Gothic 1 vs Gothic 2 - Which is Better?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 พ.ค. 2019
- Read the text version of this video on my blog:
thenocturnalrambler.blogspot....
Twitch:
/ thenocturnalrambler
Patreon:
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Mods used in this playthrough/review include the latest SystemPack, PlayerKit, and DX11 enhancements, which you can find by following these links below. I did not use the Riisis texture mod or L'Hiver, which are mentioned in these guides.
Gothic 1: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
Gothic 2: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile... - เกม
I will never forget how I felt playing Gothic I for the first time as a kid, but Gothic II NotR is better overall. Returning to the Valley of Mines was an awesome experience and Jharkendar map was really well done and fun.
good point too, but i would like to stick my opinion here as well, that both games are special, and you should play all of them because both are worth it
Same but i played classic Gothic II first. I would urge everyone coming into Gothicnseries to play it before NoTR. Its fundamentally different balance wise and you get the same powerfantasy effect as in Gothic 1 at the end plus much better combat due to better animations and blocking. NoTR never lets you get too powerful and was more of extra challenge for returing Gothic veterans
I have to say that the Valley of Mines is the one thing I don't really like in Gothic 2. It being different from how it was from Gothic 1 is more depressing than anything to me, because it's just dark and grey, now, which makes it not that fun to explore and it doesn't evoke happy memories but rather saddens you. Also I missed the swamp camp, it's just gone without any reason in Gothic 2.
Jharkendar was the pinnacle of Gothic.
@Ambar: it's explained in Jharkendar story, where we got a even better swamp.
Gothic 1 especially fulfills what I desire most in any game: immersion. The unique atomosphere, the astonishing soundtrack, the great (german) voice acting, the hand-crafted level design which inivites you to explore every inch of it, the sheer being in the world itself makes it worth playing. While games like The Witcher 3 have huge worlds, impactful choice and consequence mechanics, detailed character designs, it misses these qualities almost completely. And why? Exactly - because no metric could ever measure this. Try selling an immersive world to a publisher vs. telling them about your gigantic world, the amount of hours you can play etc. I sadly don't see games like Gothic 1 and 2 coming back.
Björn Pankratz said that himself; handcrafted small worlds are just not something a publisher wants. Tragically.
@@Artebudz I know I have seen the video from Rocket Beans. In fairness, if I were in the position of a publisher I'd do the same. Probably a huge disadvantage of capitalsm which only sees quantity and not quality. A real shame since I bet many people would love Gothic if you handed them the game. Sadly though it's never given that chance.
Btw. the greed for size has destroyed Gothic 3 and everything thererafter. Take Piranha Bytes latest game Elex and try to find the qualities if've listed. They don't exist. Right now they create generic huge semi-generated worlds like every dev does. And can you really blame them in the prospect of being devoured by AAA devs? No.
Recovery Mode have you played Risen 3? It’s actually pretty good, and a major improvement over Risen 2 imo. It has multiple small islands that have a design philosophy that’s very comparable to Gothic 1/2. Its dumbed down in certain areas, and generally too easy. But it’s a charming game nonetheless
@@matternicuss Didn't they add an optional downloadable hardest difficulty where you lost the invincibility on your rolls? I could've sworn that changed the gameplay dramatically, and forced you to learn the game properly (or rather, "as intended").
PlasmaWisp not sure. I played on either the hardest or second to hardest difficulty (can’t remember), and the rolls still had I-frames. I know some people found the combat difficult on normal, but I found it pretty easy to cheese even on the higher difficulties.
I always found the dragon lairs in Gothic 2 more like outdoor dungeons than part of the open world exploration. It's too bad the boss fights each of them ends in are bad. Also, one more point I'd give Gothic 2 is the difference between factions, which consequently adds more replay value. Gothic 1's are mostly related to the method you enter the castle in the Old Camp and maybe an additional sidequest unique to the faction. In Gothic 2 however, you have at least a couple faction unique sidequests per chapter, unique rewards for some of the shared sidequests, and even learn unique story. For example, only mages in Gothic 2 learn that the Seekers are actually former Swamp Camp members converted into demonic beings and that the undead dragon is actually the reincarnated Sleeper (although I feel that this point is so important that it should have been accessible by all 3 factions). Chapter 5 changes the most radically because paladins get an orc invasion, dragon hunters get to deal with the lizard men's attempt to breed dragons in Khorinis, and mages get to deal with way more Seekers and even possessed citizens and farmers. The factions also have more unique mechanics, with paladins being able to use limited magic and consecrate their weapons, dragon hunters having access to much more advanced forging, and mages obviously having access to all the magic.
Overall, it's a pretty good video, just like the soundtrack one, and I'd like to see your opinions on the other Gothic and Piranha Bytes games.
Those are great comments and observations. I agree about the factions being way more mechanically differentiated -- that's something that should've earned a mention in the video, that I overlooked. Thanks for mentioning that.
I have more videos planned for some of PB's other games, but I have to replay each one to refresh my memory, and I might skip some of the ones I don't enjoy as much. I've written a lot about Gothic, Risen, and Elex on my blog over the last ~8 years, however, so I'd recommend reading through some of those articles in the meantime:
thenocturnalrambler.blogspot.com/search/label/Piranha%20Bytes
I wonder what were the devs thinking when making the ICE dragon breathe FIRE
Gothic is still one of the greatest games though
also and this is kind of important to me: NPCs react differently when you're in a different faction, as a mage you get really respected by all paladins even relatively early on, militia is kind of neutral ground (except for mercenaries) until you become paladin then it's similar to mage but not quite as strong and finally as mercenary or dragon hunter paladins and militia may be quite hostile in conversations and some people may even fear you (like cornelius)
one of my favourite side quests in Gothic 2 is as a mercenary when you have to gain the trust of the Judge in Khorinis in order to dig up dirt on him. you only get that quest as a mercenary and it baffled me when i first played as a mercenary and didnt realise that i was never able to get that quest in my other playthroughs anyway
I'm pretty sure the information about sleeper IS available for everyone. I think it comes from the Xardas.
Boy, this video made my nostalgia meter explode.
Same
Mr Miller is a Gothic's fan? Nice!
Back in the early 2000s we've been spoiled by this masterpiece, and every RPGs that came after never lived up to those high standards.
I absolutely adore the Orc Cemetery in Gothic 1: even today that place sends shivers down my spine and I cannot help but feel disturbed by Baal Lukor's madness. One of my favourite Gothic 1 moments. The Temple of the Sleeper has also always produced a sense of uneasiness in me that no "dungeon" or any other area in Gothic 2 ever did, not even the Halls.
It's simple
Gothic 2 is overall a better game
Gothic 1 however has much better storyline and atmosphere
I liked 1 more to be honest. A smaller cozy world is better for me. That is why Risen 1 was great.
I definitely have a soft spot for G1, and if the decision were purely subjective I think I'd go with G1 as my personal favorite.
