Gothic
- March 15, 2001
- Piranha Bytes
- 30h median play time
Get on Steam"Gothic" is a single-player historical open-world game set in the penal colony of Khorinis, where players must mine ore and navigate factions to survive. With an interesting plot, exceptional gameplay, and an outstanding atmosphere, the game boasts an amazing soundtrack but also includes lots of grinding and bugs. The game's description promises war, orcish hordes, and a chance to escape the confines of the law.
PC
Reviews
- Gothic 1 offers a unique and immersive world with a compelling story and memorable characters.
- The sense of progression from a weak character to a powerful hero is highly rewarding.
- The game features a rich atmosphere and detailed world-building, making exploration enjoyable.
- The controls are clunky and unintuitive, requiring significant time to get used to.
- The game is riddled with bugs and crashes, often requiring community patches to run properly on modern systems.
- The story becomes linear after the first chapter, with a lack of side quests and meaningful choices.
- story771 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of Gothic is widely praised for its immersive world-building, engaging character development, and a compelling "from zero to hero" narrative. Players appreciate the depth of the plot, which unfolds through meaningful quests and choices, although some note that the game becomes more linear as it progresses, particularly after the initial chapters. Despite its age and some technical flaws, the storytelling and atmosphere continue to resonate with players, making it a classic in the RPG genre.
“The game's immersive world, compelling storyline, and memorable characters have cemented its status as a classic.”
“The story is great, and the game does a good job of sticking to the main quest while offering small side quests, something you don't often see in today's games.”
“The story is filled with excitement and mystery.”
“After you pick a faction, however, you'll soon discover that your choice doesn't really matter because the game suddenly turns into a straightforward fantasy romp with a linear succession of main quests and no faction-specific content.”
“The main plot kind of sucks, but is supported by an interesting and complex world, and all its lore.”
“Your choice of camp seems like a big deal at first, but unfortunately it hardly has any impact on the story at all, just gameplay.”
- graphics268 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as outdated, reflecting its 2001 release, with many players noting that they have not aged well by modern standards. However, despite their antiquated appearance, some reviewers find a certain charm in the retro aesthetic, and many suggest that modding can significantly enhance the visual experience. Overall, while the graphics may deter some players, the game's immersive story and gameplay are often deemed more important than its visual fidelity.
“The world itself is dense packed full of details and is, despite the aged visuals, still beautiful.”
“The graphics might be something that will put off most people, but in my opinion, these kinds of graphics can never fail to amaze me.”
“Despite the old age and graphics, this is still a terrific game and I recommend you to try it out.”
“The graphics are dated, a lot, but a few hours into it it didn't bother me, kinda charming in a way.”
“The graphics are awful, everything on the screen looks like caca, and this is not a metaphor, the game uses your screen to display all the nuances of defecation and solely those chromatic nuances.”
“The controls are terrible, the graphics are dated and some elements don't seem to be complete.”
- gameplay211 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this classic RPG is often described as challenging and rewarding, with a unique blend of mechanics that can feel clunky and dated by modern standards. Players appreciate the depth of character progression and the immersive world, though many note that the combat and controls require patience to master. Despite its flaws, the game is celebrated for its engaging story and the sense of freedom it offers, making it a memorable experience for those willing to navigate its quirks.
“This game is more than 20 years old now and the features, mechanics, gameplay, story, characters, and just overall feel rival that of any modern RPG.”
“Gothic's unique atmosphere and challenging gameplay continue to captivate players, proving that great design and storytelling are timeless.”
“For a 21-year-old game, its gameplay and world-building still hold up very well.”
“But the gameplay is absolutely abysmal and is borderline unplayable when looked at from modern standards.”
“The combat and movement mechanics are bizarre and frequently frustrating.”
“After endless hours of pain and torture due to awkward gameplay, bugs, glitches, poor AI, and broken quests, I finally reached the end credits only for the game to crash during those exact same end credits.”
- atmosphere166 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of Gothic is widely praised as one of its standout features, characterized by a dark, immersive, and gritty world that captivates players with its tension and mystery. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke nostalgia and a sense of danger, enhanced by its atmospheric music and well-crafted environments. Despite its age and some outdated mechanics, many agree that Gothic's unique atmosphere remains unmatched in the RPG genre, making it a timeless classic for fans of deep lore and exploration.
“The atmosphere in this game is just wonderful, a small but cozy world full of interesting things to find.”
“The atmosphere is fantastic and the game really hasn't aged poorly at all, in my opinion.”
“Few games manage to build the kind of atmosphere that Gothic 1 has throughout the entire playthrough - the soundtracks will give you goosebumps and the harpies and zombies will make your ears bleed.”
“The atmosphere is dark and gritty, like wandering through an eerie old city at night.”
“The atmosphere of the game world is so dense, I don't think I've seen anything like it in any other game.”
- music116 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in Gothic 1 is widely praised for its atmospheric and immersive qualities, enhancing the game's gothic setting and emotional depth. Composed by Kai Rosenkranz, the soundtrack is described as beautiful and memorable, effectively complementing the game's narrative and environment. Players appreciate how the music contributes to the overall experience, making exploration and interaction within the game world feel more engaging and impactful.
“The ingeniously handcrafted game world is complemented by equally ingenious musical accompaniment, giving the player a genuine sense of melancholic comfort and the presence of a soul in the surrounding world.”
“The soundtrack, the sound, the feeling of improvement it gives the player through the story, the story itself...everything about Gothic is wonderful.”
“The music is a huge factor in every game, it helps to portray the feelings designers intended for the game and enforce immersion of the world and gameplay, and Gothic's soundtrack has definitely achieved that.”
“The music is not very memorable.”
“There's not much to speak of for sounds, ambience, or soundtrack.”
