It is pretty crazy to think that the first game in the Gothic series was released all the way back in 2001. Thanks to the huge impact that it had and also the fact that it is still available on Steam. Gothic is a game and series that is still quite popular to this day. I think that you could easily argue that without Gothic we would never have got games like Skyrim and Dragon Age.
How to Download Gothic
You can download Gothic (2001) from GOG or Steam. You should be also interested in its sequels: Gothic II (2002) and Gothic 3 (2006) (read our reviews). To download the game, hit the button below this review.
The Game Review
For a game that was released the better part of two decades ago, Gothic has a pretty fun story running through it. You play as a prisoner who has been sent to a camp to mine materials to help the kings war effort against the Orcs. Through a series of “events” you find yourself out and a huge part of the war and you could be the last hope man has to win the war.
The story is quite well written and you have a lot of choice in the way that you play and the kind of character that you are. It may be rather basic by today’s standards, but I do think that Gothic has a lot of charm to it and it is easy to see why it was such a big hit back in 2001. However, this is most certainly a game from 2001 and as a result, it can feel a little restricted.
Gothic is an RPG and it is quite a large one for its time. You can go exploring which is a lot of fun to do. You can go into the forest to take down a pack of wolves and loot some strangers camp, you can go into a cave and see what kind of creatures lay in wait there. There is always something that you can do and fighting monsters or completing quests is going to give you skill points.
To be honest the progression system is quite basic compared to what we have today. While you do have plenty of skills and trades that you can improve. The improvements that you can give then are rather limited by today’s standards. However, I will say in its defense that this does make things pretty straightforward and easy to grasp.
Gothic is played from the 3rd person point of view and to be fair I do feel that the game still has a bit of charm as far as the presentation goes. Sure, it is not going to blow you away, but I do feel that the game has aged far more gracefully than many people give it credit for.
The biggest thing you will have to get over when playing Gothic is the controls. I am not sure what they were thinking with the controls, but they are this very strange keyboard and mouse combination. It is nothing like what you are used to or expect it to be. It can take a while to get used to. Even back in 2001, people had a bit of trouble getting used to the control scheme.
So, is it worth checking out Gothic after all these years? I think that it is. As I write this Steam have it along with all of its sequels on sale in a bundle that is under five bucks! The sequels I feel are even better so it is well worth picking up the bundle. It quite often is on sale so if you are looking for something old school to play, Gothic is well worth having a look at.