As someone who just recently picked up the Risen series, gosh are you wrong. Risen 1 does everything wrong what Gothic did right. I wonder if I should even give Risen 2 and 3 a go since they are widely regarded as being even more inferior.
@@Teheleri I only played R2 after R1 and it was horrible, tho some things seem to have been patched I doubt it gets anywhere even above mediocre
If you dont like R1 already (and R1 only gets worse further into the game) then imagin R2 as worse in every regard like they actually managed to make the combat worse
@@Teheleri dont touch the other two then, you will regret it!
@@Teheleri I enjoy the Risen series. I love R1 and it's world, it's music (KaiRo!) and it's atmosphere. R3 is still a decent RPG and I even liked R2, but that's probably just because I like Pirates. Just don't expect them to be like Gothic.
I do genuinely feel like people underappreciate Gothic II's story/writing. It didn't have a whole lot of exposition, but honestly, the first one didn't really, either. It was just quicker to get through it, so it didn't feel like you got slowed down as much by the busywork. Gothic 1 also had a strange progression to it. Your goal at first was to join a faction, in order to improve your standing in the colony and hopefully stay alive long enough to find a way out. Then suddenly, with no motivation (especially from the other two factions), you're helping the Swamp Camp invoke a demigod and things fall apart from there. It does have a nice disparity between the slowly dawning horror of the threat posed by the Sleeper backed against the inter-camp conflicts that boil to a head and get in your way (kind of a strange resemblance to ASOIAF with the war of the Seven Kingdoms and the threat beyond the Wall). But the escalation from beginning to end feels like a massive change of direction and your choice of faction seems almost irrelevant since it's a completely linear story from then on. Meanwhile Gothic II chose to do it differently: you know who the enemy is right away, and you need to find out how to defeat them. Your work to gain allies and weapons against them leads you to pursue a powerful artifact, but the owners of the artifact won't lend it to you because (obviously) your story sounds absurd and you seem like a lunatic. So Hagen figures he'll send you to your death and get you out of his hair, but you set out to prove yourself. Your motivation is clear from the beginning, and it doesn't feel like you just got roped into doing chores for some dope fiends in a swamp with no real choice in the matter. And while Chapter 2 may have just felt like gamey side-quests in lieu of plot advancement, it gave you a long look at what has changed and how much more dangerous the situation has become. Even nowadays I still get a bit of a chill exploring the desecrated Valley of Mines and am constantly looking over my shoulder when passing anywhere near Orcs. If the quest was simply to go to the Valley and get Garon'd report, you would have missed out on all the atmosphere and foreboding that the Valley had to offer you at such an early, dangerous time. By the time you come back for the Dragon Hunt, you genuinely feel like you need to be prepared for the worst. Then in Chapter 3, this is the first time in the series (really, the only time) where you feel like the enemy has set out and targeted you in particular. It was genuinely freaky to encounter the first Seeker, and became almost stressful to completely avoid them. It was weird, the sense that Khorinis felt relatively safe, up until you return from the dangers of the Valley, and suddenly nowhere feels safe ever again. (My viewers on Twitch can testify, I still jump straight out of my skin when I hear "THERE HE IS!" bellow from the shadows.) Then in Chapter 5, where it becomes clear that the dragons were just another face of the enemy and not the end of the road, that's where your faction feels like it takes on a little more significance. The Orcs target you with sheer numbers as a Paladin, the dragons try to spread their brood far and wide when you are a dragon hunter, and the Seekers gradually try to corrupt the population when you are a magician. The only real thing that breaks the illusion here is the question of why they don't just do all three of those things anyway, like they specifically went for strategies that your character was suited to fight against. And at the end of the day, while the Sleeper's temple had a genuinely ancient and demonic atmosphere to it, I still adore Irdorath for it's creepy implications. The idea that the enemy has had a stronghold so close to the critical asset of Khorinis, and it's based in an ancient corrupted temple that they've hidden away from the world for generations. I will say the puzzles seemed sillier in this context, and the dungeon was more just a tunnel of monsters to kill, but Kai Rosenkranz's creepy, thumping soundtrack really set the mood.
What also set it a cut above, in my opinion, were the side conversations you could have with everyone. Most of the NPC's had a story to tell, even the generic unnamed ones had something to say about the setting. Everyone had thoughts, stories or rumors from the mainland, you could see the rumblings of squalor in the city as it started to lose its prosperity, and the farmers rebelling against the city added a genuine sense of what the war does to the communities who aren't under the blade but are still affected by it. It's a beautiful and more traditional fantasy-looking world, but the people feel more genuine, and all that is just a setup for the sense of how the island changes once the enemy really begins to make his moves there.
Anyway, I typed this all up while only getting 5 minutes into the video, so I'll just watch the rest quietly :p
Those are all great thoughts. While I still prefer the way the story is told in Gothic 1, I think you've argued a good case for Gothic 2's story being better than it seems at first glance. And you're right about Gothic 1, in regards to helping the Swamp Camp with little regard for your own faction (the old "play along so we can find out what they're up to" instructions you get from the Old Camp and New Camp is a bit of a weak excuse).
I fully agree that Chapter 2 is an awesome moment in the game, in terms of both its nostalgia factor (returning to the colony from G1 and seeing how much it's changed) and as well as the story implications of giving you direct, first-hand experience in witnessing how powerful the enemy truly is. It's one of my all-time favorite moments in all of gaming.
Thank you for this comment.
@@TheNocturnalRambler I just noticed your great video !!! Personally I think that although Gothic 1 is less polished and less user friendly than Gothic 2 , it's really an UNMATCHABLE game ,and just like you said at the intro of this video ,it's so much more ahead of its time!!! I love all 3 Gothic games ,but really ,the 1st one is truly special !!
-----( P.S. I don't know if you are aware of this , but THQ Barcelona is attempting to do a Gothic remake and they released a playable teaser !!! knowing and agreeing with all these things that you said in this video , I get sooooo UPSET with what they are attempting to do with the Gothic 1 masterpiece !!!! someone should inform them that the most characteristic principle that a masterpiece has , is that it can NOT be overpassed !!! someone should inform them about these kind of ""small details"" !!!! Anyway , great video mate, I agree with what you said in your intro 100% !!!!)
Actually the story of Gothic 1 is always motivated. You get a letter before the game begins, you need to join a faction to deliver said letter (for a handsome reward, not "just because"). Once you are a member of a faction, they send you to spy on the swamp camp - probably just because they want you to get busy with something but they obviously don't care much for the results (seems like everybody treats the brotherhood as a bunch of lunatics but they do like the weed they provide). Our hero's additional motivation is money (everytime he does something for Cor Kalom he asks him for a reward), and afterwards just the desire to escape the colony, once he sees he has a power to influence that.
