@@jarlfenrir Problem with two voices in one NPC come with the Night of the Raven expansion where they needed to record additional lines without the same voice actors being available.

[@kratos_daddy]

They say that when someone mentions Gothic anywhere around the World, there will be an European who will re-install it. Today that European is me.

[@jarlfenrir]

One important thing in my opinion: you have to find everything by that not accurate map and NPC directions, and the world is not too big to make that task a big issue. What I like about Gothic I and II is that the world is not too big, it is just right size.

[@Woodstockpl]

Gothic series is huge in Poland and it gets much needed love here

[@swordofdanu]

Is there anyone actually living in Poland? cause you all seem to be living in the UK

[@sapiensfromterra5103]

@@swordofdanu ...and Germany :P

[@Cayman91]

@@swordofdanuyes, but our government works hard to ruin it

[@Bread4Hero]

Gothic 1 and 2 have a special place in my heart, I used to play them with my friend when we were both around 7-8 years old. It was crazy to experiment with the cheats and feel like a god, but what was even crazier was when we learned that we can progress in the game without cheats. We played the game to the maximum when we could do so, such a great time it was. And when I come back to it sometimes, the game holds up pretty well still.

[@Yora21]

Gothic ruined open world games for me forever. It just set a standard so high that no other game ever met it again. In Gothic, the open world exists to serve the story. It's not an open world to muck around in with a thin excuse for a plot slapped on. Maybe Witcher 3, but also not really.

[@hassunassu4511]

I know the feeling cannot play witcher3 because it diesnt feel right

[@Nitiiii11]

@Yora For me Kingdom Come Deliverance kind of (as in almost) did the trick. Other than that, complete agreement, Gothic 1+2 are nothing less than masterpieces.

[@FaroTV_]

Same for me. Except for the Witcher 3 point. I actually felt like witcher 3 being the only game that surpassed gothic 1+2 for me.

[@HCMORGI]

absolutely how i feel. people play thousands of hours on skyrim and i can't even get down twenty over 3 installs and help of mods of this pale shit. meanwhile i replayed both gothic 1 and 2 for like 30 times the past 20 years

[@norseca542]

PRAISE GERALDO DEL RIVERO

[@EarthNotAGlobe]

Any other Aussies 🇦🇺 in this comment section that love the Gothic games. To me they are my favorite games of all time (of any genre) these games manage to do just about everything I could hope as far as creating an immersive world. They where really ambitious and vary much ahead of their time imo.

[@CESSKAR]

I really like this series dedicated to Gothic. Thanks a lot. Immersion is probably the greatest asset of these games. And hardly matched today.

[@randalthor6872]

anyone else only just now playing this masterpiece in 2023?!?!? haha Thanks for this, Nocturnal Rambler :) Your channel hits all the right notes with me. And I read on your website your tips for Elex and it has helped me immensely. Playing Elex and Gothic 1 at the moment. Plan on play through the entire Gothic trilogy and your channel inspired me to do it.

[@PeTak006]

We need a new game as good as this two. They simply dont exist anymore.

[@xyzzy-dv6te]

I would love to see a *real* Gothic 4 or something like that

[@TheWolf-se8hs]

we got the Risen games , made by the same guys who made Gothic... and u get the same feeling playing them, but yeah u are right, games like these do not exist anymore. It is funny how over time games got downgraded instead of upgraded

[@Valvadrix]

@@TheWolf-se8hs I only get that feeling with Risen 1 and only the first chapter of it.

[@ninetynein6853]

@@TheWolf-se8hs Nowadays its not about Quality of gameplay and immersion but about how much money they can milk from the public.

[@miolen9212]

@@ninetynein6853 If the public consists of cows they will be milked.

[@RysieX267]

It's a shame that they don't make games like that anymore. Since 2008 I keep replaying Gothic 1 and 2 to this day, lost track of how many times I did - and it never gets boring.

