Venetica is yours to keep for a limited time on GOG.

"The Summer Sale on GOG is in full swing and today we have another hot surprise for you. For the next 48 hours, you can claim your copy of Venetica - Gold Edition. This classic action RPG will be up for grabs in our store until 12th June 2022, 1 PM UTC."

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Set in the fantastic world of long ago Venice, the young Scarlett falls victim to a terrible mystery, which begins with the murder of her companion by a secretive alliance of mighty necromancers. Thus fate takes its inevitable course and threatens to throw the world out of order.

Scarlett finds out that she is the daughter of death incarnate and is blessed with his ultimate powers. She is the only one who can stop the gruesome powers that threaten to destroy the entire living world.

Now it’s your chance to reverse fate! Get ready for a fast-paced adventure set in an epic world filled with dark dangers and merciless adversaries. Arm yourself with mighty weapons, rally together powerful allies and master the dark powers of death. Can you conquer the powers that threaten to inescapably destroy the world of the living? Follow your path down into the deepest abyss to death itself – and back again, if you are worthy!

Key Features:

• Experience a visually stunning action RPG with a unique and captivating atmosphere
• Follow the hero journey of Scarlett through a rich and original story
• Conquer a host of merciless nightmarish creatures that pounce on the threatened world in a raged frenzy in action-packed battles and ultimately confront their masters
• Explore palaces, villas and numerous dark alleyways in a living dynamic Venice filled with merchants, rogues, allies and traitors
• Learn how to use the powers of the “Twilight World” and wander between the worlds of the living and the dead. Put the ultimate powers of death to your advantage in battle.
• Use the advantages of the “Twilight World” and the ultimate powers of death
• Experience an open game world with dynamic night and day cycles
• Clear, easy to pick up rule system and intuitive game-play
• Experience a dynamic and open game world in which you can freely develop your own character and decide on different game strategies yourself.

To become death in Venetica is a calling, fulfilled by a man of flesh and blood – equipped with special supernatural skills in order to be able to carry out the duties of the office. A new death is selected regularly by “Corpus”, a secret council. This time however Corpus really makes a wrong decision: The “new” death, Victor, turns out to be a crazed necromancer who manages to turn himself into an overpowering undead with seedy tricks and dark rituals and thus attains almost unlimited power in addition to immortality. As it is strictly forbidden for the chosen death to devote himself to necromancy, the committee revokes Victor’s nomination immediately and declares a new death in his stead without delay. 

The power-hungry Victor however does not want to relinquish his position again. He continues to practice the dark arts in order to gather numerous dark and dangerous creatures and tainted souls from the underworld around him. He thus succeeds in eliminating the newly designated death and takes over his power for his own purposes. The effects on the world’s balance are calamitous and – should Victor be able to keep himself in power – its dark consequences are irreversible. Only a person who has the same mighty powers as Victor can prevent his prevailing and vent him his deserved punishment. 

Scarlett, the daughter of the real death does not know anything about her ancestry and the hidden talents which slumber within her. She is immersed suddenly in this story due to the brutal attack on her home village and the tragic loss of Benedict, the love of her life. It is a story which she now begins to write herself, a story during the course of which she unleashes her capabilities, a story in which she tries to save Benedict from the world of the dead and a story in which she must protect the world of the living from the dark threat posed by Victor and his henchmen. 

After the announcement from Deck 13 yesterday Venetica is now on available on Steam, and for a low price of $7.99 until January 30th. So what are you waiting for?

Set in the fantastic world of long ago Venice, the young Scarlett falls victim to a terrible mystery, which begins with the murder of her companion by a secretive alliance of mighty necromancers. Thus fate takes its inevitable course and threatens to throw the world out of order.

Scarlett finds out that she is the daughter of death incarnate and is blessed with his ultimate powers. She is the only one who can stop the gruesome powers that threaten to destroy the entire living world.

Now it’s your chance to reverse fate! Get ready for a fast-paced adventure set in an epic world filled with dark dangers and merciless adversaries. Arm yourself with mighty weapons, rally together powerful allies and master the dark powers of death. Can you conquer the powers that threaten to inescapably destroy the world of the living? Follow your path down into the deepest abyss to death itself – and back again, if you are worthy!

Remember the announcement from last year about Venetica getting released on Steam.  Well a year later we finally got a short Twitter update from developer Deck13.

You're waiting for #Venetica news right? It is currently under "review from Valve for launch". Once this is finalized we'll update you asap!

Well if anyone here remembers Venetica it's now avaible on Steam thanks to being greenlighted by the community.

Set in the fantastic world of long ago Venice, the young Scarlett falls victim to a terrible mystery, which begins with the murder of her companion by a secretive alliance of mighty necromancers. Thus fate takes its inevitable course and threatens to throw the world out of order.

Scarlett finds out that she is the daughter of death incarnate and is blessed with his ultimate powers. She is the only one who can stop the gruesome powers that threaten to destroy the entire living world.

Now it’s your chance to reverse fate! Get ready for a fast-paced adventure set in an epic world filled with dark dangers and merciless adversaries. Arm yourself with mighty weapons, rally together powerful allies and master the dark powers of death. Can you conquer the powers that threaten to inescapably destroy the world of the living? Follow your path down into the deepest abyss to death itself – and back again, if you are worthy!

Key Features:

• Experience a visually stunning action RPG with a unique and captivating atmosphere
• Follow the hero journey of Scarlett through a rich and original story
• Conquer a host of merciless nightmarish creatures that pounce on the threatened world in a raged frenzy in action-packed battles and ultimately confront their masters
• Explore palaces, villas and numerous dark alleyways in a living dynamic Venice filled with merchants, rogues, allies and traitors
• Learn how to use the powers of the “Twilight World” and wander between the worlds of the living and the dead
• Experience an open game world with dynamic night and day cycles

NOTE: Venetica has been released in some territories on disc already, so the game is completely finished and ready for release on Steam.

 

dtp wants to bring Deck 13's story-driven action-RPG Venetica to Steam. You can find it in the Steam Greenlight data base.