I remember first time playing Gothic I was genuinely surprised when it was revealed Sleeper actually existed and was the cause of the "barrier malfunction". In almost every other fantasy game you know the endboss from the beginning.
at the top you say that you have no motivation given to help the sect do their ritual. this is false. if you join the old camp you are told by raven to help complete their ritua and as a member of the sect your motivation is clear. i can not remember why you are helping them as a new camp member though. im sure you get a reasen as well. and to be clear: these guys are, at that point in the story, your bosses. so ignoring their order is not an option. gothic 2 had a great story, however they screwed up in telling it. i remember playing it for the first time and loosing interest when i was told what the endgame will look like ( me fighting dragons) in the first minute of the game. imagine being told "a dark shadow is falling over the land, go and investigate it - join a faction and find out what they know". and when you get the report in chapter 2 you figure out that dragons attacked. now go tell xardas who will then tell you about the innos eye. not much of a change but it would be more interesting and keeping you playing to find out where everything leads.
Just replayed Gothic 1 after 20 years. The feels, man. The feels..
I was one of the most active members in the forums for the Gothic series (over 5k posts from early 2006 to the day the Forums closed up somewhere in 2013), namely "World of Gothic", and we had numerous conversations regarding this very subject. Turns out that everyone's favorite Gothic was the one they played first, although everyone seemed to agree that Gothic 2 along with its expansion "Night of the Raven" was the overall better game.
It's a lot like Baldur's Gate or Fallout or even Thief, really. Every fan will tell you about how groundbreaking the first one was, how much they love it and how often they go back and replay it because it is just that good, but even those who prefer the first can't deny that the second is technically better in most (if not all) aspects. Videogame developers really need to go back to the "use the same engine and tools to create the sequel" formula that was used in those games, as well as titles like Majora's Mask or KOTOR II. Games can be so much better when they're using tools they already mastered instead of building everything from the ground up every time.
I'm kind of all over the place on this but I actually played Gothic 2 first, finishing it several times. Then I played the first Gothic and kind of fell in love with it because of how cosy it was and how streamlined it felt. The atmosphere is truly unbeatable. Jharekndar is easily my favourite part of the whole series though so I always feel torn. Gothic 2 NotR is definitely the better game, but I feel more emotionally attached to the first.
sounds exactly like what happened with Dark Souls. The first one people played was their favorite even if it was the garbage that was Dark Souls 2
world of gothic forums closed up? *sad mud noises*
World of Gothic isn't closed ;-) www.worldofgothic.de/
my dream is gothic 1&2 remade into a single game that has the best of both while also including all the unfinished stuff like the arena in the first game etc
AND abandoned gothic sequel.
Well, there is momentally Gothic remake in development... so maybe.
@@bourbon5983 Literally half of the concepts from gothic sequel are in gothic 2, i. e. seekers, dragon hunters, invasion of evil.
@@Blackhand47XD spoiler: it will be bad compared to the original
@@Blackhand47XD the remake will sadly be absolut garbage
I also view Gothic 1/2 as two parts of a whole. I slightly prefer Gothic 1 because of the better story, atmosphere and pacing, but Gothic 2’s expansion has some of the best content in the series. One thing that annoys me about Gothic 2 is the voice actor change for Diego in the English dub. William Roberts was perfectly cast for Diego in G1, but for whatever reason they didn’t recast him for Gothic 2. Roberts also voices Vesimir in the English dub for Witcher 1 and 3, which is a nice homage on CDPR’s part.
Fun fact! CDPR was responsible for Polish dub, one of best dubbing I've heard.
I was a little baby when this game got out, but my father loved this game so He introduced me and my siblings to this game when I was 7. Played the full Gothic I and II and like a year ago, I bought myself the Gothic games on Steam. Whenever I feel too rushed, I jump in to play..
Make your father proud and go to Gothic Reloaded Mod and tell to ThielHater that you'd want to help. And he will tell you what to do to make Gothic even greater.
This channel is what we needed. Thx for keeping the community alive!
Gothic I and II are EASILY my favorite RPGs. The atmosphere, the amazing music of Kai Rosenkranz... 10/10. Those games specifically made me fall in love with the genre. I can't believe it's been almost 20 years! I'm not crying you're crying. Good times.
Great content and channel! Keep up the great work!
It'd be hard to argue that Gothic II isn't the better game, but the atmosphere of Gothic I is just something really special to me. I just enjoy it slightly more than Gothic II because it feels less like a video game, if that makes sense.
Yeah i agree, it has that dark sinister theme to it too.
each his own. in gothic 2 I feel the OST a bit better and it has much more content and the world isn't as empty in Gothic 1. That was something I was missing. But then again it was their very first Gothic. So they are forgiven. I did enjoy Gothic 1, but after the fans patches and fixes and widescreen.
@@capcom23 Oh, I totally get what you mean. From the most objective point of view I can have, Gothic 2 is definitely better. But from my entirely subjective point of view, I prefer the first game. It's probably just nostalgia, but it always gives me a feeling that no other game has.
Gothic 1 the absolute best!! Morrowind is second and gothic 2 is my third favorite action-rpg game. Gothic 2 is really a great game, it has less bugs, more balanced and much more challenging (which is great) but still something missing from it, oh yeah the unique atmosphere that Gothic 1 had.
Both games are fantastic, but I slightly prefer Gothic 1. I can still remember my first playthrough in 2001. It took my several weeks to finish the game. Memories that will last a lifetime
Imagine creating your FIRST EVER game, and it's freaking masterpiece. That's what happens when people work from passion, and don't have some toxic suits, constantly breathing by their ears.
In the original German language version it is even better thanks to local dialects and the humor conveyed by it. Completely different flair. Still, no matter what language, the best games either way
Might missed some jokes in the translation then, dammit. But responsible for Polish dubbing was CD Red Projekt (Witcher 3) so I'm sure they took as much as possible into translation.
Meine kleine. Pitty I don't speak German... I wonder what kind of humor they've more, but then again I also no that Germany is censuring the games.. maybe they weren't there?? and English is just plain and sayings as it is? I wonder
@@capcom23 germany censures actually only third reich related symbols and games (or media in general) that may present third reich in a clearly positive way
games that are deemed too violent can't be sold by official retailers but aren't illegal either
it's less that the humor in german is different but more like 1 they had excellent voice actors that conveyed the rough environment quite well and added germany related dialect too
for example the pirates and some people in the harbor of khorinis had a northern german dialect typically associated with german sailors rather than some forced attempt at translating a typical hollywood pirate (yarr, yoho etc.) into german
a lot boils down to typical figures of speech and a kind of rough language without being explicit
I couldn't possibly come up with a fitting translation to: "was willst du sonst tun?" - "dann hau ich dir volles pfund auf's maul!" ---> "what you gonna do about it?" - "else I'm going to punch you full force in the teeth" is a really vague translation
literal translation would be "else I punch you full pound on the mouth/maw (mouth of animals is meant)
@@Daisy_3011 The Polish dubbing is amazing, it's almost as good as the German original. What the German version did great was that the dialects and overall character of the voices really fitted the characters, their occupations, positions, status. Lord Hagen, Lee etc have authoritarian alpha male voices, speaking high German. Jack has a North German accent (cause that's where you would find sailors), some of the mages sound like boring academics, makes you wanna fall asleep as they talk, old people sound really old and hoarse. My favorite part of the voice acting is probably the Ruhrpott charme lowlife threats, taunts and insults you hear from the thugs and bums or from the nameless hero which randomly happen cause someone just doesn't like your mug passing by or decides to extort or trick you cause you look new and lost or simple are at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Great vid! It is a gem in 2019.