[@Kevin5279]

I think I've easily played them dozens of time. Probably more than 2 dozen times. Maybe even 3

[@LeonserGT]

Another element in conversations that contributes greatly to immersion is that YOUR speech is also fully voiced, including saying stuff in between when it makes sense without even asking player to click it, pretty much like Shepard in ME. This helps tremendously to create a realistic conversation that makes sense and sounds believable, unlike all those other RPGs when you just click the line and the NPC replies to that immediately. They probably think this helps immerse players with the protagonist, but it actually only makes it worse.

[@3ombieautopilot]

What I really liked about Gothic is how it never barred you from taking your chances with higher level creatures.

[@DerWasserflasche]

The german voice acting is a masterpiece! Bodo Henkel as Xardas or Christian Wewerka as the nameless hero are so greate voice actors. There are legends for the german Gothic Community. But also all other voice actors are very very very good. They all spoke many diffrent Characters but you can give me one line without gameplay and I can name you the Character which they spoke even if it is a generic one. This is maybe the best german voice acting in gaming history. Not maybe it is the best german voice in gaming history! But unfortunately a few of them already died. RIP VATRAS. RIP LESTER.

[@real_Furryratchet]

These games where made with love and not for making a ton of money. It was a time that is lost today. Iam from Germany. Played these when I was young and Iam coming back to these games from time to time.

[@xi_the_pooh]

In regards to the voice acting: I feel so sorry for all of you who don't unterstand german. Especially Gothic 1 has amazing voice acting where if feel like you're missing out on a huge part of the game's experience if you don't play in german.

[@hanzeronori3856]

It's the same in the polish version, up to this day Gothic is considered to have one of the best video game voice acting in the Polish language. It's all done by professional polish actors that you can still hear in more recent works like The Witcher for example. But if the german voice acting is as good as you say, then it means that it's even more impressive on the german side, since I don't think it was done by professionals?

[@tehpeasant]

@@hanzeronori3856 It was done by professional voice actors

[@leo9753]

yes, yes. the german voice acting is just amazing. I also heard great things about the polish one, no surprise it has a huge audience there

[@ninetynein6853]

Yea i finished all the games in Polish before i started them in English and im sorry but the english voice acting is just....poop

[@masumasumasu]

at least for once its the other way around. normally german voice acting sucks for american games/movies. now we can enjoy and they have to suffer haha!

[@BartixShieldsmen]

Gothic, a game that has aged incredibly well and horribly at the same time. Either way still one of the best RPG games ever.

[@thanquolrattenherz9665]

and both 1 and 2 still get mods and overhauls to this day which is insane for a over 20 year old game

[@Caydiem]

Still plays and looks like it did in 2001. I actually prefer the original textures without the dx11 renderer.

[@Sitharii]

0:41 : """"the immersive design of Gothic 1 and 2 is timelessly brilliant """"""" . My thoughts exactly !!! even today I look at Gothic 1 and I still see a timeless masterpiece with almost no flaws !!!! incredible !!!!

[@realQuiGon]

Awesome video! You really nailed it with the reasons what makes the first two Gothics such awesome games! I really hope Alkimia is listening 🙏 RIP Piranha Bytes 💀

[@vladstravelguide8580]

Every year on my birthday , before I blow the cake candles I wish for gothic 1 and 2 remakes, EvErY SiNgLe YeAr!

[@nejcver]

G1 and 2 truly are mastepieces. Even Witcher devs took notes from them when making witcher games. Newer piranha bytes games are so uninteresting to me. To this day they failed to make a decent combat system since G2.

