Gothic 2 Happy Anniversary, Gothic 2!

[Deleted member 18181]

Gothic II: Gold Edition - Happy Anniversary, Gothic 2! - Steam News

Happy anniversary! On this day exactly 20 years ago the legendary Gothic 2 was released! We hear you loud and clear and to celebrate the anniversary, we've added the option to play the classic version of the game on Steam (currently available in Polish, English, German and Russian)! Just run the...

store.steampowered.com

Happy anniversary!

20 years ago the legendary Gothic 2 was released!

We hear you loud and clear and to celebrate the anniversary, we've added the option to play the classic version of the game on Steam (currently available in Polish, English, German and Russian)!

Just run the game and choose between the "Classic" or the "Night of the Raven" add-on in the Gothic Starter!

See you in Khorinis!

 

[Pladio]

I recently replayed through most of Gothic 2 NOTR and it's still a really good game. I can't bring myself to end the game as I feel the last few chapters are just fightfests. Before that though it's a real blast.

I need to do Chronicles of Myrtana at some point too, but not sure when I can do that.

 

[Corwin]

I've played CoM twice now and it's just as good as G2, so don't waste any more time; play it NOW!!

 

[JDR13]

I still consider Gothic 2 one of the best RPGs I've ever played. That said, I don't why anyone would want to play it without Night of the Raven. The expansion elevated it from good to great.

 

[Deleted member 18181]

I've played CoM twice now and it's just as good as G2, so don't waste any more time; play it NOW!!

true, its close to the epicness of gothic 2, the only major negative point is the lack of english voices
only finished it once but will surely do replays in the future

 

[Hastar]

I've played CoM twice now and it's just as good as G2, so don't waste any more time; play it NOW!!

I can confirm what Corwin has stated. I have also played CoM twice and it's fantastic.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Haven't played and completely Gothic 2 in ages. I think I replayed G1 2-3 years ago, and wanted to also go through G2, but stopped very early. I had either had gotten my fill, or something else must have drawn me away.

I think I only completed G2 once without NOTR and once when NOTR finally came to world outside Germany. I remember being overall positive, but still significantly worse than G1. The story and settings were worse. The only thing better in G2 vs G1 was the more expansive setting and the more polished experience.
But nothing comes close to your first love. G1 hit all the notes. Story, location, world, characters, etc. G2 felt so formulaic and generic in comparison. The only strong thing about it was returning to the Colony, for the emotional ties you had there, and seeing how it all changed.

Gothic is, I think, also the first game I actively sought and found an online community (WOG). Back then, in 2001 when I first played it, I didn't yet have internet at home. And I remember going to internet cafes to vacuum any news or footage about G2. The excitement was amazing.

Anyway, not to end on a negative note. G2 is a solid 8. While G1 is almost a 10.

 

[JDR13]

It's hard to top the nostalgia of the first game, but I think Gothic 2 is objectively better in most ways especially with NotR.

Larger map, more detailed environments, better balancing and character progression, greater enemy variety, etc. It's also aged a lot better than G1 despite only 2 years difference between them.

G1 did have the more interesting story though, and of course the setting was unique at the time.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Larger map, more detailed environments, better balancing and character progression, greater enemy variety, etc. It's also aged a lot better than G1 despite only 2 years difference between them.

As I said, I very much agree with all of that.

But in terms of setting, characters, story G1 is better. It's more unique and somehow feels better put together.
That was the first thing I noticed about G2, was that it really turned into a more generic fantasy setting. More polished, bigger and loads more content, sure. But that special sauce that made the Colony fantastic was partially gone.
Nothing so far, in terms of rpgs, have come close to the feeling of 'lived in' that the Old Camp gave out. It was a true community. I have such fondness for that camp. Loved doing the quests around there. Quirky and fun characters all around.
And the fantastic atmosphere, of walking around during midnight. With those great Barrier effects overhead. So frikkin cool!

 

[JDR13]

As I said, I very much agree with all of that.

But in terms of setting, characters, story G1 is better. It's more unique and somehow feels better put together.
That was the first thing I noticed about G2, was that it really turned into a more generic fantasy setting. More polished, bigger and loads more content, sure. But that special sauce that made the Colony fantastic was partially gone.
Nothing so far, in terms of rpgs, have come close to the feeling of 'lived in' that the Old Camp gave out. It was a true community. I have such fondness for that camp. Loved doing the quests around there. Quirky and fun characters all around.
And the fantastic atmosphere, of walking around during midnight. With those great Barrier effects overhead. So frikkin cool!

I mentioned that the story and setting were more unique. That said, I still think G2+NotR is the better game overall.

Like I said, the nolstalgia of the first game is hard to beat. When you release a sequel that's very similar (i.e. same engine, reused assets etc.), it's inevitable that a lot of players are going to have that "been here done that before" feeling. You can't top a first experience once it's etched into your brain even if the sequel is improved in many ways. That's just how our brains work.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

I mentioned that the story and setting were more unique. That said, I still think G2+NotR is the better game overall.

Like I said, the nolstalgia of the first game is hard to beat. When you release a sequel that's very similar (i.e. same engine, reused assets etc.), it's inevitable that a lot of players are going to have that "been here done that before" feeling. You can't top a first experience once it's etched into your brain even if the sequel is improved in many ways. That's just how our brains work.

Yeah, I agree G2 is a better game. But G1 was a better experience. It is in part because it was first. But I don't think it's only because of that. The setting is objectively more unique, even compared to most rpgs.
And the main story was very solid, even great. The fact that you find out only later who your main antagonist is. And it's something that you'd been hearing about throughout the whole story, and doesn't come out of left field.
And that for a big part of the story, you're basically just trying to climb social ladders, and are not really in it "to save the world". It felt a lot more down to earth and pedestrian. In a good way.
Whereas iirc G2 starts off with being sent by Xardas to alert the Paladins about what the god's are planning?

As far as cities, I think I liked Khorinis for the most part. But it was no Old Camp.

And I very much liked exploring the new NOTR areas. At least in comparison to the late game of the main campaign, which iirc gets quite forgetable. I seem to remember some really forgetable quest involving killing 4-5 dragons in different corners of the Colony? Yeah, they kinda lost me at that point. Every time a story turns into, now go kill the gold enemy, now go kill the green enemy, ... myeah. I think they even kind of lost interest towards the end of the story. And especially when you leave for that final island, iirc.

 

[JDR13]

Gothic 1 was probably a better experience for me as well, but I can say without much doubt that it's because I played it first and when it was new. Had I played G2 first, that would have been the better experience.