The bad run of reviews for Venetica continues with Destructoid handing down 3/10 in their critique (X360 version):

Despite the simplistic story, the dialog used by both Scarlet and the NPCs is also pretty horrific, it is tragically written, lack luster and I would even call it condescending which in turn makes the characters feel 2D. It is almost impossible to feel anything towards the characters. Early on, the game sees the death of two traveling companions. Naturally, this is supposed to be one of those dramatic moments when you are supposed to feel something, but because the characters lack any development it is actually a relief to no longer have to speak to them. The voice acting also matches the abysmal writing, the moment Scarlet opens her mouth it pretty much sets you up for the rest of the game. The voices end up being a mix and match of stereotypical accents that sound poorly recorded and conversations and chopped together and feel abrupt, they lack a natural flow which makes me want to skip as many conversations as possible. 

Another Venetica review, this time at PC Advisor.  I'm unclear which version they played but despite appearing to like the gameplay, the score is only 2/5 because of bugs:

Venetica's fast-paced combat is fun. The Moonblade, a scythe-like sword, may be Scarlett's primary weapon early on, and while it's essential for taking out certain enemies, you find a few other tools of death along the way: swords, hammers and axes, and spears and shields. Venetica's combat system is pretty basic: You time your blows to score bigger hits that produce flashier animations. It's not fancy, and certainly isn't as deep as Devil May Cry or God of War. It's also fun to fight with axes and hammers: While slow, these weapons do massive amounts of damage, and skills associated with these heavy hitters knock foes to the ground.

I did have fun with Venetica; at times, a lot of fun, but I can't forgive its bevy of bugs. I lost several hours whenever the game froze during saves. And, of course, we've got the problem of crucial text dropping out for lines of miniature 1s and 0s during a boss fight. I'd love to give Venetica a higher score, but dtp entertainment should'n't allow a game to reach the market in this state. If I wasn't required to finish the game for my review, I would have put it back in the box after a few hours.

GameSpot has a review of Venetica - for the PC, no less - though the score is still a modest 6/10.  The intro provides a summary:

A great introduction is not always a portent of things to come. Venetica begins in the middle of chaos: Murderous bandits have taken their swords to a small mountain village. They move with deadly precision, laying waste to the meager buildings while slaying any red-blooded protector who tries to stem their violence. And just when this vile rampage draws to a close, you find out that the heroine, Scarlett, is the daughter of Death. It's an opening that's worthy of an epic adventure, but it becomes clear before long that Venetica's potential has little chance of being realized. A deluge of repetitive quests weighed down by tiresome combat and a map system that doesn't function properly remove much of the delight from your vengeance-fueled adventure. Because of the problems plaguing the core of this role-playing game, it's difficult to find a good rhythm and enjoy the finer aspects. A strong protagonist whose personality you mold throughout the game is the main draw, and eye-catching sights make it a pleasure to explore this world. Venetica has enough aesthetic rewards to make it worth playing, but you have to put up with lots of gameplay problems before you can experience them.

Venetica continues a run of low console review scores, with Games Radar expressing frustration and handing down a score of 2/10 ("Broken"):

At times it seems like every aspect of Venetica was designed to infuriate the player. There are dialog trees, for example, but the text of each branch is too small to read. You can't pick up loot or open doors without unequipping your weapon. A gigantic red border blocks out half the screen when your health is low. The map is tough to navigate without causing a headache. The voice acting is annoying. The dialog is poorly written. The controls are clunky. Sometimes the whole thing feels like one big practical joke.

Here's another review for Venetica. This one is from RPGamer 2.5/5. They try to like it even with its flaws:

Venetica is a tough game to recommend. On one hand, there's a luscious and unique world to explore that is vibrant and astonishing. On the other hand, the story is muddled with poor dialogue and voice acting, and overly-simplistic combat that might not appeal to some. However, for the player who can overcome Venetica's many and palpable flaws, it can be a fun and even engrossing experience.

A couple of Venetica articles, with not so good results for Deck 13's game.  First, GameShark has a "Shark Bite" video review with a dull and disinterested player demoing a section of gameplay and saying the game has "an issue or two".

Next, 411Mania has a review with a score of 5.2/10, mostly due to the graphics, slowdown and glitches on the X360:

Now, I’m sure it hasn’t sounded so bad so far. In fact, it’s probably sounded pretty run of the mill. Now, we get to one of the worst aspects of the game, the graphics. Sure, they look like an Xbox Live Arcade title, but that’s not the big problem.

The problem is the slowdown and glitches. In Venice, you’ll start noticing more and more people chugging along and the overall game taking a hit in speed. It gets just as bad when fighting multiple enemies or bigger enemies. You’ll also notice some glitches on the way, but these are more interesting and even a bit humorous to see. The main one I kept seeing were random swords just floating in the air.

A few reviews have surfaced for this game. There's one from Joystiq 2/5, one from Gaming Bolt, 6/10 - and finally one from DieHardGameFan. No score, but the reviewer says it is Enjoyable Game.

The one from Joystig is not very positive:

Venetica contains hints of a compelling quest but feels like its development life was cut short. The end result is a potentially grand concept that just can't flourish within its forced, generic confines. Functional yet capable of so much more, death's daughter just doesn't die up to her full potential.

The one from GamingBolt is bit more positive, yet still see it as mediocre game:

Venetica is not entirely bad, because the story although sometimes contradicting is actual pretty good.  You play an orphaned woman named Scarlett with no family yet, you find you have a half brother which was a little confusing when you find out you are Deaths daughter.  Your first primary goal is to find the Moonblade forged by metal not of this world.  As the story continues, there are three different endings that are not simply chosen.  Throughout the game you will make many moral decisions that will lead to different outcomes.  As Deaths daughter you don’t always die, as if you have enough lives you are revived after losing your health.  The game can take 25 to 60 hours to beat depending on how many quests you take on.