[@heretyk_1337]

Actually i like "Risen 1"- when it comes to combat- the best out of Pirahna`s games. It was fast paced, intuitive and very unforgiving, especially, when we talk about first chapter- and every squrrel and slug can take their day out on ya... And God forbbid you stumble upon black wolf or better yet ash beast... And i would argue- it is even more unfrogiving, than first "Gothic", when it comes to planned experience points distribution. In first "Gothic" you could learn one handed, two handed, bows, crossbows, reach 100 points in dexterity and strength without potions and rings, and still have some leftovers to learn thievery and some magic- and if you like spending time killing creatures you summoned- you can learn all six magic circles... In first "Risen"? No can do. You either go ranged with average melee, or melee with average ranged, but not both, and sure as hell can`t learn all weapons types- i remember, how i maxed on sword and crossbow, first time i ever played, with 20 or 30 points of both strength and dexterity, because i was more interested in being able to parry and do long combos, rather than do lot of damage- and of course locpicking and prospecting and sneaking etc.... Then, for the fuck of it, i wanted to learn the axes... And then was sent to ruins to take on giant scorpions, ash beasts and lizardmen... i think i ended game with 80 points of strength and 50 of dexterity- out of 200 possible- and only because i can buy and find potions, and food that gives experience- you haven`t lived, till you ate 300 shark fins(slow as hell) to get 4500 experience... I do see problems with this game- how constricted it feels, how they went basically with mix of elements from "Gothic" 1 and 2- and at some points game holds our hands(like with nautilus spell instruction next to the hole...), but quite frankly- i like mechanics from that game. Story is so- so, but it did feel, like "Gothic" when first boar just got me locked in and bashed through the defenses, and killed me in 2 hits :) I really felt like a little shit again- just like when i tried to pickaxe first goblin in "Gothic"- one above Abandoned Mine... "Gothic" story, Risen" mechanic- i assume, we can agree on that would be nice :)

[@ninetynein6853]

@@heretyk_1337 Yeah but Risen was made at around the same time

[@heretyk_1337]

@@ninetynein6853 Same time as what?

[@ManlyTear]

​ I see great potential in Elex, but it's just very rough around the edges, perhaps more so in certain ways - significant ways - than say, gothic 2. Like the progression system can be rather whack with you possibly ending up finishing like 80% of the game before joining a faction and then just going through the rest of the 20% in a heartbeat. An issue with character progression when most skills & especially stats are requirements for weapons, and weapons being the main factor deciding how strong your character was. Combat system needs a bit of refining on the hit boxes, but it still has that euro-jank clunky feel that you have you can make smooth, but have to mastering it to do so, just like in G1/2. However, that's fixable so I have hopes for Elex 2, as besides that the game offers has that Gothic 1 & 2 style over it.

[@xPandamon]

They're good but certainly no masterpieces. That would mean that other aspects are as good but that's not really the case

[@wenchinatrenchcoat8459]

I feel very privileged that i got to play these masterpieces as a child.

[@LetsPlayPC]

One of the intangible successes that the first to Gothic games hit perfectly is finding that balance of letting you discover the world on your own and figure things out for yourself without leaving you running in circles and totally frustrated. The first game did have one or two of those frustrating moments but, for the most part, if you don't know where to go, you can use your common sense and some trial-and-error to find your next objective. Having a unique enough landscape for you to find your way around until you can afford to find a map is still a little bit of genius in the Gothic games that I don't think I have seen repeated since then. But you can't just take any open world RPG and retro fit it with PB features -- it has to be designed from the ground up that way. Earning fast travel is another great design feature that I wish we saw more often. But unless PB listens to the healthy criticism that they got on Elex, I don' think that we will ever see that style of game again. Too much emphasis on being big and huge, and not enough emphasis on building worlds with charm and character. All open world games have gone in this direction.

[@broncoxy]

This video is doing a great job explaining, why I'm so in love with these games and why they're such a memorable experience even with their age in mind. These games easily built the most immersive and living world and atmossphere I've ever seen in any video game, even (or, sadly, especially) newer ones just seem to be unable to do what Gothic did 20 years ago. And I think it aged like fine wine, the graphics maybe aren't exactly what you would call photo-realistic, but they're old enough to not have that scary/creepy 'wannabe-realistic' look of mid-2000s games, its almost like a bit of a 'comic look'. The controls are a bit to get into, but once you've understood them, its really ok and feels right. Lastly, while the english voicing seems to be horrible, I played it in german (cause I am german myself) and these voices were really nice and fitting. I could talk hours about these games but you managed to get it into one video, precise and on point. Kudos! Ngl doe, everyone should try these, maybe even in german with english subs, its really good, russian and polish voices are said to be really nice aswell. G1 hasn't become my favorite game for nothing... Playing Gothic 1 and 2 early if not at the absolute beginning of my gaming journey made me as picky as I am about games now lmao So you might give it a try! If it won't work (I mean its old), visit WorldOfGothic! There are guides to make it work and a lot of threads regarding the game.

