ArcaniA
- October 11, 2010
- Spellbound
- 15h median play time
Get on Steam"ArcaniA is a single-player Role Playing Game with masterful graphics and a delightful soundtrack. The game features an intuitive combat system, a deep storyline within the Gothic universe franchise, and continuous action. However, it is criticized for being very grinding, poorly optimized, and containing numerous bugs, making for a hilarious and unique gameplay experience."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The graphics are visually appealing and well-designed for a game of its time.
- The combat system is straightforward and can be enjoyable, especially for casual players.
- The game offers a decent amount of playtime with a variety of quests and environments to explore.
- The story is linear and lacks depth, making it feel predictable and unengaging.
- Many NPCs have repetitive character models and voice acting, leading to a lack of immersion.
- The game is riddled with bugs and performance issues, which can detract from the overall experience.
- story459 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story in "Arcania: Gothic 4" is generally viewed as linear and simplistic, often relying on repetitive fetch quests that detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the continuation of the Gothic lore and find moments of intrigue, many criticize the lack of depth, poor character development, and uninspired dialogue, leading to a narrative that feels disjointed and unengaging. Overall, the game is seen as a missed opportunity to build on the rich storytelling of its predecessors, resulting in a plot that is often described as cliché and forgettable.
“It starts off as a story of revenge but as the game carries on, more layers are revealed.”
“If you have followed the Gothic story from game 1, there is some interesting information about lore in this game.”
“I personally loved the story and feel it was really well drafted, I know that the game itself is not canon to the Gothic series but I hope the lore it represented is.”
“The story is so boring and becomes tedious after so many fetch quests and collecting a bunch of relics, navigating a horrendous maze of a map where you just run around like a clown most of the time.”
“The overall plot is both shallow and a disjointed mess, meaning it gets completely lost, and the lackluster dialogue does nothing to inspire you.”
“The plot is completely linear, and there are no choices to be made that have any impact on the story whatsoever; the game mechanics are also too simplistic for a different build to be worth considering.”
- graphics167 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the environments and landscapes are visually appealing and hold up reasonably well for a title from 2010, they are marred by numerous graphical bugs and glitches. Some users appreciate the detail in character models and atmospheric effects, but others criticize the repetitive NPC designs and dated visuals compared to newer titles. Overall, the graphics are considered decent but inconsistent, with a few standout elements that enhance the experience.
“The graphics are beautiful, even if people have wonky body proportions.”
“Great graphics, locations, buildings, animals, and flora.”
“The graphics are very good, and the rain effect is one of the best I have seen with water running on the ground and your avatar.”
“This game was clearly rushed, which is evident from certain graphical janks that you run into in the world.”
“There are many graphical bugs and glitches still present, as well as no option to turn on v-sync, even though many games when this one came out had the option to do so.”
“The graphics look average for the era, they do bug out often and some textures can turn all black; the game does not look very good overall.”
- gameplay108 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is generally described as linear and simplistic, often relying on repetitive tasks such as fetch quests and combat that lacks depth. While some players appreciate the absence of grinding and the straightforward mechanics, many criticize the clunky controls, technical issues, and lack of meaningful choices, leading to a feeling of mediocrity overall. Despite its decent graphics and occasional fun moments, the gameplay fails to capture the complexity and immersion expected from the Gothic series.
“The gameplay is just your average RPG game loot, kill, and do fetch quests, but what I like is there is no grind for strength, dexterity, or magic. You just choose a perk and find weapons and equipment to make your build. From the start, you can be all build in one, just spamming arrows and magic. It's like Zelda: Breath of the Wild minus the climbing mechanic.”
“The combat system is fairly intuitive, the graphics are nice, and it definitely has that gothic feel to the world and gameplay.”
“Gorgeous graphics and fun gameplay.”
“The gameplay is just your average RPG game: loot, kill, and do fetch quests. While there is no grind for strength, dexterity, or magic, the overall experience feels monotonous and lacks depth.”
“The main takeaway is that the game is very linear, with virtually no exploration and even fewer choices. The gameplay is extremely repetitive, mostly consisting of kill this thing, talk to that guy, repeat until the final battle.”
