Gothic is a role-playing game series with amazing action combat that was created by the Piranha Bytes developers.
Since 2019, the franchise is now owned by THQ Nordic.
The Gothic series occurs in a medieval world that has no name and it incorporates a fictional kingdom known as the “Kingdom of Myrtana”.
Best Gothic Series Game to Start with
The Gothic series is pretty straight forward with three games in the main storyline.
Two of the games are spin-offs and three other games are set in a whole another universe.
However, by staying true to the original storyline, let’s talk about which Gothic game you should start? Let’s find out.
3. Gothic
| Developer | Piranha Bytes |
| Release Date | March 15, 2001 |
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows |
In the world of Role-Playing games, Gothic is set in a medieval era. The game was released in German initially but due to its popularity, it was translated into English.
Even though there’s nothing too unique about the Gothic series games, if you want to start playing the whole series, then Gothic 1 or Gothic is the best one to start with.
The main reason is its simple control and you’ll also stay true to the storyline.
The game offers a beautiful storyline, good graphics, and one of the best role-playing experiences you can ask for. If you are into RPG games and are looking for a great plot, then this is the one for you.
Storyline
In the medieval world, the Kingdom of Myrtana has been raging with war for years.
Enemies are getting destroyed, only the Orcs remain. However, even after years of winning, the kingdom is short of weapons and men.
Looking at this, there’s a mine of ore where you can craft unbreakable weapons and regain the glory.
Review
The game has a unique storyline with you being a prisoner that must regain the glory of your nation.
You can gain experience throughout the game either through combat or performing different missions.
In the Gothic franchise, death is permanent so you should avoid it as much as possible.
The storyline incorporates you gaining as much experience as you can with respect in different camps. The controls aren’t that complex but will require you to master some keys.
When we talk about the graphics, it’s pretty fine for a game that was released in 2001 but isn’t the best, of course.
However, the building and characters are very detailed and this game can be played on every system.
Sound effects are also decent and overall, the Gothic series has a good role-playing experience with a rather unique storyline.
One weird aspect of the first part is its interface as it’s not user-friendly. But for the most part, it’s just getting used to the Gothic environment.
2. Gothic II
| Developer | Piranha Bytes |
| Release Date | November 29, 2002 |
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows |
Gothic II is the sequel to the previous Gothic and it picks from the storyline of the original Gothic.
This storyline takes place after two weeks of the original Gothic, making it just as detailed as the previous part.
Gothic II is, for the most part, fun and games, but just like the original Gothic, it has a non-user-friendly interface with a rather complex combat system. The game was released way back in 2002 so what would you expect?
But overall, this RPG game is known for its creative storyline and challenges that’ll get your blood pumping throughout the gaming experience.
So, let’s talk about the storyline a little bit.
Storyline
In the Gothic series, the Sleeper was defeated but lucky for our hero, the great magician healed his wounds, bringing him back to life.
This time, the Nameless hero will have to save the world of countless horrors and now you’ll have to take control of the hero, get the Eyes of Innos.
Getting the Eyes of the Innos is the hardest and the first quest you have in Gothic II.
To do this quest, you’ll have to gain a lot of experience and do side quests to level up, ultimately to get powerful enough to get the Eyes of Innos.
Review
Gothic II is known for the freedom that it gives to the players.
The game has several ways of completing the missions and what’s crazy is the fact that you can finish the game in three different ways. This time, you can also experience each guild without actually joining them.
The unresponsive controls of Gothic II can pose some threat but you’ll get used to them because that’s the best we can do.
Gothic II has a great storyline with combat being clunky sometimes.
The interface is better than Gothic I but the controls are not as good as the first part.
1. Gothic III
| Developer | Piranha Bytes |
| Release Date | October 13, 2006 |
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows |
Gothic III was released in 2006 with a lot of freedom when it comes to the gameplay experience.
It’s all up to you how you want to play the game and sometimes, there are multiple ways of completing the same mission.
There’s no order or goals as you can just go on and complete them in your way. Let’s talk about the storyline for a bit.
Storyline
The game starts in Myrtana with the same Nameless hero from the first two games of Gothic.
The story is directly after Gothic II and it occurs right after Gothic II’s storyline.
This time, the Orcs are running the area, turning humans into slaves and now the Nameless hero must come up with a way of defeating the evil orcs, restoring the balance of the Kingdom of Myrtana.
Review
Most of the quests are just you finding and killing the enemies so it isn’t the best storyline-wise.
The graphics are a huge step up especially in terms of user-friendliness when it comes to the map.
However, the combat system is just like other Gothic games. You can press the same button again and again, there’s a chance you might win by that.
All in all, the game has a graphical approach and elite storyline to keep you hooked with its real world. However, combat is where it suffers but it’s better than a lot of RPGs out there.
Conclusion
The Gothic series is full of exquisite storylines that’ll keep you hooked to the game for hours.
We suggest you follow the game in chronological order for the best gaming experience since all three Gothic games are identical in a lot of ways.
However, Gothic III has the best graphics so we can safely say that it is one of the best Gothic games of all time.
Which Gothic game are you playing next? Let us know in the comments below.