[@jonathan6035]

Nice video. I wish more games followed this sort of methodology!

[@serjtubin]

This excellent video must be very nostalgic to all us early 2000s teenagers who played Gothic 1&2 :)

[@nicoledreamcr4666]

Best thing about this game is that there are many new mods up today making the game even more legendary.

[@SkleineX]

It's 2022 and I'm playing it right now!!! Never get tired from this amazing game 🔥

[@carador9286]

Me too! Started Gothic 1 a couple of days ago. I already played it six times or so. But it never gets old.

[@SpecialKapson]

8:11 love how the focus locked on Gorn which made you miss a hit on the snapper gothic players know it too well

[@swishersnaaake8208]

You nailed it with this analysis. I've always wondered about this series and you've convinced me to try it. Thanks.

[@damegaKing]

I am also a long time gothic fan. I played gothic and gothic 2 countless times. but i couldn't really but a finger on why i like them so much and why the atmosphere is so great. You did a really good job explaining why they are so good. I really wish we had more games likes these.

[@jarlfenrir]

The feeling of progression is even better in gothic, when at some point Cor Angar tells you that you are the most powerful man in the colony.

[@BewegteBilderrahmen]

having such a specifically tailored control that does not use the mouse is part of it, I think. Another is the constant feeling of growing stronger due to the absolute numbers used in damage calculations (armor protects you from as much damage as is stated apart from 5 minimum damage; works for enemies, too) so you constantly encounter new enemies that are at first basically invincible, then challenging but you can win and a few levels up you're killing multiples in one fight; and this feeling happens throughout most of a normal playthrough.

[@ArniesTech]

In fact Lobarts fetch quest is much more straight forward. Letting you maskerade as a farm boy to get into the City would be a total RPG thing to do. Lobarts never mentions this as a method. He simply has things to do for a day jobber and you offer your service as a day jobber. And as such (who potentially could work more often or longer) you can buy the farm clothes. Not more not less. A job that needs to be done and a day jobber offering to do it. That's Gothic's believable world building

[@gamingzone8445]

I love Gothic...Much love from India 🇮🇳

[@Kevin5279]

Same here bhai. The first 2 games are particularly my most favorite rpgs

[@robink.9966]

Wow! Great analysis of 2 great games!! I think all (future) game-developers should watch this.

[@PeterLE2]

One of the best analysis' of what made gothic 1 and 2 the masterpieces they are

[@aszahala]

Why did I miss these titles completely? These look awesome.

[@predattak]

Better get them fast good sir.

[@cullermann2]

I highly recommend them

[@Yasininat]

You know what? I've played Gothic 1+2 almost 20 years ago. Those set the bar sooo high, I didn't like most of the RPG games or find them somewhat acceptable including Skyrim. Well. I can see, you had the similar experience. Judging by your other contents :) Thanks for all them dude. Keep up good work.

[@Nitiiii11]

Gothic 1+2 are true masterpieces that are ahead of their time even now. Some games came close: Risen, Witcher, Elder Scrolls and probably a few more. None were able to recreate the kind of atmosphere Gothic emits. Kingdom Come Deliverance may be the only exception.

[@TheMetastasia]

I feel like Risen was when Pyranha Bytes went downhill. It still was a great RPG and I had a lot of fun playing it. Than came Risen 2-3 that i pülayed both like 20 minutes just to exit. Than there is Elex which feels like it has the mechanics of Gothic 3 but 12 years later.

[@justventing]

Imagine the talent,intellect of yesterday with the graphics of today..I guess originality is a thing of the past..(=

[@ceno8039]

I so much totally concur with this upload.

