The Forgotten Game - Why Gothic is the best game ever 

Not enough credit is given to gothic ecosystem especially in gothic 2 where AI got tweaked a bit and the concept was developed so much, you can become a gothic biologist. Everyone noticed common interactions like wolfs stalking their prey, or skeletons attacking anything they see, but the intricacy of mobs behavior goes far beyond that, to the point where some interactions are never seen in a playthrough. And they are not random either, based on them you can access what kind of creature you're dealing with, which makes the world feel trully alive. Generally, undead are always agressive toward the living but not the other way around, animals have a complex predator/pray/scavenger behavior, almost noone dares to attack demonic creatures, golems are true neutral who's only target is humans. Pray behavior - run away when attacked Predator behavior - stalking instead of chasing Here are some in depth notes of interest: *Lurkers* appear to crave exclusively humanoid flesh, and their behavior depends on the size of their target. They confidently prey on goblins, attack humans only to defend their territories, and do not fight orcs and lizard men but will eat their corpses. Very fascinating. *Wolfs* are your standart predator attacking critters like sheep, rats, molerats and scavengers. *snappers* are not afraid of humans and will pray on them as well. They also do not mind huning goblins. Their diet is very versatile, and it's a good time to mention that both snappers and lurkers can breathe underwater just in case you'd like to transform into one. But here is a curious one: snappers hate zombies. They do not pray on them but they will attack a zombie if it gets close. I assume this is similar to crows thinking scarecrow resembles humans and being cautious. *shadowbeast* is the apex predator of gothic. They will stalk all the previously mentioned pray, but they do not mind praying even on lizard men and orcs. *orcs* and *lizard men* appear to have identical AI and behavior since the ladder was clearly designed off of orcs, but the devs went out of their way to make 1 small change. Unlike orcs, lizard men do not attack shadowbeast on sight. This small change is meant to showcase that lizard man are not familiar with how dangerous the beast is. *skeleton goblins* have a strange respect(?) For orcs and will not attack them. *zombies* actually eat humans and orcs but unfortunately don't have the animation. Altho when I was a kid I always thought that their obsession with staring at corpses was extremely creepy. As if they are waiting for new friends to join their ranks. *field raiders* are docile, but they will eat bloodfly corpses. They also lack animation. *giant rats* seem to be the only species that consumes their own kin. Gross. *harpies* got their own guild in gothic 2 and unlike in gothic 1 they are animals and not demons now (undead kill them). They attack sheep of all things, which represents their sadism. *minecrawlers* are THE most agressive species, despite being animals. Just like ants, they seem to fight off of instinct and smell, and will attack anything that moves. Undead, demons, dragons - anything. Except golems (they cannot detect them?) And meat bugs (too tiny?) *warans* are docile picky eaters and will only scavenge scavenger corpses.

All dislikes are from players who still don't know how to pick up items XD

Yet another love letter to Gothic. Always warms my heart.

Creators of Witcher are always mentioning that their games were inspired by Gothic :)

Can we say German engineering at its finest in this case?

If game is playable 15 years after release that means it's great game. If 15y old game is more enyoable then 50% of new releases that means it's masterpiece.

"Ich bin..." "Mich interessiert nicht wer du bist." Die ikonischsten Worte die je gesprochen wurden xD

Gothic 1 + 2 best games ever made

i really miss the old gothic series ... the atmosphere, the dialogues, the music the alternative ways to play it ... so sad modern games have good graphics but really miss whats important.

It feels like technology got worst or something. I don't understand how this game has so many features that they can't add in today's games. It's ridiculous.

The game that gets you into gaming.

trust me this game is way better than it seems i replayed it so many times

This game was too advance for its time

IT IS THE BEST GAME EVER MADE You know what sets it apart? Attention to detail and the way it was made, as reading a book but actually living it. No game gets near this level. I love fallout but it's not even close. Oh and fuck bethesda

Gothic was a bestseller in Poland and had a lot of influence in further rpg imagination in Poland .

Gothic was my first action RPG and it ruined this genre for me. Pacing, meaningful choices, replayability, map design, player's place in virtual society... God, I dream I'll be able to play game like this ever again.

the intro music of gothic, goose bumps, the nostalgia... aaah it hits hard

2 more importent aspects: 1. The standart graphics dont look very good compared to new games but they describe the athmosphere perfectly. 2. By learning how to use melee weapons, the animations change and become more handy. Every attack must be timed, which becomes easier if you improve your weapon skills. PLAY THIS GAME!!!

My favourite game ever. Finished it countless times, same as NotR. Greetings from Poland.

Gothic has the best story ever!!! I played it about three years ago and I fell in love with it... Best game I ever played

Gothic is the best game I played in all my life.

Poland loves Gothic. Epic game from epic studio.