“A mild soundtrack that didn't produce any awe-inspiring moments in me or has any memorable tracks.”
- stability96 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 99 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting a plethora of bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder the gameplay experience. Many players note that while patches can improve performance, the game remains a "buggy mess," often requiring extensive troubleshooting to run properly on modern systems. Despite these issues, some players still find enjoyment in the unique gameplay and story, suggesting that those willing to tolerate the instability may still appreciate the game.
“I'm updating this review after about 8 years since I discovered the union patch (conveniently located in the Steam Workshop, by the way) and can say that the game now (mostly) runs great.”
“It is beyond belief how broken and buggy this game is; I have never seen anything even close to it.”
“The game is janky, buggy, and rough around the edges.”
“The biggest issue with this game is just how darn buggy it is.”
- humor44 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a standout feature, characterized by a mix of intentional and unintentional comedic elements, such as funny dialogue, quirky character interactions, and amusing sound effects. Players appreciate the sarcastic and crude humor, often finding the voice acting and character quirks to be hilariously bad yet charming. Overall, the game successfully blends dark humor with engaging storytelling, creating memorable and laugh-inducing moments throughout the gameplay experience.
“I enjoyed the dialogue and the setting the most; characters had *character* and the hero is snarky and hilarious at times.”
“The English voice acting is hilarious.”
“Not to mention the hilarious writing and fun gameplay loop.”
- grinding23 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding in the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often involving repetitive tasks and backtracking without sufficient fast travel options. While some appreciate the engaging storyline that unfolds after the initial grind, many express frustration with escort quests, buggy mechanics, and the overall busywork required for character advancement. Despite these drawbacks, a few players still enjoy the challenge and fun aspects of the gameplay.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“What ultimately made me decide to not recommend this game to others was the grinding required for me to progress with my desired roleplay.”
“With very little else to do than the main quest, grinding creatures for the sake of character advancement will occupy half your time (~25-30 hours final game save).”
“There is a lot of going back and forth and backtracking between the same areas, with no fast travel, for really tedious quests that have you talking to an NPC, running all the way back, talking to another NPC, running back... a lot of your time will be spent just bunny hopping all over the map.”
- optimization22 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many users reporting persistent bugs, janky controls, and inadequate performance on modern systems. While some community-made patches and fixes can improve the experience, players often find themselves needing to download multiple updates to achieve acceptable performance, particularly on newer operating systems. Overall, the game is seen as poorly optimized for contemporary hardware, making it a challenge to run smoothly without significant tinkering.
“If you’re worried about getting this old gem to run smoothly, don’t sweat it.”
“+1 for optimization, 20 year old game and works almost perfectly even with Windows 10 at 1920 resolution!”
“If you don’t mind such a thing, a little tinkering is recommended as community-made fixes greatly improve the game’s performance on newer hardware.”
“If you did play it, better to leave it in memory than try to revisit this horribly optimized abomination.”
“This Steam version of the game comes fully patched, but you may still encounter bugs and performance issues.”
“Don't waste your money on this outdated, poorly optimized garbage; let it rot in the forgotten stone age of gaming where it belongs.”
- replayability20 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its diverse factions, fighting styles, and character interactions, encouraging players to explore different playthroughs. While some reviews note flaws in the game mechanics and graphics, the immersive story and unique atmosphere contribute to its lasting appeal, making it a favorite for repeated play. Overall, players appreciate the depth of choices and the engaging world, ensuring that many return to the game years after its release.
“Replayability is there, since each camp offers slightly different playthroughs.”
“There is great replayability in the game; you want to replay the game over and over again for different classes and factions.”
“It's vast and compact, it has a great story and infinite replayability; definitely will be playing it 20 years after release and probably until the day I die.”
“Edit: the game has very little replay value as the decisions made by the player do not affect the outcome.”
“The only good thing in choice/variety is the three camps which you can choose to join in the beginning, which adds some choice and replay value, but after that... pretty much the same.”
“There is replayability as you can join different factions.”
- character development12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its depth and gradual progression, likened to a cub maturing into an alpha, with impactful moments that resonate strongly. Players appreciate the immersive atmosphere and intricate storytelling that enhance character growth, despite some noting the absence of a traditional skill tree. Overall, the game offers a rewarding experience that challenges players while allowing for meaningful character evolution.
“His character development is like watching a cub grow into an alpha—slow, but when it hits, it hits hard.”
“The quests are also very rewarding in terms of character development or story progression.”
“Its because Gothic offers things most games nowadays don't - great atmosphere, no cut content just to be released later with the label DLC on it, many possibilities in terms of character development, awesome and intriguing story, and gameplay that will require you to really use your brain to progress further.”
“The atmosphere is top-tier, the story grips you like the jaws of a hungry wolf, and the character development?”
“In terms of character development, Gothic 1 looks very different.”
“The story arcs are crazy; the character development was meant to be hard at first, deal with it.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its deeply emotional narrative that resonates with both young and old players, creating a heartwrenching experience that leaves a lasting impact. Despite criticisms regarding graphics and controls, the atmospheric storytelling evokes strong feelings, making it a memorable journey that players are eager to explore further in the developer's other works.
“Damn, what an emotional rollercoaster!”
“A heartwrenching story aimed towards both young and old readers!”
“It has been a long time since a game has made me feel that way, and I'm so sad it's over, but I'm excited to dive into the rest of this developer's work even though I hear it's not quite as good as this.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its lack of microtransactions, which is a refreshing change for players, although there is an acknowledgment of potential DLC in the future.
“First off, there are no microtransactions!”
“I appreciate that the game is free of DLC or microtransactions.”
“First off, there are no microtransactions.”
“I am aware of the DLC and microtransactions.”