[@Gorn21]

Getting to see Mud beaten up again is so statisfying.

[@ellobodehielo]

Entering the new camp, there was some NPC dude who made me get him a bunch of shit and when I collected it all he said something along the lines of "what a sucker you are, now get lost". So I lured an Orc into Old Camp guards, took his weapon after he died and proceeded to murder my way through the new camp with the op weapon, which also got me Lars' axe before chapter 2 even started. Still one of my favorite video game moments, some 20 years later.

[@TheLostODST]

A brilliant game. I have sunk so many hours into this. Loved min maxing, early over leveling, and getting the great items early, its so fun once you know your way around the game.

[@mattmattmatt131313]

There is something about the central/eastern europeans that know how to make a slower more immersive deep game. Gothic1&2, Stalker, Mafia 1, Kingdom Come: Deliverance

[@Marius-us1tq]

I would like to take a moment and talk about something that was not mentioned here: Fast travel. In gothic games fast travel is a game mechanic that u can acces by finding teleportation runes and using them. You gain acces to them later in the game when you probably saw the whole game and in the context of the game it makes sence.

[@xCNapo]

Great review for the greatest games ever produced. Its crazy how good the games still are in 2021. Every decision in game design from immersion to rewarding experience, toughness to smart world design is still top notch.

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

They really are timeless, I feel. Apart from the dated graphics (which I think still look stylistically good, and can be improved with texture and resolution mods) and the idiosyncratic controls (which were weird even for their time), everything else still holds up extremely well.

[@Daeinyr]

Gothic games are the best rpg games in every way possible,they are epic,the are awesome,they are everything

[@JohnRed]

Engine and hardware limitations were essential for old games being fun and the devs having to use clever tricks to make their games work. The game making you go back to the starting areas to take quests from people who you already completed quests for is great for immersion and having investment in those characters. If the hardware and engine could handle it I doubt they would even think of making you go back, they'd just create a new area and all your quests would be from new NPCs with 2 lines of dialogue. Gothic 3 and Bethesda games are like this. Once you complete a quest and an area, you don't have to go back, forget that area existed and move to the next area. There's only so much data a game could have back then, only so many locations and characters the engine can render so they get reused and it's for the better. Khorinis becomes your home, it's not just the low level starting area you quest in and move on.

[@Corristo89]

The worlds of Gothic and Gothic 2 were compact enough and designed so well that PB could work with in-world descriptions because they literally built the world by hand and everything was put there with intention. There are no two places which feel the same, i.e. the big forest near Khorinis feels very different than the one behind Onar's farm. Compare this to Gothic 3 where I often had absolutely no idea where I was anymore. Varant? Yes, it's a desert, it's supposed to be vast and empty, but trecking through it often felt more like a chore than an adventure. Nordmar? Dear god, how often did I get completely lost in those ravines because they all looked the same and the map was absolutely useless. It's so tragic to see how PB got things so right with Gothic 2 and then proceed to unlearn everything with Gothic 3 and never return to form after that. Gothic 3 could've been a great game with more time and polish.

[@plrc4593]

PB made a terrible mistake with G3 which was to develop an engine in the same time as the game. I consumed most of their time, resources etc. and little to nothing left for actual game. G3 would be probably a very good game if they licenced a stable engine, like Morrowind's one and devoted themselves to creating a plausible world and plot.

[@dantejoker2663]

Great analysis much respect for that

[@SantaKlausFrosty]

2:20 Here you see a true Gothic player having a shit ton of saves.

[@raduantoniu]

I wish they made these games with today's graphics!

[@hgtugdz25]

i would rathere have the classic textures and looks

[@kingdennis2763]

@@hgtugdz25 I like the graphics in the old game way better than the new ones from the remake teaser. They just have so much more personality. Also the new design for the Hero in the remake sucks

[@hgtugdz25]

@@kingdennis2763 the reamje does suck they should pirania bites should just buy the game back and dont change the graphics or the hero so we cab have a real gothic 3 and 4 hoppefully they still know how to do amazing games

[@gingercore69]

There will be a remake of gothic 1 it seems...

