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Risen

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 32 critic reviews
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Based on 194 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Deep Silver

Developer: Piranha Bytes

Genre(s): Role-Playing Game

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: October 2, 2009

Summary

An epic story in an authentic world hand-crafted with an eye for detail and populated by "real", plausible characters. A Mysterious Volcanic Island The heavy tremors on the island bode ill for its inhabitants. Ancient temples have risen from the ground recently, bizarre creatures are terrorising the area. Fear and terror is spreading among the population. The End of All Hope? A group of powerful men who call themselves "The Inquisitors" have taken it upon them-selves to put an end to these events. They send an exhibition to this remote island, but a storm takes hold of the ship and destroys it at sea. A Hero Will Come - As if by a miracle, the player survives the shipwreck and is stranded on the volcanic island alone. He finds himself amidst a chaos of rebellion, tyranny and mystic rituals. He must now decide to which side the pendulum of fate will swing. [Deep Silver]

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Gamers.at

Risen is a great role-playing experience, it is just fun to investigate every corner of the mysterious island. The story and quests are quite varied and the game world gives you an credible feeling of being a part of it. The developers have focused on the strengths of the first two Gothic parts and didn't make any technically mistakes. Role-players should go and grab it!

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Cynamite

Risen is a great RPG with only minor flaws. A worthy sequel to the Gothic series.

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Computer Games Online RO

I rarely come across a title with such an atmosphere, competent AI, interesting combat system and fleshed out characters.

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GamingXP

All in all, Risen is a good game with some bugs, like the fact that the nameless hero is resistant against fire. The controls are simple and graphics are quite nice. Fans of RPGs will like it very much!

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Cheat Code Central

Faranga is a finely crafted setting for what ultimately turns into a tremendously deep and very satisfying fantasy RPG. It has a few shortcomings; they're largely forgivable, once you get lost in the adventure.

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Multiplayer.it

Without bringing any true innovation to the RPG genre, after the Gothic's bug-experience Piranha Bytes gains its revenge with Risen, a game that every RPG lover will enjoy in every of its parts. Solidly based on the best elements of western RPGs, this game presents only some difficulties on the combat system that could discourage somebody, while for everyone else it's definitely a must-have.

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GameStar

Piranha Bytes stayed true to old virtues and delivered the role-playing game one would expect: very old-fashioned, very German and very good. But this game requires you to be very active, to explore a lot. If you need to taken by the hand by a good story, then Risen is not for you. The game isn't fun because of the story, but despite it.

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IGN

Its combat system isn't the greatest and its pacing is inconsistent, but for those who put in the time to see all Risen has to offer, it's an experience that won't be forgotten.

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Vandal Online

Piranha Bytes has created a new series. Risen is not only a good heir to Gothic, but also establishes solid bases which could mark the way for this studio in the future.

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PC Zone UK

Risen is a solid, engrossing and beautifully presented RPG that's well worth your time and money. [Dec 2009, p.72]

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GameFocus

With its beautiful graphics and great environmental sound it is easy to find yourself traveling around the island just picking herbs and mushrooms while stumbling upon the odd monster to fight. In the end this is a must buy because it is rare we PC gamers see a good RPG like this and that is what is most important.

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Gamer Limit

Risen is a challenging, well rounded game certain to please most, if not all, RPG fans.

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ActionTrip

Do yourself a favor and check out this title on the PC and not on the Xbox 360.

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InsideGamer.nl

Risen is a game that does nothing wrong, but at the same is not bringing something new either. The ambiance of the game is perfect and the story is very good and convincing. It’s too bad Risen is starting up slow and the graphics could have been better. This is a game made for RPG fans, people who don’t like RPG’s should probably focus on other games.

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Meristation

Fun, large and with many things to do, Risen is a good game for medieval RPG lovers. It has its flaws, specially due to technical issues, but overall it's a great experience, where every choice has its consequences. The great storyline and the different paths that we can follow are the strongest points of this game.

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SpazioGames

While Gothic sails away to other developers, Piranha Bytes turns the tide with this return to the origins of true RPG. Deep, polished, compelling, Risen is an RPG for RPG true lovers. Some small glitches and a general lack of accessibility make it step down a little bit on the score, but it's still THE game to have if you love RPGs.

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Everyeye.it

An old-fashion RPG, with an impressive number of quests and NPC, and a deep level-up system.

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RPG Fan

It takes a while for things to start up, but once it gets going, it becomes quite addicting.

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LEVEL (Czech Republic)

Exactly the sequel all Gothic devotees were waiting for. Nice story, subtle battle & ROG system, great visuals and – for the first time – no fatal bugs in “Gothic” game. [Nov 2009]

PC Format

After two good first acts, it fails to rise to its own challenge. [Jan 2010, p.91]

My Gamer

Risen has its faults but what it does do is bring you into a world that won’t let you leave till you’ve uncovered the secrets in every corner. To some it’s just something to hold them over until the next Gothic game comes out, but to me it’s the start of something new and wonderful from an experienced RPG developer.

