Gothic is a single-player action role-playing video game for Windows developed by the German company Piranha Bytes. It was first released in Germany on March 15, 2001, followed by the English North American release eight months later on November 23, 2001, and the Polish release on March 28, 2002. Gothic has been well received by critics, scoring an average of 80% and 81/100 on Game Rankings' and Metacritic's aggregates, respectively. Reviewers credited the game for its story, complex interaction with other in-game characters, and graphics, but criticized it for the difficult control scheme and high system requirements.
About the story
The main character must complete quests and slay wild animals and monsters to earn skill points, which are used to increase basic attributes, improve skills, and learn trades. They are spent by finding the appropriate teacher. Several skills have only one "level" (Sneaking, Acrobatics), while the fighting skills (one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, bows and crossbows) have two proficiency levels. If the Hero chooses to be a Mage (or joins the Swamp Camp), he will be able to learn Circles of Magic; of which there are 6. The main attributes are increased in 1 or 5 point increments, starting at 10 and capping off at 100. The cap can be surpassed with the use of potions. The game places a special focus on the interactivity of the environment. For example, hunting wild animals can earn the player raw meat. This heals damage and can be sold. However, by using a stove or frying pan, the player may also choose to turn this into grilled meat, which heals much more effectively. Similarly, most of the activities other characters can be seen doing (playing musical instruments, stirring soup pots, urinating etc.) can be done by the main character as well (although with the exception of forging weapons these activities have little bearing on the game). The player can choose which camp to join, although quests get increasingly linear and the distinctions between different factions wane in the latter parts of the game. The major difference is that Swamp Camp members cannot become mages, because they are limited to 4 magic circles (out of 6). However, they gain access to magic earlier.
Platforms
PCGenres
Adventure Role-playing (RPG)Themes
Action Fantasy Historical Open world StealthLanguages: English and 5 more
| Interface | Audio | Subtitles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | |||
| German | |||
| Spanish (Spain) | |||
| Polish | |||
| Czech | |||
| Russian |
Critic Reviews
By David Temple
When we remember that Gothic was one of the earliest truly open-world 3D concept games, we can at least give a nod of appreciation for the pioneering effort. With the time that has passed, Gothic Classic is mostly a reminder of how far we have come with game design and system capabilities.
- 04 Dec, 2023
By Fernando Sánchez
Gothic Classic is a slightly improved version of the 2001 Piranha Bytes classic Gothic. This is a Western open-world action RPG that stands out for its focus on exploration, non-linear narrative, and its fairly well-constructed dark fantasy open world. This version for Nintendo Switch has received some improvements such as a new controller control scheme, motion control, certain interface redesigns, some playable adjustments, but the base is still a 2001 game that technically has not aged well at all. It is up to the player to evaluate this title as an essential classic or as a game that is not recommended and difficult to play.
- 20 Nov, 2023
By Gabriele Barducci
Gothic Classic Switch is a cleaned and revised edition of Piranha Bytes' classic masterpiece. The innovations around camera and inventory management are just a plus in front of a title that, despite being twenty years old, still works like it used to.
- 03 Nov, 2023
By ADAM LIGOCKI
Gothic Classic immediately receives points for software preservation. Being able to play old games on modern systems without hoops to jump through is always a plus. Whether or not you enjoy Gothic Classic is another story entirely. Outside of the enhancements, it’s still the same game, for better and worse. Fans of Piranha Bytes games, and the Gothic franchise, will undoubtedly be over the moon while everyone else may need to take it with a pinch of salt.
- 01 Nov, 2023
By Matt Sainsbury
Gothic is getting a full remake, which will release in 2024. I actually expect that to be good, because the developers can use the modern tools they have to modernise and restore the original vision of the game. Unfortunately, though, that’s the final nail in the coffin for the original. Unless you have a very academic reason for wanting to play an artefact of B-tier game design from the early turn of the century, there’s just no reason to play this port.
- 04 Oct, 2023