[@miroslavrakovan9044]

when i was first time playing this game i was 13 y old it was realy good times to remmember

[@zaori2785]

"brilliantly timeless" and "contextual" Games nowadays can learn so much from Gothic!

[@krupam0]

I'm pretty sure Xardas, Saturas, and Corristo having the same voice was deliberate, as it makes it ambiguous as to who is narrating the intro. The same thing applied in Polish and German versions as far as I could tell.

[@Fion355]

Like Bethesda and Morrowind/Oblivion many, many Character are sharing voices. Most or near all of the important NPC have there own, while the standart ones have like 5-10 diffrent ones to show a kinda cliche stereotype. Soft, brutal, ruff etc etc. But if was baffled at the sorry excuse of voice acting of the english one. I only knew the german, and to be honest, not the best for sure, but you remember many many punchlines. Spoken in a ruff voice, threatening you or else. None of that accent crap. Clear and simple german.

[@Kevin5279]

Yeah. For me the voice acting was really not a deal breaker even though I played the North American version. On the contrary, I like how the ruffian and thuggish voice of the convicts further lended to the prison atmosphere in the 2 games

[@kooroshrostami27]

@@Fion355 having multiple characters voiced by the same voice actor isn't necessarily a problem. A professional voice actor can manipulate his voice to a degree and take on varying demeanors so 2 NPCs voiced by the same person might still appear very different in character. I actually think they did a good job with that in Gothic, I feel like it's much worse in games like Oblivion or Skyrim, in Skyrim you literally can get 3 guards standing next to each other with exactly the same voice and the exact same lines, now that is immersion breaking.

[@flavius22]

I didnt remember the graphics details but i will never forget how this game made me feel

[@Владислав-ы9м5у]

Entering the Valley of Mines on the 26-th level with Claw of Beliar and a couple of firestorm scrolls. The dynamic difficulty as it is.

[@AnaiBendai]

One of my favorite lines and one that is stuck with me for all these years was when the carpenter asked me “do you know how to work with wood?“ and the Hero replies “the only thing I know how to do with wood is make a fire”

[@coops5060]

Woooow I literally thought about tracking gothic down the other day! My nostalgias are burning :(

[@SnarkyLesbian]

Something to point out about the voice acting, is that the game was developed in German primarily, so they had no part in the English voice acting, in the German versions there are also voices that double up (because it was likely voiced by only a handful of people), but they all fit the world and are used throughout all 3 games.

[@Kacpa2]

It annoys me how Bethesda got more notoriety while having inferior games, Morrowing being worse in every single way to both Gothic games only up being over gothic being customization of your character at the start. And them bethesda lying about "revolution in rpg games" with things that Gothic done half a decade earlier and only getting close to Gothic around Skyrim 10 years later and even then still failing in many areas by having badly scripted npc interactions in cities with same exact lines triggering every day, having immersion breaking mechanics like pausing inventory, very bad and bland combat, arbitrary leveling system, still not voice protagonist except for shouts. Bethesda does not deserve status they have, they never really did after 90s, they keep making really subpar games for 2 decades now not to mention most recent bs they do with Fallout 76 or mobile games like TES Blades......its ridiculous.

[@Lienhardismus]

Morrowind has the best lore in any rpg I have ever seen its just so interesting and outlandish. But in any other way Gothic is superior no question.

[@bergbilch]

well most people see games as only entertainment - they dont want to fail or getting teached by a game - i like the opposite and sadly there arent many games around like that. ill never forget my first playthrough of Gothic 2 - it was such a great feeling beeing nearly unable to finish the game several times and still coming out on top at the end.

[@bonchachan6061]

Yeah, it's ridiculous that you can find people criticize Bethesda for trying to voice all npc and give them schedule in Oblivion or voice protagonist in Fallout 4 because they think it's too big of a task which is inevitably going to have problems in the game but at the same time Piranha Bytes did exactly that in 2001 with Gothic - voiced protagonist, voiced npcs, schedule for npc and yet the game has no problems with it. It's a shame Gothic isn't so popular and people don't see just how incompetent Bethesda is.

