A great rpg. so far the games seems quite fun. Character animations are sometimes a bit weird, but overall its a game i enjoy. Graphics are good as well. The world is large and fun to explore.

I have not yet played very much of it. But its fantastic so far. Controls are great and so are the graphics. So far the gameplay was great. I would definitely recommend it.

If you are a big fan of Piranha Bytes work, rate as 10. If you are not - rate 4-5. Why? This is Gothic successor. Old fashioned action RPG which generates a lot of fun and stress equally. Animations are crude, fighting system difficult and not so modern.... But that is not a game for "casual gamers" - You have to be hard and patient. If You will go to the wrong place, like na forest - the wolves will kill You without mercy.
This is Gothic style - NO MERCY.… Expand

It's Risen 1 minus the bugs and hitches. Graphics look suprisingly excellent, the game is very long, a good 50 hours here to play though at least. Its more hardcore than some RPG's. Pleasently suprised. worth a buy!

Yes the game is not perfect but Sorry guys ... some metacritic users are very strange... I play the game and I see some comments here that are abosotely not true. Sometimes I have the feeling that metacritic users are only happy if they can bash a game. Nice hobby, I have better things to do in my life! Risen 2 is good as Risen 1 with some cool character development, better cutscenes, nice quests with cool dialogues and a very nice environment. The battle system is fun. I dont even understand the comments here. Someone said he cant avoid a spear attack...man, that is so easy if you hold the right mouse button and go left / right. That is only one example about those evil red reviews here. ;)
So if you are a fan of PB games, buy it. I have more fun than in Risen 1.… Expand

Not as good as the first one or Gothic 1+2 but still an amazing game with a big world to be discovered. This game deserves a way higher score to be honest.

Ok, who keeps spamming 0 score to games they hate ?
Grow up, if you don't like it 1 vote is enough.
Someone with dozens of accounts is spamming the 0 score here; 120 negative 15min ago, now 130? right...
This is one of the reasons that metascores don't work and can't be trusted.

Loved the first one, the second in the series take away the steep learning curve that the first had but is still just as fun. People are giving it a bad score because of animation or fps problems? Are you serious?! Huge environment to explore and good storyline along with a fun combat system that mixes things up.

Great atmosphere, good charakters, brilliant dialogues and quests. Better than Risen and a wonderfull RPG with some weak points like animations, KI, graphics.

I now will flow **** but I think that Bethesda went on a bad way to simplify everything. A Risen 2 - Dark Water, and vice versa did not think made â

Risen is certainly not a perfect game. It isn't anywhere near perfect. But one thing is sure : it is a great RPG with a great setting. Let me explain. The story is very linear at the beginning, but never boring, and still lets you explore islands as you would have done it in Risen. Then, it becomes more and more interesting as you have to choose your faction, command your own ship etc. After a few hours, you discover a deep story and complex character interactions, with lots of interesting side quests and important decisions to take.
The graphics are so-so : while what one would actually call "graphics quality", which means lighting, texture quality, character design is great, the animations are a whole load of crap, and vegetation textures plop in next to you and change size very strangely. Gameplay isn't Risen 2's best side, as the combat system has been simplified since the first Risen, and Auto-Lock during combats isn't helpful at all. However, the skill system has been improved in a significant way, since there are no levels any more, but you get skill points every time you complete a quest or kill an enemy. This lets you level up your skills when you want, given the fact you have enough points. Moreover, you can learn a lot of interesting abilities like dirty tricks or voodoo magic.
So why would I give this game a 9/10 ? Because the setting is great, the character interactions/dialogues are funny and authentic, and the overall atmosphere is just awesome. As I already said, the lighting/weather system is amazing, and perfectly recreates the pirate setting Piranha Bytes chose for this game. When I look back at what I just played, I think of a brilliant RPG I will certainly play again, even if it has some flaws.… Expand

The 4.6 average score for this game is way exaggerated! I have to say, this is a great game, and except for the whole pirate theme, it's not even that big a difference from Risen 1 (and I mean that in a good way). Sorta better graphics than the first one, with lush jungle islands. I really think they have nailed the exploration part once again, and it follows Risen 1:s system pretty closely. That means a smaller piece of land which is wide open for you to explore... that is, if you are up to whatever kind of monsters are inhabiting that particular area. Some graphics issues exist (wouldn't be a Piranha Bytes game otherwise), such as some foliage popping in in the distance from time to time, and the conversational animations are a bit on the stiff side.
All that aside, in my opinion, Risen 2 is a great middle-budget, smaller scale alternative for anyone who's tired of Skyrim. So don't let the bombed user scores fool you!… Expand

In my opinion it is good & beautiful mature RPG. If you played Risen and you liked it I hope You will like Risen 2. Spirit of Gothic and more than 40h of gameplay.