Gothic 2 wins it hands down for me, the main reason why I don't have to take time decide is Jharkendar. THAT AREA is my favourite area in any game ever. It's beautiful, the atmosphere is just awesome with a calm mysterious world, full of life, pirates, bandits. It's truly a wild world. And the MUSIC. It's awesome and also despite it being over a decade old I still find it beautiful to look at. And that's just Jharkendar.
And it has a car out of bounds :))
Yeah, I totally agree that Jharkendar is sooo well made! I didn't like Khorinis that much, but the old valley of mines and Jharkendar are awesome!
When I first encountered the pirates in this medieval setting I didn't feel like they belonged, but as soon as I entered their camp I was convinced otherwise.
This game is such a work of art! I'm very glad that due to the engine being there already they could focus on all the little details that make this game great even after 10 playthroughs!
Gothic 1 has Mud!
"Verpiss dich"
"Was bist du denn für ein Freak, mit dir will ich nichts zu tun haben"
One of the most iconic line from the game. (In German)
Yeah but Gothic 2 has Zombie Mud !
@@leetogo3333 in pretty sure you can only summon him with console though
@@DOKH0 yeah, but he is in it, kinda, and a mf zombie ! :D
Not sure if that's a pro or con though ^^
3:34 that island with the magic "lantern" in the middle of the swamp always fascinated me.
I can still hear the orc and seeker sounds in my head even though you are not playing them.
THERE HE IS!
Don't forget scavengers and molerats. Or harpies... a lot of really iconic sound design.
THe Dude Ukakashu!
'we shall get you'
The orcs chasing you were creepy as hell because they sound like "WIDZE CIE" ("I CAN SEE YOU" in polish).
A very good analysis of the whole thing.
you present some good info that I wanted to know ... thank you
It is so pleasant to hear someone expressing your own thoughts out loud about something that is very important to you, the guy just saying the same things I would say If I'd been asked about comparison of Gothic and Gothic II. Marvelous.
Thank you for this wonderful video. Your words soothed my wounds that were cause by the Gothic 1 remake's playable teaser developed by THQ Nordic Barcelona.
I’m so happy I found your channel I love gothic 1 and 2 they are my favourite games of all time, I also don’t mind 3 just because we still play our nameless hero. And I also play them back to back, doing a play through atm.
Gothic 1 and 2 are by far the best RPGs I've every played in my life. Although I'd mention that the boss fights are one of the few avenues they could have improved.
While gothic 1 never had a true boss fight, I really hated how they programmed the dragons in gothic 2, especially the part where they could send your character flying everytime and regaining their health by the time you got on your feet again. This literally forced you to use ranged combat or summon demons to defeat them instead of using your preferred playstyle
Without expansion, you fight with them normally. Night of the Raven give every npc and monster power up.
@@siejac7894
Yes you're right. I've only played vanilla gothic 2 twice so my memory is a bit hazy there. For me Gothic 2 is synonymous with the expansion since I found the vanilla version to be less of a challenge
In NOTR you still can fight them which enough fire resistance and speed potion, but the fight is still dumb you basically need to get close and spam melee attacks as quickly as possible while hoping the dragon takes excessively long pauses between attacks (attack frequency seems buggy and rly inconsistent) or glitches out in that animation where it flies to its side.
Holy Crap i just found you now and i saw more videos of you and thouhgt how the hell are you not a bigger youtuber by now...
Gosh. I thought I was a huge Gothic fan until I saw this video and comments. I am all agree with your evaluation here. Best way to sum up these amazing games. One in two pieces. Thank you man.
You mentioned that G2 has much more areas to explore and much later in the game too. You also said that you can stumble onto large cave systems with some minor background story attached to them (i.e. the Story of the corrupted Paladin inprisoned next to the great farm) And I do agree G2 has more to explore and do but G1 has this 1 quest-series that leads seemingly nowhere (I guess it was cut) where a series of old books lead you from 1 end of the colony to the next. Not only did I just find the quest at my 5th or 6th playthrough for the first time but it is also uniquely different from any other Quest in the entire 3 games since it gives you puzzles with no real ingame clue and noone to help you. you really have to read the books and solve them yourself (i.e. I'm at the place from where you can see the entire valey; or; what was once one is seperated and will come back together (meaning the small island in the river by the old camp))... I really thing this quest should receive a special mention
I also find the world of G1 more natural. No dragon snappers or basically every forest filled with skeletons and wargs.
Everyday -monsters- animals you expect to find, what makes hunting more enjoyable, like in G3. Although before the barrier collapsed and dragons appeared, the lands of Khorinis might have been the same before it went really south (with the bandits being the least of the new problems).
The "dungeons" of G1 have also a greater appeal to me. They feel more "natural" to be there and how they're build. Not only that, but I find them less linear. Although you can't compare Halls of Irdorath to the Sleeper Temple. I'm still getting lost in the latter.
Agreed. Especially in chapter 3 and 5 Khorinis feels ridiculous with dragonsnappers and orc warriors everywhere. You can just feel the powercreep.
I replayed both games last year and it would really cool to see the great story elements and atmosphere together with new advanced gameplay mechanics. The gameplay itself was nice back in those days, but when you replay it you find a lot of breaks in the mechanic. In Gothic one for example I put a lot of the skill points into magic when I joined the swamp (cause I couldn't remember I have joined them at all as a child) and they introduce magic for beginner available at first. But then in the last temple I got stuck, because I skilled everything into mana and it was intended to skill two-handed swords as a temple warrior. It was nice to see, that you still could go back into the main world and had then to open the orc door in some different way, but the whole game there were no hints, that you can miss-skill your char and the game is then unbeatable.
I think the best aspect is the dark atmosphere combined with the feeling of being free in your choices. I write pen and paper adventures and I noticed as well, that the more choices your players have, the more immersive it gets. Since I noticed this point of view, many games look to linear in my opinion, Gothic I however made this perfect
Couldn't agree more with your analysis :)
G1 was really unique in that they didn't use invisible walls, but instead used a game mechanic (the barrier) to serve this purpose. This is one of the few games that did so in such a natural way. The atmosphere and dog-eat-dog world it threw you in is still unmatched to this day. Aside from janky combat, these two games were truly masterpieces!