[@Ascardo_Crimson]

Then people let's change that! Videos like this - thanks to The Nocturnal Rambler - are helping to show the gamers that games like this exist. Piranha Bytes are working at a new game right now. They want to announce the game early this year they say. And on top of that the new owners of the studio and all the rights to the gothic series - THQ Nordic, who are big fans of the series themselfes, think about making a remake of Gothic 1. A modern adaption of the game that feels like the original. Our feedback can help them to make this remake - and to make it a game that we really want.

[@rreece90]

I always wondered - did Todd Howard or ANY of the other decisive people at Bethesda ever play Gothic 1+2? Why didn't they copy the features than made it so super immersive? Witcher 3 devs did just that (they are openly admitting it) and contributed to it becoming such a fantastic game. Instead, Bethesda pretends those features are their invention, 5-10 years late (radiant AI in Oblivion, Skyrim) and is still far from matching Gothic's immersiveness - watching this video makes you realise how primitive the characters' and animals' behavior still is in TES. @Kacpa2 I agree with you, but IMO there was exactly one thing that Morrowind did better than Gothic - the lore was much more developed and deeper. In Gothic books were mostly non-interactive decoration, and in Morrowind you could read every single one, a some contained really huge chunks of text about the world, its history, people, there were even complete short stories.

[@Jacob011]

Damn, I should play both Gothics again. They totally enchanted me all those 15 years ago.

[@morlock2200]

dont forget about Not a single Invisible wall or barrier.

[@danmusiceasy]

Very interesting! In Romania, there are people continually doing tutorials and walkthoughs of the Gothic games to this day. I was watching videos because I am learning 3D modeling in Blender and was curious how the worlds were constructed.

[@werpu12]

Gothic 1+2 was so great because it implemented a ton of stuff prototyped in 2d in Ultima 6 and 7 in 3d, basically Gothic 2 was exactly what a modern Ultima could have looked like! And again just like Ultima 7 most games could not reach the same realism!

[@DefaultGatewayable]

I'd love it if they re-release G1 and 2 with the current state of the engine used with Elex, that would be amazing

[@imcharming4808]

Why does the barrier not always appear?

[@ProgazQQ]

Very well said! Gothic 1 & 2 are the best RPG's of all time imo. Hope the remake can show that to the new generation.

[@LikeAGroove]

what was that at 12:23 ??

[@TheNocturnalRambler]

That was a glowing Will-O-the-Wisp, a magic aid that helps you find certain things in the environment, introduced in the Night of the Raven expansion to assist with tracking down the bandits' weapons dealer. When you cast it, it follows you around in the world, and caught up to me at the very end of that clip once I stopped moving.

[@LikeAGroove]

@@TheNocturnalRambler oh now I remember haha, thanks

[@jamessarvan7692]

Great video!

[@cmdrmaligno96]

Thank you for putting together this awesome video. Gothic felt like a far better game than Morrowind, which was its contemporary at the time. Gothic felt like a truly seamless and immersive experience. I wish more games gave players the same sense of immersion as Gothic.

[@Xerkrosis]

15:00 Had to go back and rewatch that scene, because I've been too invested into seeing how you're handling a shadow beast. So much your narration, that I've followed until this point, suddenly turned into background-noise.^^ Btw I've never considered a 2h weapon, since I prefer fast 1h weapons. 2h is better at keeping enemies at bay, but love to bombard my target with many hits, and also be quick enough to hit it before it gets too close.

[@OldNerdPlayingOldPCGames]

Gothic 1 and 2 are still one of the game industry's greatest works of art

[@HighFiveTheHorizon]

Gothic 1 and 2 were such great games. To this day my siblings and I quote the "random dialogue snippets" with glee.

[@matternicuss]

Have you played Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos yet? It’s a total conversion mod for Gothic 2, taking place before the events of Gothic 1. Anyways, it’s absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend it. It’s basically a whole new Gothic game for free.