This is a great rpg, a worthy successor of series. The combact system is in the style of the pirahna bytes. Graphics are good as well. The story is interesting and very charming

This is a fantastic game. PB are a great developer and in Risen 2 they have captured the feel of their Gothics and Risen 1. Risen 1 was great but had too few populated areas and was unbalanced in terms of how the content was spread. Risen 2 addresses both of these flaws and adds pirates!!! The only step backwards is the melee combat has been dumbed down, I hope they patch that!
highly recommended for amazing atmosphere, enviroments, good fun story and general adventure!… Expand

I don't understand who wrote the low scores and why.

This game is an excellent RPG and it's even bringing a fresh setting to the genre.
I strongly recommend any fan of RPGs to ignore the scores and to try it out, otherwise you might miss out on one of the better RPGs we get this year.

I don't understand why so many people rate this game negative. I like everything at it. Ok, to be honest, the new combat system is not as good as the one from risen 1, but risen 2 is an excellent game for which the developers get recognition by myself. The RPG aspects are all fully in this game, the graphics are really good again, a small performance leak, but that is okay, the characters have great animations, the sound is good, some great lip-synced speeches and much more... Good work, piranha bytes!… Expand

Yesterday I finished Risen 2 after 32 hours.

In contrast to many review I enjoyed Risen 2 much more than Risen. IMO the pirate setting had a refreshing effect. The story in Risen was good until chapter 3 (IIRC), where it just got to "fast". In Risen 2 the storyline is consistently interesting and the different islands keep this up. The fighting system is weak at the beginning due to the lack of skills. I played w/o the use of muskets and found myself struggling with enemies around hour 18, when not using skills like "kick" or "counter attack". So for me this is not a button masher, even against monsters you need to keep moving or kicking them away to be able to beat them.

The story might be forced, but which PB game did not have several story-lines, that merged (more or less) together at the end?

What I DISLIKED was the difficulty / balancing. The boss battles where no challenge at all, but one Island was damn hard in contrast to that.
What I miss in Risen 2 is the possibility to keep on solving Quest / looting Treasures after beating the
storyline. This was possible in Skyrim (but also necessary because the mainquest there only longs for mere 8-10 Hours...).

My conclusion is simple: If you want a pirate game, play Risen 2. If you want a game you are able to beat in rational time play Risen 2.
If you want a game not a non-sterile RPG play Risen 2.
If you want the best graphics, don't want a "new" setting, need an very large open world RPG w/o a interesting story to pursue, ..., go play Skyrim.… Expand

Risen 2 is a really good game which is in the style of the previous products of Piranha Bytes. It has some flaws like a mediocre combat systems(at least at the beginning) and some graphical glitches you can solve with some ini tweaks. However: the story, exploration, dialogues and and atmosphere is as good as every piranha-game. Since this part is much more important for me i just love it. Don't believe all the hatred in this zero-score reviews. Most of them are pre-release reviews of disappointed core-gamers who didn't get a exact copy of the old Piranha Bytes games. It seems like many of them haven't even played the game. PB tried something new with their fresh interface and new combat system. Its not that perfect, but the game is not only about a good combat system and not having drinking animations for potions(some of this guys are really refusing to play the game in cause of this). Its about things like story, exploration, interesting characters and good and often funny dialogues.… Expand

I really enjoyed playing this game, although I was worried about many of the simplifications, which were added since Risen 1. However, having played the whole game, the quite simple fighting system (although it's still better than I expected), the little variety of armors and the disappointing content of some chests is everything, which remains a bit unpleasant. In contrast to it you have the wonderful setting, interesting and funny dialogues and a unique atmosphere, which you enjoy throughout the whole game.… Expand

Great game.Great story; great gameplay; exceptional graphics...I don't understand who wrote the low scores and why.....Awesome game.Its more hardcore than some RPG's.

Risen 2 is a nice game, with catching storyline, nice atmosphere, a big world to explore.
Well done cutscenes, as usualy lot's of interresting "pirnaha style" quests: beat the crap out of a guy, who doesn't let you through, distract a guardian with a whore, explore dangerous dungeons and temples for treasures. Good looking graphics, very well done human and monsters, sexy looking black woman :p All together is a really enjoyable game, which deserves a good note

Guys who rate this game with 1-5, seems to have some private problems.… Expand

Fantastic rpg with a great gameworld, fantastic characters, fun exploration and epic music.

There are some issues like the graphics bugs and the animations are pretty average but everything else is good imo!

This is more PB magic, if you liked Gothic2 or Risen1 I think youll enjoy Risen2! The combat seems boring at first but as you train more moves by trainers it really gets to be good fun! The game also has great atmosphere, nice graphics and is a ton of fun to play.

