Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods (Enhanced Edition) – Steam Backlog Bonanza [Blaugust 21]

21 August, 2019

Blaugust

I was in a funk yesterday so it would have been a great day to discover a fun new game. Unfortunately, Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods (Enhanced Edition) was up next on the Steam Backlog Bonanza. I got it as part of a “Gothic Complete Pack” for $7.50.

Now I didn’t realize this until afterward, but Forsaken Gods is actually an expansion or addon to the base game of Gothic 3. Steam tells me I’ve played the base game of Gothic 3 for 12 minutes, so technically I can’t say that I haven’t played it. But, you know, I don’t remember it.

Perhaps if I’d played it back in 2008 when it came out, it might have been better. Perhaps if I’d played the first two games or the real Gothic 3 first, it might have been better. Perhaps if I’d been in a better mood, I would have been more receptive.

The graphics are okay, though it was made in the era before 16:9 aspect ratio, so everything is a bit stretched. The music is okay. The sounds are okay. The voice acting is … well, maybe slightly less than okay. Then again, I think voice acting was still fairly new to PC games in 2008.

The real stickler is that the controls are a bit strange and unintuitive. The combat felt downright unpleasant. It’s fairly easy to get killed, because there isn’t much feedback about whether you’re hitting the enemies or avoiding their attacks. Inventory management also seemed like it would quickly become a pain.

But I could tolerate strange controls for a really compelling story (see: The Witcher 1). This game did not have that. Admittedly, I didn’t follow the complicated backstory in the opening cut scene. It built on the story of the all the previous games I didn’t play. I didn’t have any idea why my character was in this world. It hit me as “generic RPG story” in every way.

Which would have been fine if the game mechanics were fun and interesting. Unfortunately they weren’t. For me, at least. Everything about it just felt derivative and samey.

Will I play more? Nope. It’s uninstalled.

Live Stream - Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods

Stream Production Notes: I started late due to yet another thunderstorm. Because of the aforementioned funk I wasn’t in the mood for gaming or streaming, but I powered through it anyway. The show must go on! Anyway I amused myself mainly by trying to get myself killed (which was really easy) and running around without any regard for what I was supposed to do.

Previously on the Steam Backlog Bonanza: The Age of Decadence.

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