The review for GamehardDieFan is that is an "enjoyable game!" The reviewer clearly enjoyed the game:

It’s a fun little budget RPG, no more and no less, and It’s definitely one I had fun with. Seem that’s what counts. It doesn’t matter if a game has 1080i/p visuals or 3-D graphics. It doesn’t matter if the game has super famous actors providing character voices or is the latest churned out sequel in some major franchise from a major publisher. All that matters is that you feel you got your money’s worth out of a game and that you enjoyed the experience. Did I enjoy Venetica? You’re damn right I did. Did I get my forty bucks worth? Ditto. I enjoyed Venetica. At the end of the day that’s what matters. It’s a game I can recommend even if it’s not the prettiest or the cleanest running, but it’s fun and I know several of my staff and even more of my friends will enjoy it if they pick it up. So after reading all this, then by all means, pick it up. You’ll be supporting a small German development company and an even smaller North American publisher that Atari is helping out on this, its first US release. If you like it then consider it money well spent.

PC World has some early impressions of the X360 version of Venetica.  They have quite a few complaints about glitches - more than I recall in other PC-based articles, so I'm guessing the console port is a little rough.  Still, they do have some positives:

The rest of Venetica's decent enough. You dash around plucking bits of junk off the ground to trade for money to buy better stuff. Conversations with locals tease deeper mysteries, though the story's fully invested in medieval fantasy cliché (complete with sylvan village pacifist who doesn't realize she's really a superhero). The real lure here may be an eccentric version of sixteenth-century Venice, but I'm still playing whack-a-boulder on the periphery. I'll let you know when I get there.

Well, if I get there. I've been playing the Xbox 360 version and it's fairly glitchy. You don't talk much, but when you do, it's possible to select topics that elicit responses that seem to assume you've completed quests you haven't. Bodies sometimes pop in or out of existence during narrative camera pans. And climbing stairs causes your character to convulse in a way that highlights the lack of fluid model-surface connectivity. If you've played Sacred 2, think that, only worse.

Here's a handful of Venetica wallpapers at Gaming Bolt to adorn your desktop.

Here's a creatures trailer for Venetica, which is due for release in the US shortly.  Thanks, Omega.

Venetica for the X360 has been reviewed at The Guardian.  The score in the very short article is 3/5 but the text does describe it as "surprisingly compelling":

In fact, it proves that initial appearances – some of the graphics, plus the character models and animations, are ropey in the extreme – can be deceptive, as it turns out to be fun to play and surprisingly compelling. You take on the role of Scarlett, a young female interloper in a small village which is attacked by assassins without warning. Scarlett survives, discovers she can fight, and experiences an odd visitation in which, summoned to a netherworld, she discovers she is the daughter of Death, who has stashed an undead-slaying sword called the Moonblade for her; she must find it, go to Venice and locate and destroy the Undead Archon, who plots to bring chaos to the world.

Venetica has been reviewed at Strategy Informer in an article that praises the city design of Venice and the general combat system but notes a lack of polish.  The issues obviously take their toll, because the score of 6.5/10 seems low for most of the text.  The summary:

And the good bits, for all their worth, are just that; good, but not classic. The combat engine is satisfying but could have used a little more refinement, the plot is entertainingly designed but occasionally told by characters that are a bit dull, and the overall impression is of a game that just needed a little more focus, money and time. Regardless though, there's enough here to keep you entertained for a short adventure, but don't expect anything revolutionary from Venetica's well-worn but rambling path.  

IGN also has some "new" gameplay footage, for those hanging in for the NA release next year.

It turns out Atari has picked up the distribution for Venetica in North America, with the release in January.  Here's the PR they sent over:

ATARI ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN RELEASE OF VENETICA

 Best-Selling German RPG to be Released in January 2011 for Xbox 360,

PlayStation®3

 

Los Angeles ­­- CA, November 30, 2010 – Atari, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment in conjunction with Rombax Games, today announced the North American release date for Venetica, the visually stunning role-playing game. With a cryptic storyline and mix of action and adventure, Venetica will make its North American debut on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC in January 2011.

Venetica takes players through a unique and vibrant world full of surprises.  Set during the 16th Century in the beautifully rendered city of Venice, Venetica is a visually stunning, action-RPG with an extraordinary and immersive storyline.  Players navigate through a vibrant world in a quest to rid the city of danger. 

Assuming the role of Scarlett, a young beautiful woman, players explore the streets and canals of Venice to rid the city of a dangerous necromancer.  Equipped with an arsenal of weapons, Scarlett is the only person who can stop them from destroying the entire living world.   

In Venetica players traverse through the city of Venice to conquer a host of nightmare creatures in action-packed battles using the “Twilight World.”   With easy pick-up and play controls, gamers use 3D map architecture allowing for multi-dimensional gameplay.  Dynamic day and night cycles allow for a truly unique atmosphere as players progress throughout the game.    

“Following the successful German launch, we look forward to introducing North American gamers to the world of Venetica,” says Bob Spellerberg, VP of Sales and Distribution at Atari, Inc.  “With breathtaking graphics and a rich and unique narrative, Venetica offers RPG fans an action-packed adventure into a dark and evil world.”

Published by Rombax Games, distributed by Atari and developed by Deck 13, Venetica will be available in January 2011.  For more information, please log onto www.veneticausa.com

The first major English review for Venetica is out at Eurogamer and while the score is only 6/10, it definitely sounds worth a look if you like lite RPG/adventures.  The combat and beautiful locations are noted along with a general lack of polish:

In spite of all this, Venetica has some soul. Don't expect an RPG of depth – it's heavy on the action, light on customisation, and rewarding loot is rare. It's also in desperate need of more time in the womb, and the results of that are felt all over. But by and large, the sense of location and the constant weft of combat meant that I spent much of the fifteen hours it took to complete in a state of gentle enjoyment – and that definitely counts for something.

We received this PR that announces Venetica will be launched in the UK on Friday for the X360 and PC, with the PS3 version "to follow":

Venetica, Award-winning cinematic RPG, available on PC, Xbox 360 on Friday 12 November; PS3 version to follow

Stunning European role-playing game available this week

Thursday, 11th November 2010: Mastertronic, the UK’s leading independent publisher of computer and videogames, has today announced it has scooped the rights to distribute Deck 13’s fantasy RPG Venetica on Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 and published by DTP. The game will be available from Friday, November 12th for Xbox 360 and PC, with the PlayStation 3 version following a few weeks later.