When i played the first game there where many events where i went full "WHOA". Like holy shit the mine collapsed i have to see that.
Gothic 2 was more like a chain of "uh ok".
If we count the first run= Gothic 1 easily.
But for the 10th replay i'm probably gonna choose Gothic 2, because the world feels more packed and honestly i probably know every inch of gothic 1 already :D.
Gothic I was darker, but easier in my opinion.
Gothic 2 only went harder with the AddOn. The vanilla version wasn't harder than Gothic 1 at all.
gothic 2 set a great contrast, the valley of the mines feels waaay more hostile than in gothic 1 and is way more dangerous too while khorinis was beautifully idyllic
Gothic 2 was pretty dark.
Gothic 1 is too easy because 1. you can rob merchants and get everything you want way too easily and 2. because it's too easy to streamline your character build into str. melee. That way you become way too powerful way too early. Gothic 2 Addon fixes this, you can't rob merchants for their top tier loot you have to gather the coin and also if you try to streamline your character build very soon you have to use 20skill points for +5 and that makes it actually worthwile to branch out.
Although the Leader of the Bandits of the New Camp, Lares was a rather minor character in Gothic 1, but I like what they did with him in Gothic 2 by turning into a more important character who has quite a lot for the player to do. I also like the fact that he is a temporary Companion.
For me only 1 game reached Gothics level of immersion and athmosphere: STALKER.
STALKER is great. Love those games, specifically Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Pripyat.
Witcher 3?
Never got into Stalker... But Deus Ex and Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines on the other hand. :O
wow wow you guys pointed out some good titles i agree on are atmospheric too. :D
@@Nevil077 Man i love Witcher 3 and it is exremely immersive and it actually makes you feel like you are the Witcher, but Gothic is just something else man.
Thanks for great video! I just started to play Gothic 1 few days ago reminds me how i was kid and enjoyed this game , i mind play Gothic 1 and Gothic 2 with all exp packs, sadly Gothic 3 not so good as it should be...
Loved this video, you brought pretty much everything I thought about the games minus some tiny details, personally i preferred the original with its world (though I do have a fascination with prisons) story and atmosphere
Cool to see resurgence of interest about Gothic.
Both games are phenomenal. Thanks for the comparison. I didn't know the Gothic series is known outside of Europe. Best wishes from Poland!
I played G2 first, then G1. It took me a while, as G2 has better engine and mechanics. But later, G1 has some extra atmosphere, that G2 is missing. Its though call anyway.
I played Gothic 2 first, after reading about it in a pc games magazine back in 2004. This game made me loose my sleep. I played it multiple times exploring all the three factions. I finally played Gothic 1 a couple of years later and I enjoyed it so much, it was a complete experience because I had many questions from Gothic 2. Although it had some disadvantages, my biggest disappointment was the fact that when I played as a Templar I couldn't maximize my 2handed skill and there was no option of becoming a Guru. When Gothic 3 was released I was so excited and i bought instantly the collector's box only to find out the game was unplayable... Anyway I finally managed to play the game several years later with the community patch and I enjoyed it but not so much as the 1 and 2. I love Gothic series and I will try the Gothic 2 The returning 2 mod, which looks very promising even with russian voiceovers. Gothic is my favourite game of all time.
Wait, I don't remember not being able to max out 2 handed as a Templar. I played Templars at least 3 times... totally not addicted, I swear on Beliars left nut under Inosses arm pit.
@@janchovanec8624 Maybe it was a bug that I encountered..
most fans say returning is shit i warn you it even adds a new god.
@@bastilashan2256 It looks promising from walkthroughs I've seen, even with Russian voices. I haven't tried it yet though.
Gothic 3 is utter shit sadly. That game is so bad its actually sad
Comparing this is like comparing Fallout 1 and 2 ;D
Very good comparison!
I just finished Gothic 1 and started Gothic 2 and I can relate to every single point youre making!
Oh man if it is the first time for you I feel jealous :D You're playing regular G2, or with NoTR extension?
@@gidziu9184 1st time after 15 years its still so much fun, ye with notr :)
@@ProgazQQ Ok that's nice! When you finish your G2 adventure I highly recommend Gothic "The history of Khorinis" project, it will be released this year and I get a feeling every Gothic fan should know about it.. It is fan made, but looks like a complete new game, piranha bytes approves as well :D
Look it up on TH-cam brother
I started playing Gothic 1 recently and god damn, even through the outdated Warcraft 3 like graphics it's still so incredibly immersive. even when I have music playing it feels like I'm just some peasant trying to appease diego into letting me into that god damn castle
I love Gothic.
It's fascinating.
Yes
Great write up man. A brilliant write up of two of the greatest aRPG ever. Covered every major point there is and to speak about without succumbing to blind fanboyism. Top notch review.
This video made me play those game. All I have to say is THANK YOU. Gothic I and II, along with Archolos: Chronicles of Myrtana, are my favorite open world rpg of all times, litterally there is no other game that manage to do what those games did.
Funfact brother: Gothic 1 and Gothic 2 are the same game, they were just split in half because of the time constraint. Also Gothic 2 didn't had dragons in it but instead you had to stop the sleeper from coming back. In the lore there are 6 Sleeper demons and one managed to get into "our" dimension where he tried to gain as much power as possible to overwhelm the others.
The game started in the now destroyed old camp and king rhobar with his paladins are holding out in the old stone castle in orc territory. His daughter was planned to be the new sidekick of the hero. There is a whole website showing the whole development process of gothic 1 and gothic sequel and where you can download the unfinished version of the sequel (but no voice acting and german only I guess)
Great video,
Great... I always thought of Gothic II as the best RPG of all times... Now I have to play both games again, just to confirm :D
I love the wild west vibes the valley of mines has in its soundtrack. It reinforces the idea that it became an even worse place.
I also consider G2 to be the better game, but what I liked more in G1 is that it binds you less to a specific class, it doesn't feel like you're playing a mage or a warior, it feels like you're crafty inmate that aquires skills along the way in order to participate in a grand prison break.
What I love in G1 was how you really needed to do a big deed in order to become a mage. It feels more earned and exceptional and the magic you get at first is utter shit, making weapons a better choice for a while to come.
G2 mages in contrast feel really dull to me and pretty overpowered almost from the start if you roughly know what you're doing.
if i remember correctly though only the templar taught you how to be better with 2handed weapons, but both other factions ended up with the mages
@@couchpotatoe91 the flame arrow spell was very weak and mana was rare and yes you needed to know what spells you wanted or else you ran out of leanpoints way too fast
@@alexanderzack3720 No, both Lee and Thorus teach mercenaries and guardians how to use two-handed weapons after you join them.
The firearrow spell in g2 notr did 25dmg and cost 5 mana while the fireball did 75 dmg and cost 15 mana. So if you spammed fast enough it didn't even matter since most monsters had none or barely any magic protection.