Gothic I and Gothic II (+ addon) are the best. Ever. I sometimes think it is the nostalgia speaking but everytime you play these games you simply realize that no other rpg combined all the mechanics to create such a lively world and great character system.

The best game series EVER! Greetings from Romania!

1: Use one hand for one-handed weapons 2: Swing around 3: ??? 4: Profit!

It's sad that the game isn't that popular. In poland for example it's a game from our childhood and everyone knows it. even today poles are making funny fan made songs from the dialogues from the game.

In Poland Gothic and Gothic II are the most popular RPGs ever. Only Witcher can compare to it

games made with vision, passion and love for story and depth will always always always be what we, as gamers, look for.

Diego was/is the best npc ever existed...

It is without a doubt the best game ever made, too bad nobody came close to making a game this beautiful

Manche Spiele sind halt einfach nicht zu toppen, egal wie weit die Technik anreift. Die nostalgische Erfahrung vom ersten richtigen Rollenspiel bleibt für immer ein geniales Erlebnis.

1:38 That music just hits like a truck. Right in the feels.

Check out the Gothic devs newest game: amzn.to/3ieuqOb

The Gothic franchise pack is on sale for $2.99 American on Steam right now!! Everyone should go pick it up while it's cheap.

I'm glad this game is still getting exposed every now and again. It was an amazing experience, especially back in the day. That's good work you're doing here. Thanks.

Okay, you've sold me on this franchise. Next paycheck. im going to try to start this series. Edit: All three in steam discount bundle. Just got them.

I agree, this was the masterpiece. And the sound when you level up was incredibly satisfying.

too bad it's only popular in Germany, Poland and Russia .

I think that Gothic was somewhat important in making of Witcher franchise. In Poland Gothic is a big deal for gamers. Every gamer that I know personaly played Gothic and CD-Projekt was publisher of Gothic in Poland so it's clear that Gothic had some influance on their games.

I love the fact that over the recent years more and more people are finally talking about gothic.

I love how RPGs released much later than this title, learned and implemented so many of the features of this game yet so few know that this series even exists. Publishers are milking their games with remakes, I would love to have a remake of this and g2 on their elex engine, but with the combat system intact just more handy. Fantastic Tribute, even if g2 is my favourite game of all time, g1 certainly has its charm in its atmosphere.

Wow, da steckt definitiv viel Arbeit drin!

When this game came out at first the graphics were top notch, what made people turn away from it was the very unusual controls and the extremely high system requirements (for the time) BUT once you got past those two "obstacles" you get a beutiful Masterpiece that only Witcher 3 has come close to after 15 years.

I replay Gothic 1/2 every few years, they are even better now with the system packs that enable super smooth movement of the camera (better than the originals).

I was 7 when Gothic came out. I'd never seen an open-world game before. It blew my mind. I kept playing intensely for 10+ years but still never found a match to Gothic and Gothic 2.

I don´t know why this game was popular in Romania, but through this way I managed to play it when I was a kid and, understandably, has remained with me ever since.

Gothic wird auch immer das beste RPG bleiben. ^^

Since its release in 2001 i play Gothic about once a year. It never gets old, its never boring. I'm somehow emotional connected to it. Gothic is truely special and unique.

I feel so lucky to have played both Gothic 1 and 2 as a kid when they first released.

Wow nice Review. I will try this Game out. If its true what you say i will have an awesome time with it. Thumbs UP :))

Who else goes around Lefty? Lefty send me, I brought you some water!

I love this video!!!

I love gothic series, gothic 1 and 2 are my all time favorite game :D I thought about doing a video about this game but sir you did a wonderfull job with this :D I could not do it better. Love this video OLD BUT GOLD!!

oh man, gothic 2 is my alltime favorite, more than 50 playthorughs by now i think

Da kriegt man sofort bock gothic 1 wieder durch zu zocken

This game taught me english language. It is something that I will never forget , the experience in the game was great . This is a clasic a masterpice.

The music in gothic games is amazing, it makes every location feels so immeresive

The most beautiful action RPG ever.

Awesome.It is hard to find good gothic perspectives espacially since durmin paradox blocked his videos,even though I think you should mention the price and the fantastic sequels,as well as Risen 1. Definetly a Like.

As a 10 year old child in the UK some 15 years ago, my dad somehow brought this for PC & it became one of my childhood favorites! Still have incredibly fond memories of it to this day. First RPG I ever played...

I lost dozens of hours over this game. I remember it VERY well. Loved the story and feel of the game. It seemed more solid than newer games. Thank you for this awesome Tribute!

Wow sehr gute Arbeit! Du hast es richtig gut rüberbekommen die genialheit und Schönheit des Spiels zu verdeutlichen (y) also mich hättest du rumbekommen es zu spielen aber glücklicherweise hatte ich die Ehre mit diesem Spiel aufzuwachsen :D

Gut gemacht, Brother!