Venetica is a gorgeous fantasy role-playing game, in which players assume the role of Scarlett, the daughter of Death. Set in and around the city of Venice in the 16th century, the game challenges players to rid the city of a dangerous necromancer, who is determined to bring death and destruction to the world.

The game offers players true-to-life visuals, subtle camera work, and spectacular cutscenes, with detailed cinematic sequences taking players on a unique journey through the game world in a way that is unmatched in the RPG genre.

Venetica was a massive hit in its native Germany, with GamingXP.de awarding it a massive 88 per cent. Gamers Plus described it as “a fresh role-playing game with a unique setting” whilst Looki.de declared “you’ve got to hand it to Deck 13: they know how to tell a fascinating story... which knows how to motive and attract the player.”

“Venetica is a European breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by the Americans and Japanese,” says James Cato, Group Sales Director, Mastertonic . “We’re thrilled to have added this to our roster, and look forward to introducing UK gamers to one of the most original and beautiful role-playing games created.”

Venetica will be released on Friday November 12th 2010 for PC and Xbox 360, with a suggested retail price of £39.99. The PlayStation 3 version will follow shortly.

You may recall we posted the announcement of a PS3 version of Venetica for DACH territories back in June.  At the time, Moriendor noted in the comments some hints that an English version might be coming - and possisbly on other platforms.

Alrik writes about some PR on IGN UK that supports an English release and also a Gamefly listing that shows Atari as the publisher - both for PS3 at this point.  Hopefully some official information will find its way to us at some point.

News directly from dtp of a PS3 version of Venetica for German-speaking territories.  Nope, no mention of an English version:

The bestselling RPG Venetica is coming to PlayStation®3

Hamburg, June 15^th, 2010 – dtp entertainment is pleased to announce the upcoming release of the bestselling RPG Venetica on PlayStation®3. The game will be available on the 3rd of September 2010, initially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, at a price of €59.99.

Venetica is a visually stunning, action-RPG with an extraordinary and immersive storyline. Venetica mixes emotion and action in an intense and powerful setting.
A unique and vibrant game world full of surprises, set in the beautifully rendered city of Venice during the 16th Century, awaits players in this captivating adventure game.

Venetica is a cinematic RPG and offers players true-to-life visuals, subtle camera work, and spectacular cutscenes. The detailed cinematic sequences take players on a unique journey through the game world in a way that is unmatched in the RPG genre.

The games press has praised Venetica and highlighted its captivating atmosphere and unique design: "Venetica immediately takes the player under its spell - Deck 13 have crafted a game so intense, given the rush of events, that it will cause players jaws to drop" said stern.de. T-Online said: "The superb dialogue and cutscenes are enhanced by the amazing facial animations of the characters." The magazine Gamestar gave Venetica an award for its "realistic game world".

I'm not clear what version this review is based on, being an English site and all.  Still, Games32 has a review of Venetica with the reasonable score of 76% - although the only real criticism I see is the performance.  Here's a snip:

The entire storyline in Venetica revolves around a very intriguing premise, stating that Death is not necessarily a grim figure, but a common man chosen to fill in this awkward position. Our heroine, Scarlett is the daughter of Death and without even knowing she is embarks on an epic quest to restore balance between the nether world and her own. Apparently a fragile young woman with no expertise in combat, Scarlett gradually grows into a fierce warrior capable of delivering indiscriminate justice to any foe, living or undead.

Adopted by a kind woman who is unwilling to reveal her sinister origins, the main character lives a peaceful life, until some assassins storm in the village and kill most of the inhabitants, including her lover. The death of Benedict is the catalyst for her evolution and the hope of reuniting with him drives her forward on this dark path. Initially we are trusted with some minor missions around the village premises, but these are just a prelude for the more exciting quests waiting to be completed in Venice.

According to dtp the XBox 360 conversion of Deck 13's action RPG Venetica is available in the German gaming countries as of today.

dtp has released a 4th Venetica "making of" video and press release discussing, well...pigeons:

Venetica Making of Video #4: What would Venice look like without its pigeon overpopulation?

Hamburg/Germany,  December 15th, 2009 – There are some things that make locations really look authentic. Local architecture, for instance. Trees and Plants. And, of course, animals: Venice/Italy wouldn’t be the same without being overcrowded by kazillions of startled pigeons that are running around just everywhere in this city.

The same goes for the virtual Venice of dtp entertainment’s and Deck 13’s upcoming cinematic RPG Venetica: For making the fantastic scenario come to life, the development team of the game included pigeons that act like in the real city.

Today, publisher dtp entertainment releases the fourth episode of a making of video series. This one shows concept artist Felix Haas explaining how Deck 13 managed to get the birds into game.
Felix also provides new insights on the Venetian roofs, which are one of the several levels of the game world: As Venetica fans might already know, heroine Scarlett not only walks the streets and swims the canals, but also has to survive a lot of adventures on the skyline of the city.

Venetica is a cinematic RPG with an extraordinary and deep story. The game mixes emotion and action in spectacular ways.

A unique and living world full of surprises is waiting for the player, set in a fantastical 16th century Venice and paired with intuitive and easy to learn gameplay.
Venetica offers movie like cameras, subtly used cut scenes and spectacular images on a marvelous trip through a unique game world that is hard to match in the genre.

Venetica, developed by Deck 13, will be released in early 2010 for PC and Xbox 360®.

Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.
www.venetica-game.com

An update from dtp's CM Betty in the official forum:

In early 2010 Venetica will be released in France, Italy and Spain.
We can provide further release date - such as for UK and other territories - soon.

Stay tuned - there are news and videos to come.:)

The German XBox 360 version will be released in late December.

dtp entertainment released a 3rd making of video for Deck 13's upcoming story-driven action-RPG Venetica.

Third episode of the Venetica Making of Videos features insights on trade and training systems

Hamburg/Germany, December 8th, 2009 - Today, Hamburg/Germany based publisher dtp entertainment reveals a new episode of the Venetica Making of Videos, shot directly in Venice/Italy to give detailed insights in the upcoming action RPG highlight.