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Worth Playing

There's some great gameplay in Risen, but you have to trudge though too many problems to find it.

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Game Over Online

I’d only recommend Risen to people who really enjoyed the Gothic series, or perhaps similarly flawed games like Two Worlds or Dungeon Lords.

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GameSpot

You'll enjoy this fascinating and intricate role-playing game in spite of its troublesome combat and scattered bugs.

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3DJuegos

Risen is actually a real shame because of its promises. The world looks great and it’s funny to explore, but developers didn't pay enough attention to essential aspects like the combat and character progression.

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PC Gamer UK

A by-the-book roleplaying jaunt in fantasy-land. There's enough to do in Risen, but never enough to thrill. [Dec 2009, p.118]

GamerNode

A good game, but far from great. A lot of shortcomings and irritations keep Risen from being a recommended, must-own game.

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Eurogamer Spain

A good game for RPG fans, but with dated graphics and a not so great technical side.

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Eurogamer

Ironically, while the PC version inarguably shows up the flaws in the 360 effort all the more, it also fares far worse when compared to its peers. Consoles have relatively few RPGs in this traditional mould, but on the PC the competition is much fiercer and so well-intentioned failures are harder to tolerate.

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Total PC Gaming

Close to a new Elder Scrolls, but nowhere near as realised. [Issue#25, p.51]

Gameplayer Sweden

A roleplaying game that wants to be something extra, but fails to achieve that goal. Decent, beautiful, but ridden with technical issues and weak gameplay balance.

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Absolute Games

There are no gods in Risen – a powerful sorcerer banished them from the world forever, - but the hero still can’t escape his fate. German demiurges strapped him to the pillar of the story so tight that you can’t help but wonder if anyone at Piranha Bytes remembers what “role-playing” means. A game where all problems are solved by kicking butts and giving money is not an RPG. When the difference between working for bandits or the Inquisition in Harbor Town is to whom you report the completed tasks – it is not an RPG. It is laziness, harbinger of boredom.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 194 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ove M. gave it a3:
This game could have been so much better. The RPG elements are very well implemented and the fighting is cool. BUT i the quests are almost impossible to do since there is NO quest tracking system. Thats why i uninstalled the game after a while.... i couldn't manage to do the quests... I mostly ran around wondering what to do next.

chan tara Singh Sen gave it an8:
Everything are great but it very short after defeat the Titan the game end very disapionted it should be continues like go to the mainland or something interesting and never end.

Andy G. gave it a5:
Started fine, but very soon became apparent that I'd played it before. Piranha Byte's brand of RPG will die like 'Might and Magic' for its chronic inability to advance, improve or develop their creation. At least Bethesda take some risks to build on what they have.

Hubert M gave it a6:
I'm a great Gothic fan(real gothic: 1,2 and Night of the Raven) that's why I suffered really much when Piranha made IMHO very crappy G3. So I was looking forward Risen, hoping they would correct previous mistakes. And at the beginning I really enjoyed it - good optymalisation, nice graphics models, interesting plot. But it soon turned out that gameplay is dull, side quests almost don't exist, the map is huge however, there's nothing interesting to see except hordes of boring mobs. Main quests were all about annihilating more and more mobs to get milion pieces of very powerful artifact, and later another and another. But during my whole 'adventure' with Risen it didn't really bother me, because I was waiting for some development of plot when suddenly...the game ended. I was laughing whole day because I think it took me the same time I would need to get to the 3rd chapter of G2 for example. For me - better than G3, but still average.

[anonymous] gave it a10:
The Risen is great game. When you play you feel magic.If yo played Gothic and you like it Risen is game for you.It is in my opinion the best RPG in this year!!!

Mikael O gave it an8:
A solid RPG, with a lot of atmosphere. The combat system is at times not so responsive as one might wish for, in a game that requires you to master your keyboard in order to just survive. The upside of that is of course the good old Gothic feel. This game is difficult. The enemies are really dangerous, and your skill and your character's, will determine the outcome of combat. For some, this will be a let down, but for the rest of us, it heightens the feeling of accomplishment. As with any quest-based RPG, there are some glitches with the quests, but all-in-all I feel that it works out very nicely. A negative point is the horribly stereotype view of women, but to be perfectly fair, most role playing games on PC tend to be massively sexist.

Kev R gave it a9:
This game is a gem of role-playing games. It is not perfect and let me tell you, if you are not up to the challenge this game will annihilate you. It features a beautiful, detailed and living world (except on the 360) and the best combat system ever made for a role-playing game. One that actually requires skill and where every fight is a challenge. The game's main flaw is its chapters. While the 1st and 3rd chapter are insanely well made and I literally finished them without exiting the game, I was disappointed that the 2nd and 4th chapter could not quite keep up with the other two. The game is probably the best RPG to come out since Gothic 2 and KotoR and definitely worth getting. And with an add-on to make up for the weaker chapters and a few flaws (which are so small I cannot recall them atm) may even be the best RPG ever made.

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