The other thing was that you could always just sleep, farm a few enemies, repeat because there were beds all over the world.
It's mostly the spammability that annoyed me though. In G2 you could just spam multiple attacks per second and burn your entire mana for multiple hundreds and later thousands of damage in 2-3 seconds. Animations didn't even get canceled if somebody attacked you, so you could just run in the midst of the enemy, spam 2 death waves and it didn't even matter how many enemies there were.
In G1 you had to load up spells for them to be powerful and the animation canceled when you were hit by an enemy. That and the fact that scrolls were much rarer is what I meant with magic feeling more challenging and more special in G1: You could only buy it from certain mages and rarely found scrolls in the gameworld. Meanwhile in G2 every second trader has some scrolls and you also find plenty next to almost every skeleton in the gameworld.
That and the fact that even for the most powerful spells had their scroll costs reduced to 5 mana made magic feel really op and unrewarding to me in G2 notr.
Which is weird since that game's melee fighting part is one of the hardest (and rewarding) in videogame history.
@@couchpotatoe91 it seems we played different versions of the game... i remember clearly that enemies were ably to interupt my casting and i could not spam spells that fast, only one cast after the other
I've never liked the dungeons in the Gothic games per se, but otherwise I agree with the things you've said in the video. I really enjoy your reviews.
How did you make them look so good :O ? Mods? Which ones?
As far as I know Gothic 2 was planned as an Extension of Gothic 1, but it got so big, that PB decided to make it an individual Game. Sooo Yes, you could definitely say that G1&G2 are each a side of one coin. And that's also the reason why it has the same game engine.
You do great videos about Gothic and I agree with almost everything you say about them, but it would be nice to give some spoiler alerts. If you watch this video in order to find out if you'd rather buy gothic 1 or 2, you maybe don't want to know the role of the sleeper ect.
duuude how do u get golem or demn's heart if u dont have harvesting skills while playing fire mage in G2 to make runes
A very interesting view on those games. One thing I disagree with and this is the skill system. I love the skill system in Gothic 1 because it mostly plays automatically while still allowing you some variations and giving the rewarding feeling of progression. Many modern games have such a complicated skill system that you can actually end up doing nothing but "play the skill system" rather than actually playing the game. In Gothic 2 this is still "okish", but especially with the "night of the raven" expansion where things got more difficult, I restarted the game a number of times, because I felt that I made mistakes while choosing my skills and subsequently had to restart. That led me to try to gather as many learning points as possible without spending them, to create a good "base savegame" I can use for experimenting. This distracted me quite a bit from actually playing the game. I think I played chapter 1&2 like thirty times, but the remaining chapters only 2 times, just because I wasn't happy with my skill decisions.
Another thing is the world itself: I am quite astounded how many different things Piranha Bytes managed to put in a comparable small map in Gothic 1. There are forests, swamps, beaches, mountains, ice&snow, grassland, rivers, waterfalls... The distances are in a range which is OK to walk from time to time. Distances in Gothic 2 are to big. Which is something that Piranha Bytes learned in the expansion - the portal stones were a great solution to the problem, which fit perfectly into the world.
One thing that I believe could have some more emphasis: In Gothic 1 the overall objective was to escape the prison. The magic barrier overhead was a constant reminder of the overall target. You basically could not forget it. Nevertheless, the story was rather unpredictable. When I played the game the first time and the ritual in the swamp to awaken the sleep, I actually thought that I would have completed the game, just to find out, that there is a lot more to the story. The same for the escape plan by the new camp. It very slowly dawned upon me (and all the NPCs for that matter) what was going on. This made the main quest extra exciting. In Gothic 2 this element is much weaker. After all Xardas tells you right in the first minute about fighting dragons.
In general I think that looking at the expansion compared to the core game is also something interesting you might be interested in talking about. In my opinion, the expansion is extremely well designed, in many aspects combining the best of both worlds.
"especially with the "night of the raven" expansion where things got more difficult, I restarted the game a number of times, because I felt that I made mistakes while choosing my skills and subsequently had to restart"
couldn´t agree more. this is the number 1 reason why I enjoyed 1 more than 2. the game is so greedy with it´s skill points, it becomes incredibly tempting to just use exploits or straight up cheat. If I had to describe the gameplay loop of 2 in one word, it would be "unrewarding" you rarely ever feel a sense of accomplishment from any single thing, like a level up, a new weapon or a new spell as you did in the first game. it´s all just drops in the bucket.
I only played the first playthrough legit out of a weird sense of "honor" even though it really was just obligation. nowadays, I always cheat a little because I found that it makes the game much less tedious and WAY more enjoyable.
"Nevertheless, the story was rather unpredictable. When I played the game the first time and the ritual in the swamp to awaken the sleeper, I actually thought that I would have completed the game, just to find out, that there is a lot more to the story." - Really? I mean that only happened at the end of chapter 2. It would have been a really anti-climatic ending since not much had happened and it would have been too easy.
"The same for the escape plan by the new camp." - Here's a rule when it comes to storytelling when the heroes draw up a plan, expect it to go wrong.
@@shadowmaydawn Yes, really. And at least I shared this impression with my best friend who played the game at the same time. - Though I do have to admit that when I played Gothic 1 for the first time it was the first open world RPG I ever played and I was only... Maybe 14 or 15 years old. So maybe I would see things differently today. Even if I expect not to have beaten the game at this point I still think I would not be able to foretell how the story unfolds. The story line in Gothic 2 is much easier to foretell.
Well, it's settled.
I am going to put to use my last STEAM acquisitions and install in my high end PC Gothic 1 & 2.
...have to reckon, although I have them both in this digital form and original discs, the later do not work on Windows 10.
The only thing that I'm afraid of is that I'll have a lot to tweak, patches, mods and all that from World Of Gothic but I hope I'll succeed. The fact that I've read that Gothic 1 has known issues was keeping me from installing it, but your videos really brung up the appetite.
Thank you Nocturnal Rambler again for remembering the gold generation what great times we had growing up.
The gog version should work better than the steam version, at least in my experience. I couldnt get Gothic 1 to work on steam but it worked on gog
@@Mursch92 Wow... so money spent in vain ? Now I need to also purchase on GoG ?
Curses...
@@davidmircea2050 It can still work on Steam but I couldnt get it to work on my PC. Might be possible for yours though. You can also try to refund the Steam Version if you havent played it for 2 hours yet.
Idk man im on Windows 10 and both work perfectly fine with no mods or patches.
@@ninetynein6853 Ah that is good news, at least that means the Steam version is not broken for everyone.
Never was Quick save so important as in Gothic and Gothic II
In that case it's quite ironic that Gothic 1 (maybe 2 as well, not sure) doesn't have quick save.
@@CristiNeagu They both do, but they're disabled by default.
You have to go into the .ini file and enable them if you want to use them though. Kinda pointless though on modern hardware because of how fast they save and load now anyway (especially G1).