In this episode, while visiting Venice's rialto market, Felix Haas, Concept Artist at Venetica's development team Deck 13, provides insights on the game's trading system. He also reports on how heroine Scarlett learns new skills and abilities and Venetica's ingame trainers, that are placed all over the virtual Venice.
Part #3 of the making of videos again combines stunning ingame graphics with beautiful real life coverage directly filmed in Venice.

Venetica is a cinematic RPG with an extraordinary and deep story. The game mixes emotion and action in spectacular ways. A unique and living world full of surprises is waiting for the player, set in a fantastical 16th century Venice and paired with intuitive and easy to learn gameplay.
Venetica offers movie like cameras, subtly used cut scenes and spectacular images on a marvelous trip through a unique game world that is hard to match in the genre.

Venetica, developed by Deck 13, will be released in early 2010 for PC and Xbox 360®.

This one's in English. You can find a German version in dtp's YouTube channel.

The Spanish language gamesite ActualGamer has interviewed Venetica Creative Director Jan Klose and the result is available in a Google Translate format here.

The article begins with an overview and two developer diary trailers, then continues with the interview on the next page in two translation formats. At the bottom of the Castillian to English version, there is a more readable Spanish to English translation, and a selection of screenshots.

Here's a snip:

ActualGamer: With strong competition in the market for this RPG, what's new for this genre in Veneto[Venetica]?

Jan Klose: There are not many games in the market that are quite like Venetica. Our approach is not to repeat things that have been done dozens of times before, like creating a fantasy world with orcs and elves, but surprise the players with a new scenario, a surprising hero and an unusual epic story.  Therefore we put..[a lot of] focus on Scarlett, the heroine, as well as the city of Venice, and tied it all together with a strong story about life and death, responsibility, the abuse of power, hatred, and love.  The combination of all of these elements, together with a really cool real-time combat system, make this a very uncommon game. It might remind you..[of] Fable in spots, but it's darker.  And, finally, you might even find traces of the original, classic game “The Bard's Tale”. 

Gamebanshee posts the news that Deck 13  and publisher dtp have released a patch for their action rpg Venetica, and has provided a rough translation from the German of the changelog. You can read the full details here. The News4Gamers website also states that localized international versions may ship with the patch already included:

Patch 1.02 for the adventure game Venetica has been released and delivers several bug fixes and huge quality improvements. According to PCGH the game has not been released outside Germany yet, but localized versions are supposed to be under construction. Thus it might be possible that international versions of Venetica will already be shipped with the improved graphics.

You can read more information on the patch over at the PC Games Hardware site referred to above as well.

Update:

The following video should give you an idea how massive the graphics improvements from v1.01 to 1.02 really are. Please note that this is a compressed video stream.

Here are two Venetica reviews (both German): the first is from Gamer Network who rated the game with a disappointing 68%, claiming there is not much to do and outdated graphics.

The second is a video review from Gamona.de with a rating of 79%.

Thanks to Omega for sending in the links.

Worthplaying has a German version demo of Venetica that weighs in at 980Mb.  Still no news on an English version but we'll let you know when it is announced.

Update: dtp's PR explicitly mentions that demo save games are compatible with the full game.

Several sites are reporting the XBox version of Deck 13's Venetica has been pushed back to November 27th in DACH. International details are still TBA.

Deck 13 and publisher dtp posted a temporary fix list for the upcoming 2nd PC patch. Checking the list against my own list based on a run through the retail version including the first patch, it seems to be more than complete. It covers pretty much all known A & B bugs, adds comfort functions (quicksave, screenshot key, HUD toggle, VSync, toggle quicksave, brightness & contrast), polishes the graphics (a long list), increases the performance and fine-tunes several gameplay elements & balancing.
The patch is currently in QA.

Destructoid posted an interesting interview with Deck 13's creative director Jan Klose on their upcoming action-RPG Venetica.

"Scarlett can learn lots of new combo moves as well as many other combat tactics," explains creative director Jan Klose. "Although combat is fast-paced and happens in realtime, and although an unskilled player could technically defeat almost any opponent (when having reached a reasonable level), killing an enemy can be very hard if the player does not learn to master special fighting tactics, such as dodging, good timing, the use of the right skills at the right time, and combos.

"It is also important to consider which weapon to use for an enemy, as certain enemies can be defeated much better if you have the right tool in your hand. Even the type of armor you are wearing will be more or less appropriate depending on your enemy.

"... There are only very few quests that go 'Bring me 500 wolf skins,' as we're going to leave that field to World of Warcraft ... All the Venetica quests are tightly woven into the story, and some of them pose difficult moral questions. All in all I would say that the quests are extremely varied with some really unusual tasks to fulfill."

The other interview parts can be found nearby.

Swiss site GBase writes in to say they have posted their (German) review of Venetica.  The score is 7/10 and my Google-fy says they enjoyed the quests, characters and moral decisions but found the world static, somewhat repetitive and, of course, buggy.

Time to bring you up-to-date with the latest German Venetica reviews:

• Stevinho says 82% and explains it in a 25:30 min. video
• Game-TV has video with a short review. It doesn't work in my browser.
• Print mag PC Games calls Venetica "a successful RPG debut" and gives 79% due to technical issues. "Accessible controls, a (mostly) beautifully designed game world, fast fights and a strong heroine [...]" 
• GameCity.ch's rating is 81%. "The game's atmosphere is utterly brilliant [...]"
• SpieleTipps criticises: "Even though Venetica is of course an appealing RPG, it's so full of flaws [...] which in the large scheme of things lower the fun quite a bit." (free translation) - 73%
• GameCaptain - 80%; "straightforward, action oriented gameplay" 
• Spieletester.com thinks it's a mixed effort. Technical issues, problematic controls, ugly graphics vs. fresh setting, some cool scenarios, very good audio, good story, nice quests. - 72%
• Austrian print mag Gamers.at say "Death has never been so much fun!" - 82%
• The always highly critical 4Players is surprisingly generous: 80%. "Nevertheless genre fans shouldn't miss out on the journey to Venice, altogether [the player] is entertained [...] on a good niveau." 4Players always tests unpatched versions.
• Yiya.de, the most reliable source for reviews on niche games, gives Venetica a "B", downgraded from a B+ for you know what. "[...] something special and clearly the better Fable."