My first rol game when i was a teenager. Gothic game and music always be the best !

2023 is comming ... it's the time to replay the whole series!

6:57 Das Klappergestell springt dich an xD Gute Arbeit!

that rewinding intro, man.. BIG thumbs up!

This was by far the best game ever! My 1st playthrough when i got down from the barrier, I've meet those 2 guyz that wanted ore to teach me how to skin animals, saying I'll make a frotune that way... I've spend the next 15 lvl's runing around the whole map, not even seting a foot in the old camp. I didnt even know I was standing in front of it, I never saw it xD I did the whole Tower of skeletons with a rusty sword, no sword skills. And then when I stept into to town i realized there are quest, more interactions.. AMAZING game. Gothic 2 and NoR were just as good. I would recomend this game even now. I come back to it every 2 years, thats how good it was!

Incredibly well put-together video. I recently finished my first playthrough of Gothic, and can tell that you've really paid attention to all the subtleties of the game, many of which I completely missed and had no idea about. The camera work is spot on, and your script, voice over and mic quality are also top-notch. One of the best RU-vid videos I've seen for a while, if not ever. Really well done.

Gotic 1 and 2 have a special place in the history of gaming. I never played a game after that where the game world feels so alive. I was very dissapointed about the Gothic 3, becouse it could have been a masterpice. It's a shame that JoWood was so greedy and pushed the devs to relase the game too early. The game world was complete but it completly lacked the ,,soul'', the story that could make the game feel alive. You just kill orcs and liberate citiy's, your actions have no real impact in the game. It's like playing a sandbox, such a shame... I know Pirana Bytes are about to relase Elex, but i really wan't to hear news about a potential new Gothic, something as good as the Gothic 1 and 2, with gothic story.

Top Video! Die Gothic-Reihe gehört zu meinen absoluten Lieblingsspielen. Man muss allerdings sagen, dass vieles, was an Gothic gelobt wird, schon viel früher in Rollenspielen existierte. Z.B. in einigen Teilen der Ultima-Serie (aus den 80er und 90er Jahren) hatten Personen bereits ihren eigenen Tagesablauf. Man konnte alle Gegenstände im Spiel benutzen/bewegen, es gab eine offene Welt, bestimmte Taten/Verhaltensweisen hatte Konsequenzen und einen Einfluss auf den Spielverlauf. Man wurde vom Spiel nicht an die Hand genommen, sondern musste alles selbst erforschen etc. Allerdings kennen die meisten Kiddies von heute solche Spiele nicht mehr und so erscheint ihnen vieles davon in Spielen wie Gothic als Innovation. Von einigen Ultima-Teilen gibt es auch 3D Remakes, wobei diese auch schon ein paar Jahre alt sind. Nichtsdestotrotz ist die Atmosphäre bei Gothic natürlich mega. :-)

Gothic... it was my first RPG. I fell in Love with RPG because of Gothic 1 and 2...

As someone from Germany I've played the game back when it was first released. I never understood why it didn't get more recognition internationally. The graphics might not have aged well, but it was great for the time. And the mechanics were ahead of its time and some even better than some modern games.

Epic. Old but totally gold! War ein echt klasse Video, vorallem auch die super Aufmachung. Ich hoffe, dass jetzt wieder mehr Leute auf Gothic aufmerksam werden, auch wenn ich sagen muss, dass mir meiner Meinung nach die Folgeteile besser gefallen haben (was wohl daran liegt, dass ich damals mit diesen zuerst in Kontakt trat). Man hat auf jeden Fall gemerkt, dass da schweine viel Arbeit drin steckt und Herzblut rein geflossen ist.

Zack, da gibts die 20€ Spende. Haste dir echt verdient; bist way underhyped mein lieber! Hoffe sie kam an Wir sind schon zu 2....kommen mehr? ;)

The only problem with Pirahna Bytes company is they never found good publishers. If they ever did found good publisher, Gothic would be still alive. I mean, The Witcher turned to be success game when they found new (popular) publisher and it'd be dead long time ago if they never did. Why Pirahna Bytes never bothered to do it? JoWooD was terrible, people tell that Gothic 3 was an unfinished buggy game and lots of it had problems. People talks how first two are better than 3rd but for me 3rd one was good especially the musics. But that's just my opinion.

I remember the first time I was ever obsessed with a game. I played Gothic 2 so much I started during the day, and time and space became so irrelevant I never noticed the night was gone and it was a new day again. Didn't seem to matter, because I was the Nameless Hero. That is what Gothic does. Pure immersion with sensible characters, landscapes, progression, and a constant desire to get better and distinguish yourself from the routine of the world. And when I finished Gothic 2 for the second time, I didn't believe there could be a game as good as it. And then I was told the first Gothic was equally good. Gothic and Gothic 2 were the games where, for the first time, I wanted my memory wiped, so I could play them again with the same gusto. And the funny thing is: they still are, imo, but as objectively as possible, the best gaming experiences the gaming world has to offer. Immersion, world-building, game mechanics and progression, interactivity, atmosphere, it is all just. perfect.

