Gothic is the beginning of incredible story, and one of the best action role-playing series of games ever created. It was released in 2001 (2002 in Poland) for Windows PCs by the German company Piranha Bytes, with music composed by Kai Rosenkranz (KaiRo).

I personally adore this game, and consider it one of the best RPGs ever, and hopefully with this review I can convince you to give this game a try.

Rating (out of 10):
- Graphics (inc. VFX) : 6
- Music (inc. SFX) : 10
- Cinematics : 7
- Story : 9
- Content : 9
- Controls : 7
- Gameplay : 9

The world is quite simplistic, and rather small compared to new RPGs we see these days. However, the world suits perfectly with the story and the whole concept behind Gothic. Each location has a different feel and basic outlook, but at the core all of them share the same atmosphere of "mining colony". The world is dim and rough, there aren't any beautiful fields with flowers and rainbows, which makes the world much more immersive and definitely adds to the atmosphere.

Game's soundtrack is just incredible, composed by Kai Rosenkranz who also composed music for other Gothic games (except Gothic 4: Arcania), Risen and The Long Journey Home. Despite of how old the game is, it's more immersive than most Action RPGs I've played. The music combined with interesting world and well written plot just draws you in and doesn't let out until you finish the game. 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.

At the beginning the story isn't very flashed out, and your main objective is to just get by in the colony. This is very interesting as it makes the player feel vulnerable, we need to find shelter, and equipment that will save our life when we decide to explore the world. The story is well paced out and unique, there are still classic concepts visible in the story such as the main character being "the chosen one", but no one in the world actually cares about him. The main support characters are also interesting, each of them has a unique personality, and set of values and skills, so you will surely be able to relate to one of them. Very briefly (and without spoilers) the plot is: You are a criminal who for his crimes gets thrown to a mining valley which is surrounded by a magical barrier to prevent criminals from escaping. The problem is that during the creation of the barrier something went wrong and now no one from the inside can get out. You as the main character must find a way out, which you accomplish by joining one of 3 factions in the game.

Gothic 1 has a very specific controls system which takes a good few hours to get used to. This could be frustrating at first but give it time and you will be slaying monsters left and right. The game offers a number of different playstyles, starting from 3 main focuses being melee, ranged, and magic, which then branch off to specific types of weapons and fighting styles, alongside other useful skills from hunting and thievery for example. However, you are not limited to choose one path, which allows you to combine skills and build your character in many different ways.

Other comments and points to consider before you buy:

First of all, the game is old, so if you don't like games with poor and simplistic graphics, and a few bugs here and there, then this game is not for you.
The learning and skill curve within the game is also something to consider. At the start you will DEFINITELY have trouble getting used to game's mechanics and will not be able to fight orcs and other epic foes until later in the game. So, if you expect to be some incredible undefeated hero you will have to work hard for it.

Something very interesting about this game (and other Gothic titles, with exception to Gothic 4) is the fact that you never get to know the name of the protagonist. In fact, in the first few minutes of Gothic 1 when the main character wants to say his name he gets cut off and told "I don't care who you are.".

My personal hint is save, and save as often as possible. When you start the game even wolves are deadly opponents that can shred you to pieces. Take your time, get familiar with the controls, don't wonder into dangerous looking areas without preparation in form of a save; as you will be punished; and appreciate the soundtrack and the world this game has to offer.

I rate it 8.5/10

[h1]Gothic[/h1] [i]Gothic[/i] is the beginning of incredible story, and one of the best action role-playing series of games ever created. It was released in 2001 (2002 in Poland) for Windows PCs by the German company [i]Piranha Bytes[/i], with music composed by [i]Kai Rosenkranz (KaiRo)[/i]. I personally adore this game, and consider it one of the best RPGs ever, and hopefully with this review I can convince you to give this game a try. Rating (out of 10): - Graphics (inc. VFX) : 6 - Music (inc. SFX) : 10 - Cinematics : 7 - Story : 9 - Content : 9 - Controls : 7 - Gameplay : 9 The world is quite simplistic, and rather small compared to new RPGs we see these days. However, the world suits perfectly with the story and the whole concept behind [i]Gothic[/i]. Each location has a different feel and basic outlook, but at the core all of them share the same atmosphere of "mining colony". The world is dim and rough, there aren't any beautiful fields with flowers and rainbows, which makes the world much more immersive and definitely adds to the atmosphere. Game's soundtrack is just incredible, composed by [i]Kai Rosenkranz[/i] who also composed music for other [i]Gothic[/i] games (except [i]Gothic 4: Arcania[/i]), [i]Risen[/i] and [i]The Long Journey Home[/i]. Despite of how old the game is, it's more immersive than most Action RPGs I've played. The music combined with interesting world and well written plot just draws you in and doesn't let out until you finish the game. 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 [i]Gothic's[/i] soundtrack has definitely achieved that. At the beginning the story isn't very flashed out, and your main objective is to just get by in the colony. This is very interesting as it makes the player feel vulnerable, we need to find shelter, and equipment that will save our life when we decide to explore the world. The story is well paced out and unique, there are still classic concepts visible in the story such as the main character being "the chosen one", but no one in the world actually cares about him. The main support characters are also interesting, each of them has a unique personality, and set of values and skills, so you will surely be able to relate to one of them. Very briefly (and without spoilers) the plot is: You are a criminal who for his crimes gets thrown to a mining valley which is surrounded by a magical barrier to prevent criminals from escaping. The problem is that during the creation of the barrier something went wrong and now no one from the inside can get out. You as the main character must find a way out, which you accomplish by joining one of 3 factions in the game. [i]Gothic 1[/i] has a very specific controls system which takes a good few hours to get used to. This could be frustrating at first but give it time and you will be slaying monsters left and right. The game offers a number of different playstyles, starting from 3 main focuses being melee, ranged, and magic, which then branch off to specific types of weapons and fighting styles, alongside other useful skills from hunting and thievery for example. However, you are not limited to choose one path, which allows you to combine skills and build your character in many different ways. Other comments and points to consider before you buy: First of all, the game is old, so if you don't like games with poor and simplistic graphics, and a few bugs here and there, then this game is not for you. The learning and skill curve within the game is also something to consider. At the start you will DEFINITELY have trouble getting used to game's mechanics and will not be able to fight orcs and other epic foes until later in the game. So, if you expect to be some incredible undefeated hero you will have to work hard for it. Something very interesting about this game (and other [i]Gothic[/i] titles, with exception to [i]Gothic 4[/i]) is the fact that you never get to know the name of the protagonist. In fact, in the first few minutes of [i]Gothic 1[/i] when the main character wants to say his name he gets cut off and told "I don't care who you are.". My personal hint is save, and save as often as possible. When you start the game even wolves are deadly opponents that can shred you to pieces. Take your time, get familiar with the controls, don't wonder into dangerous looking areas without preparation in form of a save; as you will be punished; and appreciate the soundtrack and the world this game has to offer. [u]I rate it [b]8.5/10[/b][/u]