Deck 13 announced in the official forum that they're working on a 2nd patch.

The 2nd batch mixes it up a bit more:

• Magnus.de 5/5 "Very good"
• GamesWelt.de 68% The author criticises a lot of things. "Fails due to weak technical implementation [...] and acute unimaginativity."
• Zockon.de 8.7/10
• FocusOnline video review; good game, a couple of problems
• AreaGames.de 6/10 no comment on this one
• OnlineWelten.de 84% "But exactly in its simplicity lies its appeal. You're being told a story you cannot influence, but which has a high entertainment value."
• GamersGlobal.de 7/10 The author likes is a lot, but he feels he cannot give a higher rating due to the technical problems.
• A walkthrough can be found at 4Players.de.

The first couple of reviews for Venetica have been published. The consensus is that the game is excellent but still plagued by a few technical issues. It's quite probable the reviewers didn't have the release patch though.

• GamingXP - 88%
• Looki and several other places - 86%
• Krawall - 84% "We'll hardly get to see a more charming and more emotional RPG this year."
• ComputerBildSpiele - 3.25 (comparable to a "C"), downgraded from 1.63 ("A-") due to technical problems. "Without the downgrading due to technical issues Venetica would be a wonderful game."
• GameStar published a very detailed review based on their print article - 83% (Although the text sounds like more; it's very positive.)
  "The first half [is] phenomenal ..." "Venetica is fun from the very beginning. This is due to the terrific start, the fascinating story, the great quests and this wonderfully charming heroine." He continues to stress that Venetica is not as complex as other RPGs.

A small reminder: German review scores are usually slightly lower than those in the US. 80+% is good, 85+% very good and 90+% a masterpiece.

Dtp and Deck 13 also made a release patch available. It can be found on the official site. Seeing that the first reviews only talk about minor issues the fix list looks quite impressive:

• Improved interaction between Scarlet and NPC.
  
• More quickslots (9 instead of 7)
• Special prices are marked in the merchant's menu
• Display of general gameplay tips during loading breaks
• More varying NPC schedules
  
• Improved NPC pathfinding
• Better AI
  
• Optimized balancing
• Optimized loot-balancing / loot distribution
• Graphics enhancements: textures, clipping, camera angles, FMVs, lighing
• Optimized performance
• miscellaneous bugs fixed
  
• miscellaneous sound and graphics bugs fixed
  

Publisher dtp sends word that the PC version of their new RPG Venetica, made by adventure specialist Deck 13, is available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as of today. The XBox360 conversion will follow in October.

Next in Myrthos' roundup of GamesCom is a look at Venetica - Deck 13's first RPG, which is set in an alternative Venice.  Here's a snip:

The city of Venice in the game is not an exact copy of the Venice we know. It is not even a copy of Venice in the 16^th century. It does, however, look like Venice and some parts could look familiar if you've been to Venice before.

In Venice you have different ways of traveling. You can walk the streets, the rooftops and enter any building that has a door, you can take a gondola to travel via the canals and you can swim in the canals to enter some areas that can only be reached by swimming to them and you can crawl the dungeons underneath Venice. There are also different areas like the harbor, inner Venice and outer Venice and you even have the opportunity to go to Africa. You have to unlock these areas but once you've done that, you can go anywhere you want.

Read it all here.

Publisher dtp sends word that Venetica has gone gold. It will be released in the German speaking countries on Sept. 4th. The XBox conversion needs a bit more time, it will follow in October.

After three month we now get to see part 2 in the Making of Venetica series. In this second part Felix Haas talks about gondolas and canals and what you can do with them in the game.

Thanks PrinceOfDeath.

A new trailer of Venetica has been released at Gamescom. It shows both ingame footage as well as parts of some of the full movie videos in the game.

Thanks PrinceOfDeath for informing us.

The sys reqs for Deck 13's Venetica have been released on the official forums.  Here we go:

Minimum:
Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or Vista, Pentium® 4 CPU 2.4 GHz or comparable CPU,
1024 MB RAM for Windows®XP, 1536 MB for Vista, 2048 MB for Vista 64,
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with 256 MB RAM or comparable graphics card,
DVD-ROM, DirectX® 9c-compatible soundcard,
10 GB Harddiskspace

Recommended:
Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Vista, Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8200 2,6 GHz or comparable CPU,
2 GB RAM for Windows® XP, 3 GB for Windows® Vista,
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or comparable graphics card with 512 MB RAM,
DVD-ROM, DirectX® 9c-compatible soundcard,
10 GB Harddiskspace

Thanks, PrinceOfDeath!

A lengthy 4 minute gameplay video of Deck 13's Venetica is available at Youtube, via GameStar.  My German ran out of steam at "Scarlett is a young woman" but word is "the video includes new footage from the Beta and some opening scenes.  So possible Spoilers".

Thanks, PrinceOfDeath!

The new website for Venetica is now available for your viewing pleasure and like Divinity 2 which is also published by DTP in Germany, the German version is released first.

Scarlett’s virtual Venice is online – Visit the all new Venetica homepage today!

Hamburg/Germany, July 22^nd, 2009 – Scarlett, heroine of the up- and coming cinematic RPG Venetica, welcomes visitors of her new homepage (www.venetica-game.com) in person and invites them to tour the game’s scenario, a dark and fantastical Venice setting.

On venetica-game.com, players learn everything they need about Venice’s quarters and sections and the people that live in the city – friendly ones, as well as evil foes, beasts and monsters. To make it short: venetica-game.com tells you everything about Venetica’s setting and story, the game and its features.
Publisher dtp entertainment and developer Deck 13 will be revealing even more secrets in regular updates.

Venetica fans also get access to a huge pile of multimedia downloadables: Massive screenshot galleries show how beautiful Venetica looks. MP3 music tracks give an idea about the impressive orchestral game soundtrack. Trailers and making of movies show ingame footage. Make sure to visit www.venetica-game.com regularly!