@@maxisyourfriend Quick save and load has never been about how quick the game saves and loads. It has always been about how quick the player can tell the game to save and load.
But yes, quick saving (at least in Gothic 1) is quite fast if you set your first save slot as a quick save slot (by convention only). Then all you need to do is press escape and three fast mouse clicks.
Although Gothic (1) has fewer side quests, especially after chapter 1 (no sidequests), I don't necessarily consider it a disadvantage. For "normal" games, it is, because you'd have less to do in the world, the changes in the world hasn't an impact as great as in the changes in the sidequests, and it can result in a rather mundane monster grinding when it comes to leveling.
However, the lack of "distractions" lets you focus on the story much better. Instead of running off to help something trivial, you have a much more important job to do (the main quest). Thus you have in chapter 1 all the sidequests to learn about the world and its people. After that, your "true" story begins.
I played gothic 2 first for a few times and then recently decided to play gothic 1 after. What really annoyed me is finding some spots that lead me deep into useless corners without getting rewarded for. In Gothic 2, every Corner that was easy to oversee kept some rewarding loot, scroll or weapon. In Gothic 1 there arent even half of the discoverable corners rewarding. The only things that didnt make sense in G2 were filled in NOTR.
Didn't finish them btw, besides having played the second one first, I prefer this one mostly for having a city, real outside areas... I have somewhat classical tastes.
Love your videos man : )Gothic is just somthing unique , nothing more to say !
Gothic was developed from 1997 to 2001. Gothic 2 was published in 2002. Only one year after Gothic. The Addon "The night of the Raven" was published 2003. This explains some setbacks in Gothic 2. By the way, Gothic 2 include Addon will always be my favourite Game in my life.
But:
One thing I see in Gothic 1, I never see in an other video game. The NPCs can estimate how strong you are! The workers (the Diggers in the old camp, the Scrapers in the new camp and the Novices in the swamp camp) threaten me, if I run with a sword in the hand through the area at the beginning. But if I get stronger, they don't do this any longer. They feared me!
I played not a lot of Games, but this I never see again. Yes, in Skyrim the NPCs can also run away, if they are almost dead, but they always come back after a few seconds. This is better in Gothic than in Gothic 2. In Gothic 2 a weakling attack me as a Paladin, if I draw my sword.
Than, pissing makes no sounds in Gothic 2. OK, in Gothic 1 it sounds not realistic, but the will counts! In Elex, it sounds realistic. ;-)
i cant count how many times i went into a quiet corner and thought: they havent placed any items there. It CANT be. They CANT place something in EVERY corner. But then i find a single herb or something that tells me: jes we knew you would come here so have a little gift. Of course there are some corners where nothing is, but just enough to keep you exited.
have you heard about those polish modes coming through this/next year? both will be bigger then gothic 2 with dlc
They are both masterpieces
Both classics but Gothic 2 for me is the king of PB's games. I find myself coming back to Risen 1 often to :)
Gothic 2 Night of the Raven Expansion is awesome.
I played both and many more like Risen series (also by the team), But still G2 NoTR is the best.
your conclusion to paly both games back toback made me smile, first time i played them ( years ago) i did not pay for them
Today i bought gothic 2 gold edition off steam, and now ill go buy gothic 1, and replay them back to back, thank you for the video
Each chapter adds to both Mine Colony and the city. So if you go to mines , you can just go back right away and there will be new quests in the city. Same way with orcs and lizards. If I remember correctly in chapter 4 orcs come over, and in chapter 5 - lizards, not at once.
Also Returning 2.0 is a really serious modding. Took me 200 hours of gameplay to beat the game, compared to 60 with Night of the Raven and 40 without addon and 30 in Gothic 1.
Gothic 3 is good too, but it's more of a Morrowind/Oblivion kind of game
Risen 1 - 1st chapter is almost as good as Gothic, 2/3/4 chapters are lacking of everything probably even more than G1
Choosing between Gothic 1 and 2 is like Fallout 1 and 2. 2nd game lacks something, but more refined
9:55 I like how you learn fighting skills in G1 more than other games.
You see , 2nd had so much talking quests , go there talk to him than back , it's an adventure you are in charge of , everyone time you go from one Nov to another the journey becomes shorter , you find shortcuts , clean up forests , and generaly learn your way around without the map , and since the world been made larger , only those often walking quest successfully emerge you in the world .
I've been thinking about it for many years and I think I've come to a compromise.
1. Gothic 2 + Night of the Raven - the most complete experience in the series.
2. Gothic - for the wonderful atmosphere of the Mine Valley. Few games put the action in jail.
3. Gothic 2 - still a great adventure, but more in a classic fantasy style.
You gave very good points.
I've always felt Gothic 2 is the better game (even without Night of the Raven). And yet Gothc 1 seems more crafted and more dedicated.
thanks to this video now I understand why stalker Misery felt so similar to gothic series for me.
small correction, the eye of innos appears to do nothing from a game mechanics point of view but storywise it is stated that the dragons are invulnerable except in the presence of the eye. which, if i remember correctly, also translates to the dragons taking no damage if you try to attack them without having the eye
So orc invasion happens if you join paladins, possessed people as a mage and lizards as a mercenary, just realized that.
That's why in my latest playthrough as a mercenary Vino didn't get possessed, instead there was a random shadow beast in the circle.
Loved G2, never played part 1. I have a hard time running them via Steam on Win7...hopefully one day I will figure it out.
Just so you know, the community patch is built into the steam version now! It plays on win 10 right out of the box.
Wait, how you have so good texture and shadow? Did you update it?
I did yes -- I played both games with the DX11 mod. I don't like other graphics mods because they tend to change the game's look and feel too much, but DX11 makes the games look better while retaining its original tone and atmosphere. Unfortunately it was a little unstable in my G1 playthrough and so I had to uninstall it around Ch4 or Ch5.
I was too young at that time, I just didn't know where to go or what I have to do lol. It doesn't hold your hand in any way which is rare. I played gothic 3 (yes it's a buggy mess) at least. It's quite good though without all that bugs (community patches).
Still, the hero would never kill xardas or join beliar, so this possibility is BS for me. Tho i understand if you can chose between innos and adanos there have to be beliar too
If you’re a mage in the valley you can turn into a warg to sneak past the orcs
I really loved how difficult playing as a mage in G2 was, especially in the expansion. But it was indeed the most rewarding since it makes the character an all powerful demigod capable of obliterating hordes of enemies in the blink of an eye. Not to mention the most exposition is offered if we play as a mage since it completely brings to light the origin of the seekers and many more things :)
@@Kevin5279 I agree first you feel like trash you have by far the hardest Chapter 1, the worst armor as a Novice, then you become a mage it is still hard, mana potions are hard to come buy spells not all that strong but eventually you become really strong and it all pays off. In the end you can summon armies to fight for you and bring death to everything in your surroundings in an instant but by then you have earned it.