Gothic 1, 2 + Add-on are some of my favorite games ever. Never even finished Gothic 3, wasn't the same game for me anymore. For anyone loving old-school amazing Rpg's this is a must play.

srsly PLAY GOTHIC 1 & 2 !!! awesome games

I think I stumbled across this video a week or two ago while looking for a new ARPG to play. Loved the video, definitely can tell the passion you have for this game. Realized I bought the Gothic bundle on Steam like 6 years ago and only played Arcania. 47 hours of game play later and I'm about to be moving onto Gothic 2, then 3, then I'll probably give the Risen series a go. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

Großartige Arbeit. Gothic, schon der Name jagt mir seit jeher Gänsehaut über den Rücken. Vielen Dank für die Erinnerung und das präzise Zusammenfassen von allem, was dieses Spiel so unvergesslich macht. Wird nächstes Jahr nochmal gespielt!

You just convinced me to play Gothic! Thank you for this insightful video! I only played Gothic 2 and 3.

Sau starkes Video💪👈👍👌

Great points Ichberg - Thanks for this video. Watching this at 12:55 - the logbook. Just noticed the 'Witcher Amulet' symbol in the corner!

Totally agree, Gothic was such a great game and ahead of its time. I had countless hours playing it. The only complaint I had was the keybind configs, but over time you got use to them. Thanks for bringing back this great memory.

Alter wie du von den neuen spielen auf Gothic mit dem Effekt das überspielt hast GENIAL wirklich Gut gemacht!!!

Würde mich echt freuen wenn es das englische Publikum erreicht. Super Video!

And let's not forget about the stunning music that creates a unique atmosphere!

Great information in this review. Thank you for sharing it. I've added this to my Steam list on your recommendation!

Meiner Meinung nach ist dies dein bestes Video bisher. Schön zu sehen, dass es noch jemanden gibt der diese Begeisterung für dieses Spiel empfindet.

I kept saying, "Gothic.Its gotta be Gothic. Totally Gothic. Please be Gothic. OH YEAH! GOTHIC!" This is freaking great dude, very well done. Consider me subscribed ~ With notifications! Also, Gothic 3 has one of the most amazing theme songs in a game, IMHO. Look up Gothic 3 - Vista Point for anyone curios.

It was back then the first RPG ever. It appeared as a demo (the mines) on CD in a German gaming magazine (guess it was PCGames), even without German dubs, I was totally stunned, immersed and bought the game at Day1. I was only allowed to play it, when my little sister was next to me watching the game. This game was creating memories

Ein tolles Video, das gelungen die Stärken dieses Meisterwerks darstellt! Hier steckt Liebe drin. Eine zusätzliche Version in deutsch wäre aber angebracht.

You sound like you just woke up from a coma. Despite that, I like your take on this little gem of entertainment software :)

In terms of gameplay,logic and story this game is masterpiece made in Deutschland!

I remember installing gothic and after an hour of play I decided to leave it alone. This was my first ever RPG encounter: can't beat anything, where to go, a lot of text, a lot of walking around without really getting anywhere. And then.. After finding the CD after a year or two I decided to give it a go. Only because at the time I didn't really had anything to play with. After a few hours I found myself more and more sucked into this wonderful breathing world. I will never ever forget how amazing this game was and how it felt to play with it. It was magical. Needless to say after finishing the game I jumped into gothic 2 right away, which is still one of my favorite and most played games of all time.

I really enjoyed this game years ago. It was really different from other rpg games at the time and I think it still holds up today, even though it's pretty hard to get used to controls and some rather outdated elements.

gänsehaut! richtig gut gemacht und eine angenehme, flüssige englische Aussprache. Respekt und danke für deine Arbeit ❤

Best game ever.

Thank you for this video, watching this and hearing the sound effects (nostalgia) made my day, as I played this right when it was release and this and Gothic 2 are two of the best games I've ever played (right up there with Morrowind, Oblivion, etc), it's difficult to fathom how advanced they were considering what we have today (Witcher as example). I was never able to experience the sense of accomplishment you had when you could defeat that enemy that used to destroy you. I remember to this day that there was a quest that you had to become a close quarters ring champion in one of the cities, defeating other NPCs, and it was so difficult, I spent hours trying it and finally made it and I recall I had to keep running around in circles in the ring, as he could simply two-hit-kill me. Man such memories. Only those who experienced this game in it's hayday can understand it's excellence.