Venetica will be a cinematic Action RPG with an extraordinary and deep story. The game mixes emotion and action in stunning ways. A unique and living world full of surprises is waiting for the player, set in fantastic 16th century Venice and paired with intuitive and easy to learn gameplay.

As cinematic RPG Venetica offers movie like cameras, subtlely used cut scenes and spectacular images on a marvelous trip through a unique game world that is hard to match in the genre.

dtp entertainment will release Venetica developed by Deck 13 in October 2009 for PC and Xbox 360 (German language territories and PC version only: Release date September 4^th, 2009).

 

Deck 13's colourful adventure RPG Venetica has been previewed at two of the major sites.  Let's kick off with GameSpot's short piece:

Like in most RPGs, Scarlett will be able to choose how she interacts with other characters in the game. Acting morally or immorally will produce different endings, as well as shape her experience throughout the game's story. Players can also choose to use offensive or defensive tactics, collecting different powers and weapons depending on the path that they've chosen. In our demo we got a glimpse of Scarlett's greatest defensive power, the twilight skill. This slows down gameplay and lets her retreat or reposition herself without being seen by her enemies. A skill meter appears at the bottom of the screen whenever Scarlett uses this skill to indicate how long before it runs out. All of Scarlett's powers are in some way related to death, and consequently the twilight skill will also give her the power to resurrect herself and others as the game progresses.

...and IGN's even shorter piece.  I love being able to get onto roofs:

While I didn't see any of these abilities in use, I was able to find out additional info about Scarlet's powers, such as the fact that she'll be able to move between the world of the living and the dead to attack enemies, allowing her to sneak up on people, escape incoming blows or even resurrect herself if she takes enough damage. Scarlet will also have the option to climb onto and traverse the roofs of Venice, as well as enter every building in the city and swim its canals. Finally, Scarlet will have three separate guilds that she'll have to interact with: pirates, traders and postmen, which should provide her with missions or other tasks to complete. While it was still a quick glimpse, it'll be interesting to check out Venetica when it's released later this year.

The first part of a series of making of videos has been released today. For this Deck 13's concept artist Felix Haas travelled, together with a camera crew, to Italy to show how Venetica is produced.

In this first part of the videos, he explains how Deck 13 implemented the city of Venice into the game. He shows which Venetian elements can be found in Venetica and how Deck 13 slightly changed the city to create the scenario of the game. Images from Venice as well as directly out of the game give a detailed impression of the atmosphere, both of the original city and Venetica as a game.

Another update to the developer diaries of Venetica can be found on the official site. Click the US/UK flag to read it in English.

This time it is about the animation system of Venetica.

Thanks Avantenor for letting us know.

Avantenor sends word that a third Developer Diary has been posted at the official site for this interesting upcoming game. You need to select Dev Diary and choose the one you wish to read, before clicking on the tiny English flag to get an English version. Unfortunately, it's not possible to offer a teaser, the site doesn't support copy and paste.

dtp sent out this Venetica press release, revealing the Twilight World:

Venetica: Experience the dark Action RPG features of the Twilight World

Hamburg/Germany, January 19^th, 2009 – In dtp entertainment’s upcoming Action RPG Venetica players take over the role of Scarlett, Grim Reaper’s daughter who is young and beautiful.. Set in a fantastic Venice, it is her mission to fight the pure evil.

Venetica takes players to the here and now of its fantastic game world, making Scarlett explore Venice’s streets, canals, houses and even the roof tops. As the daughter of Death, she also has the ability to enter the Twilight World: the world of the dead. Here, she communicates with the dead and gets access to a number of unique gameplay elements. To achieve this, Scarlett needs to learn and train for special, supernatural skills and abilities – of which  she initially doesn’t even know exist…

During the game, her skills and abilities will allow her to get deeper and deeper into the Twilight World, and, for instance, ask the dead for help.

Here and there, the dead help Scarlett to accomplish her missions by giving her hints: There are two ghosts, for example, who help Scarlett to find special items by revealing hidden doors or showing her helpful hints that will allow her to pick locks successfully. Scarlett meets these guys early in the game, when they still are alive. She helps them, but can’t avert that both will be killed later in the game.

It’s not just Good that awaits Scarlett in the Twilight World – the pure evil lurks there too, waiting the daughter of Death. Those who know the story of Venetica are aware of the bad necromancer, who is the source of all evil in the game’s story.  He, Viktor, empowered himself with the Grim Reaper’s supernatural powers and now threatens the world. So, it’s not only countless horrific creatures that are waiting for Scarlett. Viktor’s powerful accomplices also hound her..

Equipped with supernatural powers, Viktor’s allies await Scarlett in the Twilight World once she has defeated them in the world of the Living. Now, Scarlett will face her real challenge: Using their powers, the evil helpers transform themselves into huge beasts, becoming even more powerful now that they reached the realm of the Dead.

Venetica’s Twilight World offers even more to the players: It’s not only special NPCs and enemies that resurrect in the world of the Dead – also Scarlett herself uses the underworld to re-awake. This allows her to generate herself tactical combat advantage, for instance by repositioning herself unseen while staying in the Twilight World, and afterwards surprisingly returning to the world of the living.

There is another special connection between Scarlett and the Twilight World: Her literally eternal love to Benedict, who dies just at the start of the game, bounds her to this world. Scarlett will meet her love regularly. In fact, Benedict will be the one who reveals Scarlett’s supernatural powers and who trains her in how to use them.

Many additional skills and abilities allow Scarlett to make even more use of the Twilight World, for instance by summoning creatures or by giving her unusual insights in both the worlds of the Living and the Dead. So, the Twilight World offers a full load of innovative gameplay features to Action RPG gamers.

Venetica will be a cinematic Action RPG with an extraordinary and deep story. The game mixes emotion and action in stunning ways.

A unique and living world full of surprises is waiting for the player, set in fantastic 16th century Venice and paired with intuitive and easy to learn gameplay.