One. i played the first since 2002 up until now. had a very tough time to starting playing gothic 2 after one, i delayed the second a long time.
Is that the King's Quest's Mask of Eternity at 15:52 ?
It really comes down to what is more important to you as a player. For me, ill never forget that feeling i first entered the old mine in G1 and explored it. The music and atmosphere is just too good, a feeling unmatched till this day. I can agree there could be more side content and it is too easy, but it doesnt bother me too much. Therefore G1 is better imo, because theres way better atmosphere and more dungeons.
its easy: none is better then the other, they simply belong together! See them as the same game in two parts ;D
Played Gothic 1 first and was one of my very first 3D "open world" RPGs and while playing Morrowind I missed a lot of Gothic's feature. And while I think the story of Gothic 1 is by far better than Gothic 2's story, I still prefer Gothic 2 Night of the Raven because it is much more refined in terms of gameplay, content, items, balancing and visuals. Both are amazing games, still today. And it still offers unique features many other RPGs can't get right, like the narrative progression through chapters, rewarding exploration, difficulty that is not defined by level gating but really depends on your stats, equipment AND playerskill. The world feels alive and doesn't replicate a theme park solely build for the player's convenience. The level design conveys a scale other big games like Assassin's Creed simply can't. It's not about shere size and scale, it is how your journey and the traversal is perceived. In many open world games you can go literally in a straight line from a A to B and reach it within very few minutes and the game pretends you've marched hundreds of miles within a day. It doesn't feel like a journey. Gothic has much more linear passages built into this open world where there are only a few ways to reach a certain location and it leads you through some bottlenecks where the levels can get really intricate (compared to other open world games). It feels much more authentic and conveys the sense of an exhausting journey with dangers on your travels you cannot always easily avoid. It is such a coherent world, almost like many seperate classic levels taken from a linear singleplayer game but blend nicely and cohesively together into this believable world that is small in size but doesn't feel like that. Truly brilliant games.
love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to ask if gothic 1 or gothic 2 is better is like to ask if your mother or your father better... u cant ask yourself these kind of questions man.
Sure, if you have good parents it's not really proper to choose one over the other as being "better," but you can still say fairly that there are things each of them does better than the other. Even if you can't choose just one, they each have their respective strengths and weaknesses, both as parents and as people, which are usually complemented by the other's strengths and weaknesses. And really, that's what the nature of this video is about -- to examine the nuanced differences between the two games, and to compare what each one does better (or worse) than the other. You'll notice, after all, that in the end of the video I say I like them both equally and that I was reluctant to pick just one, ultimately concluding that it was best to consider them as essentially one game, broken into two parts.
Both are great, before i had internet when i was young i played theese 2 hardcore, best memories.
My. Thoughts. Exactly. Totally agreed.
It might be just me misremembering stuff, but the one problem I had with Gothic is that due to the way actions were done, it was easy to close a chest or inventory when you didn't want to, and few other things.
While Gothic 2 might be a more complete and polished game overall, I still find Gothic 1 to be the superior one. I like to call Gothic 2 "the game that PB had to make, but a one they didn't want to make." The reason becomes quite clear when you look at how and in what environment Gothic 1 and 2 were made.
The original Gothic 1 started development around late 1996 and early 1997 with a simple premise: Let's make something nobody has ever done before. The authors which were somewhat un-enamoured with the games that were available at the time set out to create a game that was supposed to be nothing like anything that had come before it. Of course that was a very bold idea, that the authors had a hard time realizing.
Gothic was developed for around 4.5 to 5-ish years, during which the core game concept changed drastically several times.
The original concept of Gothic was that of a game that had a much bigger reliance on the AI and specific features of individual character classes to create interesting gameplay. When encountering a problem in-game, each one of the 4 planned classes would have its own way of solving it. The warrior would smash through everything, including doors and chests, the Assassin would sneak through shadows and use things like stealing and lockpicking, the Mage would use magic to destroy his enemies and the Psionic would use his spiritual powers to tame and eventually defeat his foes (for example: by taking control over them with the Control spell). That idea was idea was made even better considering that the original game allowed for up to 8 players to play over a network, with certain puzzles in the game being specifically designed for co-op play.
Of course, it had a lot of problems and shortcomings, meaning Piranha Bytes were constantly in the process of refining and reworking the initial idea in order to find something that worked. During the course of development PB nearly fully implemented and later did away with: 5 person multiplayer, destructible chests, doors and other pieces of furniture, the ability to carry and throw objects (including dead monsters), pushing and pulling heavy objects (to be used in puzzles), a simple thumbs-up/thumbs-down dialogue system or a semi-advanced AI that allowed for monsters to spontaneously pick up random weapons and objects or use other nearby monsters in combat to their advantage (e.g. trolls could pick up goblins or rocks and throw them at you), just to name of few. The whole list of cut features that the devs not only planned, but also implemented at one point or another, is massive and you could probably write a whole bachelor's thesis about it.
Eventually, however, the development took too long and the publisher had had enough. The devs were told to finish the game quickly or it's over. This is the reason why the final game feels kind of unpolished and very rough around the edges, since the whole game was the product of more or less the last 3-4 months of development, during which the devs implemented basically the whole story and all dialogues.
Later, the devs tried set things right with the cancelled "Gothic: Sequel" add-on, in which they tried finish ideas they didn't have the time to fully realize when they were making Gothic 1. Sadly, that was not to be, and the add-on was ditched in favour of Gothic 2 that we know today.
Gothic 2 however, already fundementally differed in what it tried to achieve. When creating Gothic 2, PB were in a very bad state, considering that their parent company had just gone bankrupt and also the fact that the original Gothic cost several millions, but didn't make back a single penny. What saved them from almost certain bankruptcy was the fact that they had a contract with Jowood for the creation of Gothic 2. This meant that PB's entire goal with G2 was just to create a game and make back the money they lost during the development of Gothic 1.
They didn't want to make something revolutionary and unique, they just wanted to make a game, and they did it in just under a year.
As a result, Gothic 2 while being all around polished feels quite unambitious. It doesn't really introduce anything fundamentally new when compared to Gothic 1 and it mainly tries to improve on what made the original game great. The few things that are new are either improvements of existing systems or features that were ported over from the cancelled Gothic: Sequel add-on (like rune crafting or alchemy). All of that is not necessarily a bad thing, though.
That's where the games fundamentally differ and that's also the reason why I appreciate Gothic 1 much more. Gothic 1 was like the ambitious pioneer that strived to change everything about the game industry. Gothic 2 wasn't... and it had to be that way, because PB needed to make that game to stay afloat.
I think Gothic 2 is the game PB wanted to make with the original, but ran out of time. Sure with G2 the development time wasn't as long as G1, but they already had all the assets. G1 feels like a first draft while G2 feels like the finished product.