Risen 3: Titan Lords - Preview & Unboxing Video

[Couchpotato]

A small site called Gamers Honest Truth has a preview for Risen 3: Titan Lords.

I was whining about the lack of good RPG games available, and my friendly neighbourhood computer game guys introduced me to the first Risen. I liked and played both games, but definitely enjoyed the challenge of the first game more. Both games scored well by reviewers – typically between 3 and 4 stars, and both games had that familiar Gothic 3 look and feel.

Although I’m always looking, I missed the game announcement in February. Then, just a couple of days ago I read that Risen 3: Titan Lords was being released on August 12. I was super surprised and excited that yet another of my long-time favourite developers was releasing a game during the summer game void.

I also have a new German video that shows what's included in the Collector's Edition.

More information.

 

[lostforever]

Its pity you can't get this in English

 

[Morrandir]

I really don't know if Deep Silver sucks at PR or if the non-German RPG world isn't interested in Risen 3.

 

[HiddenX]

Soloist at WorldofPlayers.de said it best:

The lack of English news and previews seems to confirm that Risen -as a franchise- has been a commercial failure internationally. That doesn't surprise me overly much because in a competitive environment like the US where gamers look at various open world RPGs and then pick the best that money can buy, it is no surprise that Risen has fallen behind. Games like Skyrim and The Witcher far surpass Risen's qualities in just about every single aspect. Unless you happen to be an old school Gothic fan and have just fallen in love with PB's unique style, there is very little reason to get excited about a PB game or the Risen series in particular which strays quite a bit from PB's original strengths.

It seems like Deep Silver is no longer willing to sink a lot of marketing money into a hopeless cause. They did try harder with Risen and Risen 2 but now I believe they have simply given up. Another reason may be that PC gaming is nearly insignificant in the US. Console gaming is where it's at in North America. And Risen 3 is "only" coming out on last gen consoles which makes it even less attractive to an audience that always craves the "next big thing".
That's why Deep Silver seems to be counting on a pure word of mouth strategy, exposition on Steam and preorders of old Gothic/Risen fans. Why throw good money after bad money? I'm sure they have already invested quite a bit of cash in the past in trying to make Risen an international smash hit but it hasn't worked out at all so now they are focusing on the D/A/CH core market (plus maybe RU/PL/generally Eastern Europe) instead of the console-focused UK/US market where Risen doesn't stand a chance against heavyweights like TES or The Witcher or BioWare's games etc.

 

[booboo]

Yeah it's sad, but sounds plausible...I don't get understand it: sure I enjoyed Skyrim, Witcher series etc (I enjoyed them all!) *and* I'm something of a 'graphics whore' but I am more than happy with the visuals and atmosphere that PB produces (and I'm not German ;-) I just hope that somehow the fact that this is on Steam means it will build u more momentum and sales. I'd hate to see PB fade away :/

As for the magic system: yeah, I always used to play a mage (even in PnP games) but I have learned that other classes can be fun too. And in R3, they have reintroduced crystal magic etc, so really don't see that people can moan about that.

 

[Burress]

Risen doesn't stand a chance on consoles because they do horrible ports. They are going to need a new franchise after this and hope no one associates Risen as it existed on consoles with PB. The big-name game review sites did not even bother to review Risen 2 on consoles.

It is so bad that they put out trailer after trailer, and do live-streams, but they won't even talk about the quality of their console product, much less show it. Why even make a product you are ashamed of?

 

[fungus]

Yet USA still gets it 3 days earlier than EU. Such a little thing, and yet pisses me off a lot (not necessarily in this example, but in general).

And yeah, I don't get why PB pushes so hard for consoles. Yes, there is money there but it requires dumb... uh, streamlining and there is quite strong competition in RPG light titles. Wouldn't it make more sense to focus purely on PC and use it's strengths? Seeing D:OS topping steam lists for a while, I would say that's a fairly good idea.

 

[JDR13]

Games like Skyrim and The Witcher far surpass Risen's qualities in just about every single aspect.

A ridiculous statement, and blatantly false.

 

[joxer]

USA getting it earlier is not exclusive decision on Deep Silver side, pretty much every publisher does it and god knows why. And what happens? Games get pirated because some people want to play them the very first day and publishing cretins are blind to see that.

Risen1 and Risen2 console ports were outsourced and (according to everyone who played those versions) horrible. Risen3 consoleport is not outsourced so it probably won't be a failure. I've mentioned in previous threads, Angry Joe will play console version of Risen3 and make a review for sure, so we'll see if at least the last Risen got a proper port.

God only knows why Deep Silver decided not to offer three retail versions outside of Germany (with some exceptions). DTP did the same concentrating on just one market in the past and that got them ruined. You can't sell something if you don't offer it.
But it's not just Deep Silver, there are russian and japanese rumored to be very good games not translated or not available worldwide. I just can't understand such business. If you have a decent game, offer it to everyone already! We'll never get rid of Electronic Arts mediocrity otherwise.