“The gameplay is stale, with bugs that hinder the experience, such as feeling like you're walking down steps with invisible walls blocking you. This leads to a frustrating experience when navigating the environment.”
- music36 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many players praising the soundtrack for enhancing the atmosphere and fitting well with the game's environment. While some reviewers noted that it doesn't quite reach the heights of earlier titles in the Gothic series, the overall sound design, including sound effects and voice acting, is considered decent to good. Despite some criticisms regarding gameplay and technical issues, the music stands out as a highlight for many players.
“The soundtrack is actually reasonable and adds a degree of atmosphere to the game.”
“Sounds and music fit very well and enhance the game mood even further.”
“That soundtrack, however, is just fantastic.”
“Doesn't come close to any of the music pieces from the old games.”
“The only two good things, and really only good, not exceptional or awesome, are the graphics (the Steam version has a lot of problems though) and the music, which tries to recreate old gothic themes. It sounds kind of nice, but it's nowhere near Kai Rosenkranz's work for Gothic 1-3 and the Risen games.”
“Boring soundtrack.”
- stability27 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is plagued by significant stability issues, including frequent crashes, numerous graphical glitches, and poor optimization, which severely disrupt gameplay and immersion. Many players report game-breaking bugs that hinder progress, while others experience minor visual issues that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game is a "buggy mess," making it difficult to enjoy fully.
“The game suffers from frequent crashes, glitches, and poor optimization, which can disrupt gameplay and immersion.”
“The game is broken; there are glitches that prevent it from being played all the way through.”
“There are just too many bugs and glitches that you will be unlikely to finish the game.”
- humor16 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a standout feature, with players appreciating the main character's witty remarks, comical situations, and the overall tongue-in-cheek dialogue. While the voice acting is often described as hilariously awkward, it adds to the game's charm, despite some criticism of the story and combat mechanics. Overall, the humor is a mixed bag, blending dark and dorky elements that resonate well with players.
“The dialogue has some funny moments; I like the tongue-in-cheek humor it presents, and the quests are enjoyable enough.”
“The hero's growing frustration with side quests is hilarious.”
“It has funny faces and awkward voice acting, which adds to the charm of this game, in my opinion.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in "Arcania" is praised for its detailed world, good writing, and fitting soundtrack, evoking nostalgia for the Gothic series. However, some reviewers note a lack of depth, with minimal NPC interactions and linear quests detracting from the immersive experience. Overall, while the game captures a unique ambiance reminiscent of its predecessors, it falls short of fully realizing the rich, living world that fans expected.
“The world is atmospheric and detailed, just beautifully made, with good writing and full voice acting.”
“The soundtrack is reasonable and adds a significant degree of atmosphere to the game.”
“After all these years, Arcania still fascinates me with its unique atmosphere.”
“Instead of atmosphere, intrigue and corruption you get unintroduced linear fetch quests with zero reasons to care about them.”
“- to the end it doesn't develop that true gothic atmosphere that made the previous games popular.”
“Nothing breaks atmosphere as much as overly vivid colours, and this one lets you experience something that really feels 'alive', rather than typical oversaturated CG.”
- grinding13 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often describing it as a chore filled with repetitive fetch quests and unengaging combat. While some appreciate the sense of accomplishment from overcoming challenges and progressing through varied loot, many feel that the overall experience is marred by a lack of immersion and overly monotonous tasks. Despite a few enjoyable side missions, the grinding often detracts from the game's potential enjoyment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The story is so boring and becomes tedious after so many fetch quests and collecting a bunch of relics, navigating a horrendous maze where you just run around like a clown most of the time.”
“The game has a few good hours of content, but you will spend a lot of it grinding and running around.”
“The combat is however tediously boring due to the somewhat buggy and dodgy tactics you need to 'cheat' yourself with to kill all the enemies in the exact same way.”
- optimization13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 54 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting frequent crashes, glitches, and severe performance issues, particularly in demanding areas. Despite some users experiencing no problems, the consensus indicates that the game struggles to run smoothly even on high-end hardware, suggesting a need for substantial improvements in optimization.
“That being said, 83 fps with a GPU 10-20 times stronger kind of says it all about the optimization.”