As Cinematic RPG Venetica offers movie like cameras, subtly used cut scenes and spectacular images on a marvelous trip through a unique game world that is hard to match in the genre.

dtp entertainment will release Venetica developed by Deck 13 in 2009 for PC and Xbox 360®.

Ten new screens accompany the PR but until we load them on our server, check them out at Worthplaying.

In related news, Alrik writes in to point out a short German preview at GameStar.de.

News from dtp that Deck 13 has launched an ongoing series of Venetica developer diaries at the official site.  Although they are also listed on the English side, they only appear to be in German - head over if you have the linguistic skills and would like an introduction to the team.  No direct link, because of the Flash-y site.

GamersHell has added four new screenshots to their gallery for Venetica, the action RPG set in 16th century Venice from dtp and Deck 13. You can view them here.

GameSpot takes a look at Deck 13's Venetica.  Here's a bit on the setting:

The city of Venice is not the postcard that you may be used to. Venetica takes place in a parallel universe in the 16th century, and the canals and streets are filled with secret passages, and enemies. During the day, citizens will chat with you and offer information in addition to side quests. At night, bandits and more supernatural enemies take over. The day-night cycle lasts only about 15 minutes, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to wander Venice at the time of day that you prefer. Venetica encourages exploration as every door can be opened and every home searched for secrets, says developer Deck 13. There are two sections to Venice. We saw the prosperous area where most of the upper class citizens live, defined by large palaces and bright open spaces. A second more ominous area called the dark streets offers greater challenges. Two separate factions inhabit the city and you can choose to do quests for either faction. Of course, it wouldn't be Venice without gondolas, and the romantic boats serve as Venetica's automated transport system. Sadly there will be no romantic crooning from the gondoliers. O solo mio!

Worthplaying adds 11 new screenshots to their gallery for Deck 13's and  dtp's new rpg set in 16th century Venice, Venetica. You can check them out along with the usual game description here.

dtp and Deck13 sent over a press release and screens for Venetica.  The screens got corrupted on the way so grab them at Worthplaying but here's the text:

Venetica: RPG set in a fantastic Venice full of action!

Hamburg/Germany, September 26th, 2008 – New screenshots show the intensive and action-packed gameplay of the new RPG by Deck 13.

It is set in a fantastic 16th century Venice, where the player assumes the role of young Scarlett, daughter of Death himself. She must fight against a threat that could not be worse… A Necromancer has stolen the supernatural powers of Death and managed to become immortal. Only a hero with equal powers will be able to stop him and his henchmen. Scarlett must answer the call.

On a journey through Venice and other areas Scarlett battles against many creatures of evil. Combat was designed in a way that controls are easy to learn, but training, skill and tactics are indispensable to master the challenges. Players will have to watch their opponent’s actions closely. They will have to find the right timing for their attacks if they want to put an end to the evil brood. Simple hack & slay will not be effective in the Action RPG Venetica.

Scarlett can use multiple different melee weapons: For example, the demon-banning Moonblade, devastating mauls or spear and shield. Because of her supernatural powers, the daughter of Death develops magical abilities and skills: Scarlett can talk to ghosts or summon undeads to boost her defenses. Many of these skills can be combined with weapons for maximum damage.

Before Scarlett can use her supernatural skills, she has to train and develop these abilities. Right at the beginning of Venetica, Scarlett has no clue about the responsible tasks of Death her father is fulfilling. Accordingly she is not fully aware of her special powers.

Following the RPG tradition, players have to collect experience points they can use to build new skills. Scarlett can learn these tactics from her Mentors. Experience points are gained from slain enemies as well as successfully completed quests.

Venetica will be a cinematic Action RPG with an extraordinary and deep story. The game mixes emotion and action in stunning ways.

A unique and living world full of surprises is waiting for the player, set in fantastic 16th century Venice and paired with intuitive and easy to learn gameplay.

As Cinematic RPG Venetica offers movie like cameras, subtlety used cut scenes and spectacular images on a marvelous trip through a unique game world that is hard to match in the genre.

dtp entertainment will release Venetica developed by Deck 13 in 2009 for PC and Xbox 360®.

Unfortunately I was unable to take a closer look at Venetica while I was at the Games Convention, but I've uploaded some screenshots and artwork from the press kit .

We haven't seen much of Venetica from Deck 13 (Ankh) but IGN has a Leipzig preview:

We got a look at several different areas of Venetica. First we saw an area down in sewers and caves. Here we saw the basic combat. You can simply button mash if you want, swinging away with whatever weapon you have equipped. This won't always work since some enemies will learn to block these simple-minded attacks. You'll want to mix things up a bit with dashes and rolls to get at the weak points. It'll also help to level your character up to learn a few advanced skill or work out some combos with properly timed attacks. We got to watch all of this during a few fights with little crab-like creatures with glowing blue spines before a mini-boss fight with a larger one.

dtp/Anaconda sent us the following PR for a new "role-play game with a cryptic storyline" titled Venetica:

Hamburg/Germany,  May 27th, 2008 – Deck 13, one of Germany’s most successful game developers, has teamed up with dtp entertainment to present Venetica, a visually stunning role-play game with a cryptic storyline. Venetica mixes emotions and action in a unique free roaming and living sixteenth century world full of surprise.

In the era of Venetica, Death walks among the living as a flesh & blood being, carrying out the deeds of an ancient council known by a few as Corpus. Each generation of the Corpus is set with the task of selecting the next predecessor of the bringer of death. Unfortunately, the most recent council had unwittingly selected a crafty necromancer who is determined on bringing death and destruction to the world.

This conniving imposter has managed to transform into an undead fiend, which no mortal man can kill. This power-crazed necromancer is hell-bent on destroying the reinstated Death and the council of Corpus. Only one person stands in his way, Scarlett, the daughter of Death.

Up to now she has known nothing of her origins, her powers and the capabilities that she possesses – now she is challenged to learn how to develop and use her powers to save her father and curse the necromancer and his henchmen to the eternal hereafter.

dtp entertainment is going to release Venetica in 2009 for PC and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Some readers may know developer Deck 13 for their well-received adventure title Ankh.

You can also check out four screens and a 150Mb trailer at Worthplaying.