Risen is a cult-classic RPG from 2009, it is set in a medieval universe similar to that of Gothic! Although the game does better than Gothic in many, many aspects, it falls short, terribly, in others. The thumbs up, however, connotes a certain attraction to the game's core mechanics as well as the likeability of its characters.

Risen puts you in the shoes of the infamous NAMELESS HERO, that, upon washing ashore after a sea travel gone wrong, is thrown into the thick of it, having to side with multiple factions to survive. The nameless hero discovers, after meddling in the affairs of both the Inquisition AND the bandits, that the scheme of things is bigger than the war waged between those two and the world is at stake as some "mischievous" individuals are planning to release a Titan, a force that could destroy the world.

First off, you play as a weakling! Yes, I said it... In the early game, the best you can do against the mobs of beasts in the wilderness is RUN and keep on the clear pathways. Risen is really just another RPG, take quests here, go fetch flowers there... very typical! The graphics are ridiculous, even though they are remastered. There are also a bunch of things that are not very intuitive at first, for instance, you'd have to take on quests and do them in a specific order (with a guide opened in your other monitor) to be able to even use magic... and I suggest you keep a guide open long after you figure that out. There are three stats in the game, Strength, Dexterity and Wisdom... You can increase your stats not through a Character Stat screen but through trainers, people who would train you for money and Learning Points that you earn through level ups, yeah don't ask me how that works either! Wisdom, however, can only be increased by reading bookstands and finding Lore tablets in ruins... and since there is no "collectible" map, chances are you will never cap your WIS stat anyway, so might as well just remain dumb as a bag of rocks and become a bandit for Don Esteban instead.

Ouuuuff, also if you don't become a mage, you'd have a horrible time killing enemies... because melee combat is a nightmare! You have to see it to believe it; it's one of the worst combat systems I've ever seen (IF we can call it a "system"). If that makes devs feel any better, Risen 2's combat was worse, not by a big margin at any rate.

Risen is a 7/10 game, you can only enjoy it if you become a mage, and you can only become a mage if you do certain quests in a specific time, in a specific manner so you'd think it's just easier to become a bandit specialized in close-combat, but that's where you're wrong as melee combat in this game is ludicrous. Now all that's left for me to review is Risen 3... Hopefully that one turns out alright than these two.

Mendoza is hot

Really love the Gothic vibes this gives off, feels better then gothic 3 imo