[@symonpiotr4676]

Polish voice acting in Gothic is just the best.

[@MidnightMedium]

Hey thanks for your review here. I initally got interested in Gothic because of Mandalore but was on the fence about buying cuz it looked a little janky. You convinced me to go ahead and take the plunge. The detail and craftsmanship to make emergent gameplay happen just doesnt exist like this anymore

[@Nikolaablg]

I finished Gothic 1 a few years ago, it is my best rpg by far. Still didn’t finish the second one.

[@Seveni77]

I got gifted the gothic series from a German friend on steam. I had no idea what they said since it was in German and I had no idea how I would switch it to english

[@lollertoaster]

Polish dubbing is top tier and it's the version I grew up with. I remember back in high school when I wanted to be a KZbinr and decided to record a Gothic Let's Play in english. When I first heard Diego, I kid you not, I cracked laughing for 5 minutes straight.

[@TheCherry1994]

There will never be another game like gothic 1 or 2...

[@Yasininat]

I hate this fact. but you're right.

[@ColonelSandersLite]

I loved those games. Really did. There's one thing they did that they really shouldn't have though. The idle chatter between villagers. It's soooo repetitive. A lot of it is *still* burned into my memory 20 years later.

[@dedicateddark]

Nailed it. Modern games do half as much and then proceed to tout them as features. Honestly, it's just a shame no other games care as much. These games changed the way I think about games, I was lucky that I was adamant enough to get through the initial confusion and play it back in my teens. I thought CDProjekt might've taken the negative feedback for the minimap to heart and designed better, but the Cyberpunk gameplay I've seen tells me otherwise.

[@Breitpwner]

really good review. all makes sense and is true.

[@thedude6307]

Time to learn german as the german game design is phenomenal.

[@thedude6307]

voice*

[@YeOldeSpellbooke]

I wish THQ Nordic had a consultant like TNR in their Gothic remake team... The the demo almost feels like a mockery to this video. Now, since the game will happen, I can only hope they listen to the fans of Gothic and not people who just want another modern generic RPG...

[@Luftgitarrenprofi]

Funny how the downvotes are at 0,01%. I completely agree with the narrative of this video and apparently, so does everyone else. The first time I played Gothic I still remember telling my friends back then "This is such a great game... I wonder what games will be like in the future with Gothic's formula. I can't wait!" Sadly, this never happened and I've never had any feeling even remotely close to what Gothic caused again.

[@MomokaSagara]

Actually, referring to the Healthbar, I don't mind modern games implementing a "bloody screen" or "screen red" or "blurring vision" when your Health is very low and almost depleted. (some of those games don't even show you a Healthbar at all and let you guess how much more you can take) I find it to be fitting for those particular games. I agree that it wouldn't fit with Gothic, but I don't think it's "ruining the immersion in newer games" in general, also Fallout3/new vegas/4, have the "crippling" that makes you move slower when you're injured, ...and even if not in that way, but somehow I think showing how your character is bleeding (okay I think a bit of that is doable in the options of Gothic, if I remember correctly) or hurt/injured/wounded and how that influences his ability to flee from a battle, would have been a valid aspect, though I guess that was simply not possible back then, just saying that some other ways of dealing with the "Healthbar" or "Health" and displaying the overall condition of a character, is not something I would consider immersion breaking in most games, (I agree that some exaggerate with that, though) even nowadays

[@dodekaedius]

I liked the way, injuries have been shown in the game afro samurai

[@ceno8039]

Now I want to play G2, the 2nd best game I ever played.

[@OleksiiLytvynenko]

Thank you for this review. The Gothic is an amazing game. It is truly unique. It has a logical, believable, and immersive world. For me it is the pinnacle of gaming.

[@MB-ey6vv]

2021 developers should play it to learn thing of two, from two decade old piece of masterpiece.

[@balduinvontrier128]

You can watch another essay on those games every day and each and everyone brings up new ways in which the games are genius.