In a day and age when rpg devs are dumbing everything down, Risen2 is a breath of fresh air! This is the best PB game since Gothic2 imo! If you enjoy PB games give this one a try! Its a true rolepalying game and better then the last few rpgs I bought such as Reckoning, ME3 and Skyrim.

This game does NOT hold your hand and the first few hours are very tough, but if you can keep at it you will be treated to one of the best rpgs in recent years (To me its best rpg since Witcher2).

Not perfect, but whats here is a flawed Gem that every rpg fan that has an open mind should try!!! PB Has done it again! Another classic!… Expand

This game is an outstanding example of why content is always more important thant technical details. Risen 2 ist the best Piranha Bytes Game since Gothic 2. If you are into good role playing games with just awesome designed worlds, Islands in this case, this is the game for you. Hundreds of hand crafted Quests, not generic or automated as with the so called "blockbusters".
Of course there are some downsindes, for example the fighting system, which does not appeal to the gamer today. This however is not the core element of the game. Lots of detailed story elements, side storoes, lots of hidden places, beautiful landscapes and errrrr pirates with humor in the right places: This game is a worthy new game keeping up Piranha Bytes outstanding knowladge of creating "good old roleplaying games". The are some issues with the graphics / engine, those can be resolved by editing the config file. The game made me enjoy every 40 hours I spent in it up to know, and I am still realy sure I have not seen all the places and details hidden somewhere. Going to play it a second time now, and I certainly do not regret the purchase. So if you are OK with a somewhat dumbed down fighting and skill system to appeal todays audience but are also into good old roleplaying games, where all the love and details is more important to you than stupid fighting this for sure is the game for you!… Expand

In my opinion Risen 2 is a great game. Sure there are weak points like the combat system: You have just to left-click against animals, because there is no option to block or evade their attacks (against human enemies you can block and even counterattack). Moreover the story is not the most exciting. However, on the other hand, there is a lot of good stuff that makes you enjoying the game. The atmosphere of the world is awesome, it´s so much fun to explore the area (even it´s all "jungle isle"-setting). For example there is lots of different monsters to fight and many chests to open. In addition i think the characters (everyone is unique) and dialogues are brilliant, i really love the humour (Jaffar is such a funny figure!).
It took me about 35 hours to complete the game and i can assure you every second was well spent. :)… Expand

This game is awesome, not perfect but awesome. I cant understand all of this Hater-votes. 4.5 is a silly joke for a game like this. Since G1+2 the best game from PB.

This game does not deserve the negative reviews it currently gets, The unreviewed votes, I understand because DLC and Steam do bother people greatly, and I can relate to this.
But comparing this game to Arcania (and this is the only time I will ever mention this... thing) is beyond ridiculous.
Accusations like "freedom of movement and open world rewards. This game feels CRAMPED and linear!" are simply lies.
Each island gives you complete freedom of movement, and as soon as you get your ship, you can decide which island (part of the story) to go to next.
Because of the latter, It is LESS linear than Gothic 1 or 2 hands down.
I am a die hard Gothic fan. I love Gothic 1 and 2 and the glorious addon that was Night of the Raven, and let me tell you, after Gothic 3, which was far more than PB could chew, and Risen 1, which was albeit solid (on PC) was somewhat lacking that "little extra", Risen 2 feels like finally coming home to me.
Perhaps there is no bigger compliment I could hand out to this game, but it is truth. I LOVE it.

The little changes they made to gameplay (looting in a seperate window, instant drinking of potions and a few others of this calibre) are very minor when compared to the perfect balance of freedom and linearity, exploring and adventuring, atmosphere and challenge, that I missed for so long.
The dialogue, the exploration, the atmosphere, all of this is just like back in the day, when I first played Gothic 2 (Gothic 1 was slightly different, more claustrophobic, a little more action adventury).

Technically there are some issues. Shadows and object visibility (view distance settings) can get reaally whacky, but both issues are easily fixable with ingame settings and a few changes to the config.
The combat system against creatures (against humans it's great) is source of much criticism as well, because you can't dodge or block and I partly agree.
In the beginning you will die often, in pure melee against animals as all you can do is hope you kill them faster than they kill you.
However the game allows for a great variety of options to avoid direct melee against creatures. Be it companions that tank for you, dirty tricks that stagger and blind opponents, Voodoo magic or simply a good, solid musket.
Then there is the slightly outdated engine (still capable of breathtaking scenery), and other little things you just know you'll get with a PB game.

Conclusion:
If you liked Gothic 1 and 2 and want more of that stuff, Risen 2 is the next best thing. Do not let the different setting confuse you.
If not, give it a pass. The rough edges and the little flaws that inherit every PB game are still there, so I doubt Risen 2 will change your mind, when you never liked their games.… Expand

For me the best Action RPG since Gothic 2 Night of the Raven and I played all of them.

Quiet some Bugs that will get patched for sure, but the game has an amazing atmosphere, world design and dialogues.