Gothic was a unique RPG when it first launched in 2001. A lot has changed since then, and what once was fresh can now feel stale, or that’s what I’m thinking after playing through the Gothic 1 Remake demo.
Spanish studio Alkimia Interactive has been developing the remake for roughly four years. THQ Nordic acquired the now-deceased original Gothic studio Piranha Bytes back in 2019, and soon, a “playable teaser” was assembled to gauge interest in a full remake of the original game in the series. The response was largely positive, yet one request from longtime fans popped up time and again: Making it more faithful to the original and less modernized. This didn’t shock anyone.
Much has been written about the key differences between remasters and remakes, and if the line that separates both approaches to refreshing old games is sometimes too blurred to really matter. For example, look momentarily at the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy or the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Under the hood, structurally, mechanically… they were the same games. But they also were fully rebuilt and weren’t just the result of adding extra graphical shine on top of what was already there. However, they also were quite different from even bigger efforts such as Resident Evil 2 (2019), which completely reworks the original games into something more modern and approachable.
Around one hour with Gothic 1 Remake’s Next Fest demo and my vague memories of the original were enough to know I was playing a very very traditional take on Piranha Bytes’ iconic action-RPG. This is great news for the diehard fans that were asking for a “return to basics” following Gothic 3 and Arcania’s being less-than-ideal continuations of the first two games, but it also makes me wonder if there’s an audience for it beyond the sort of player that has a very low opinion of modern AA/AAA releases only because they’re newer and not as unwelcoming. After all, the still-infant Soulslike subgenre is thriving due to its hostile demeanor, so maybe Gothic 1 Remake has a fighting chance.
Well, you see, the main thing with Soulslikes is that they generally have solid, addicting combat loops. And that’s the one thing Gothic always struggled with and something that hasn’t changed (as far as I can tell after playing the demo) in Gothic 1 Remake. Battling even the simplest creatures in the Valley of the Mines just feels clunky and outdated in a way that isn’t even charming. I appreciate the commitment to the actual difficulty of the game and the lack of hand-holding, but there are ways to execute that while making the overall experience not as miserable in the moment-to-moment gameplay.
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There’s also the weird decision of making this demo “a standalone experience” with no proper narrative hook that sells the casual crowd on the actual game that’s supposed to be launching later this year. Yes, I’ve been able to visit a few areas that are key to the full Gothic journey, but the demo ultimately feels like a tech showcase rather than an actual chunk of the game. Of course, no tech demo actually runs for more than a few minutes and even lets you take on several quests and tinker a fair bit with the systems, but the very nature of this preview makes me wonder what the real state of the game is this late into development.
“It is important to note that this experience does not feature the intended progression, freedom, simulation, and immersion that the full game will provide,” the press release states. If so much of it doesn’t resemble the actual game, developmental phase aside, maybe it will do more bad than good?
Personally, I didn’t have a great time with the demo. Some extra UE5-powered sheen aside, the most modern game it resembles is The Witcher 2… which isn’t exactly what you want from an expensive remake set to come out in 2025. Movement is sluggish; combat feels a tad too slow even by Gothic standards; and all the graphical glow-up can’t hide the fact that it’s all restricted by the early 2000s level design that has been painstakingly recreated.
Regardless, some of Gothic’s unique, slightly off-beat soul shines through the rust: For the most part, the setting still feels refreshingly oppressive, and there’s a commitment to letting players figure things out for themselves and not filling the screen with markers. I don’t think, at this stage, that it’s enough to make up for how bland everything else can be, but perhaps the aforementioned “hardcore old-school RPGs” crowd will appreciate the return to this style of game design.
There’s also the slight possibility of the full game landing a critical hit with its retelling of the original story, which directly dealt with the themes of penal labor and rebellion against a decaying monarchy. But that’s just speculation and wishful thinking, as this demo offers none of that beyond some expository dialogues from prisoners who have seen better days.
God knows I can put up with “janky” combat systems and unforgiving worlds which tell players to adapt or perish, but there has to be more juice to Gothic 1 Remake (plus some proper responses to feedback) by the time it releases to convince me and RPG enjoyers without nostalgia for the veteran series to return to the Khorinis mines.
Gothic 1 Remake will release at some point in 2025 on PC (Steam & GOG), PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Published: Mar 3, 2025 12:27 pm