Games like Skyrim and The Witcher far surpass Risen's qualities in just about every single aspect.

A ridiculous statement, and blatantly false.

It's not completely false.
Skyrim's number of never patched bugs surpass not only Risen but almost every game out there.
The Witcher collectible cards surpass not only Risen but almost every game out there.

 

[fungus]

USA getting it earlier is not exclusive decision on Deep Silver side, pretty much every publisher does it and god knows why. And what happens? Games get pirated because some people want to play them the very first day and publishing cretins are blind to see that.

Yes, it was a general comment, not a snipe at Risen in particular. I just don't get it. Marketing hypes a game (again, not Risen) and then you get in EU a few days after release... or instantly at pirate sites (with a bonus complete 0-Day DLC pack and no DRM). How is this a thing.

 

[Morrandir]

I think not doing any english PR because the US is a lost market for Risen is a little short sighted. First, doing some PR in English language doesn't only make you reach the US crowd, but the crowd of at least half the world.
Second, you can do decent PR with hardly any money. There are english language sites where you just could send a copy of the game letting them do a preview. Or let them do 2-3 interviews. You don't need to do a multi million dollar campaign.

But DS marketing imho fails on the DACH market as well. Only two major magazines got copies and were allowed to do reviews. The biggest Risen fansite, which has done great reviews of Risen 1 & 2 and which had (?) some connections to both PB and DS, didn't get a copy. That's just not how you treat your fanbase in these times.

It could be (idle speculation!) that they know that Risen 3 is crap and don't want to get any negative reviews before release. So they could have deals with the two German magazines to get decent reviews.

 

[Daroou]

Well it remains to be seen but IMO their games require that last 2% of polish that can make a huge difference to the player. Well maybe it takes another few months to do that last and most difficult polish but it's worth it. I watched the play stream and it looks 'just okay' (not great) except for the NPC models look like 2005 called. I'm most curious about the quality/depth of the world map they've built.

Yes the combat did look improved but without playing it yet, I think it could look/play better. I also agree it's unfortunate that it's a cross platform developed game. They would do so much better if they just focused on PC: the biggest platform out there anyway and I think we're their core audience anyway. That's very unfortunate that we have to play a console-ish streamlined game..?

Did they try much to develop with community feedback during development? That free advice from the community is pure gold as Sven at Larian said.

 

[Couchpotato]

USA getting it earlier is not exclusive decision on Deep Silver side, pretty much every publisher does it and god knows why. And what happens? Games get pirated because some people want to play them the very first day and publishing cretins are blind to see that.

Simple answer for all you non-Americans is that the US has a different day to sell new releases. I work in retail and it's my job to ship physical copies of movies/music/games.

Though it's not a good excuse anymore as digital is taking over as the main platform for new releases nowadays. It's more about tradition than anything else now.

 

[Moriendor]

Re shipping and Risen 3: Some German/Swiss retailers have broken the street date and shipped the game a few days early so some people at the WoR forums are already playing.

 

[joxer]

Ah well, at least we'll get some early impressions, (p)review embargos are IMO a sort of a scam.

But I still can't believe Deep Silver didn't give a review version to World of Risen site. That was a stupid decision.

 

[Morrandir]

Did they try much to develop with community feedback during development? That free advice from the community is pure gold as Sven at Larian said.

Afaik no. It has been announced in February and everybody was suprised.

 

[Zephyr]

PC gaming is nearly insignificant in the U.S.? Seriously?

 

[Gorath]

Soloist at WorldofPlayers.de said it best:

This post didn't really impress me that much. Too much speculation, too much stuff pulled out of his ass as he saw fit.

Here's one fact: The marketing guy who handled the PB games internationally since at least G3 no longer works for ActiBlizz now.

It's clear the market is changing, and marketing with it. Print mags, community sites and even medium sized web sites are decreasing in importance while Let's Players, social media and word of mouth are gaining.

 

[Gorath]

PC gaming is nearly insignificant in the U.S.? Seriously?

Retail PC gaming.

 

[Gorath]

Ah well, at least we'll get some early impressions, (p)review embargos are IMO a sort of a scam.

That's common industry practice ... in every industry I can imagine.

But I still can't believe Deep Silver didn't give a review version to World of Risen site. That was a stupid decision.

What would DS gain by giving WoR (p)review code? As Don himself said, fan sites are losing importance because gaming has reached the mainstream. WoR is rather critical towards PB's games. So a positive review wouldn't help much while a negative one could harm the sales because it would spread like a wildfire.

The other aspect is control. Publishers want control over the community. WoR cannot be controlled.