“Could have used some polish and better optimization, but this is one of the better third-person RPGs out there thanks to the very good combat and entertaining dialogue.”
“Many players complained about performance issues and bugs, but I didn't experience any.”
“That being said, 83 fps with a GPU 10-20 times stronger kinda says it all about the optimization.”
“The game suffers from frequent crashes, glitches, and poor optimization, which can disrupt gameplay and immersion.”
“And a whole train of graphical issues and poor optimization (in the last city it's like 20 fps with 16GB RAM, Ryzen 3750H, and GeForce 2060 RTX).”
- emotional9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with reviewers noting uninspiring dialogue and a lack of character development that fails to foster emotional investment. Many express disappointment in the linear and boring storyline, which diminishes the impact of key events and character deaths. Overall, while some find the game enjoyable, the emotional depth is seen as a significant shortcoming that detracts from the overall experience.
“It may not have much in common with the original gothic games, but on its own two legs, it's an enjoyable romp around an enjoyable world. Any issues it has are mostly about missed opportunities; with more finishing time, polishing, and a few extra level arcs to allow major points in the story to gain more emotional significance, it could have turned from a good game into a great one. Still, it's well worth a playthrough as is nonetheless :)”
“There might have been more emotional commitment on my part if I had known her for more than five minutes before her untimely death, or if she had spoken more than ten lines to me.”
“It was a boring story; old characters that were supposed to do thing X for their entire life are now not doing what they do in their canon ending, making all past events useless to know about since everything is screwed up anyways.”
“Only a linear story, boring story, and a world you will start to learn is boring as hell.”
“You are driven along a boring storyline with multiple quests in the style of 'get to place A.'”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers very low replayability due to limited impactful choices and a lack of respawning enemies, which diminishes the incentive to revisit. While the extensive gameplay, engaging quests, and varied loot provide a satisfying experience, the absence of significant changes in subsequent playthroughs makes it less appealing for players seeking a game with meaningful replay value. However, it may still be worth considering during sales for its strong production values and immersive atmosphere.
“The main hook is the scope and length of the game; there's a lot of game to enjoy. While the lack of respawning monsters can be a negative for replayability, it's also a positive as you can feel a sense of accomplishment for genuinely making the world safe again, one to half a dozen mobs at a time. The quests are good enough to feel worth taking time from the main story to do them, and none of them feel too grindy or demanding of your time, nor too petty to be ignored. By the time you master one set of mobs, a new set will come along with sufficiently different behavior, keeping you engaged throughout your progress. The loot is varied, and you will continue to progress to better and better gear all the way up to the end, with the game's penultimate quest providing players with their ultimate armor choice.”
“But even if it does not offer a replay value (like games with open worlds do), it should still be considered when on sale because it has a lot of good things too, such as nice music, good voice actors, gorgeous graphics, and those good old gothic moments when you wander around and suddenly get attacked by a pack of scavengers or bloodflies.”
“You can turn on the option to sit down, wash your face, cook, or sharpen your sword, etc., but when it comes to your choices, they don’t matter much. You can pick some weapons and change your relationships in a few story events, adding a little replay value, but overall I don’t suggest this game if you really care about your choices mattering to the story.”
“But even if it does not offer replay value (like games with open worlds do), it should still be considered when on sale because it has a lot of good things too, such as nice music, good voice actors, gorgeous graphics, and those good old gothic moments when you wander around and suddenly get attacked by a pack of scavengers or bloodflies.”
“- very low replay value”
- character development5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is largely criticized for being overly simplistic and shallow, with limited options such as a few spells and runes. While some players acknowledge that this change from previous installments may not detract significantly from the overall experience, many feel it lacks depth and variety.
“The character development has changed and now it is more simplistic compared to the other parts, but I wouldn’t say that it has a negative impact on the experience.”
“Character development is almost non-existent; wow, you can use like 3 spells, a few runes (boring) and some scrolls.”
“Character development is very simplified to leveling up certain abilities.”
“Character development is really shallow.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, suggesting that it prioritizes profit over quality and player experience.
“It feels like a quick team throw-together for a cash grab.”
“The monetization strategy is overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
“I can't enjoy the game when it constantly pushes me to spend more money.”
