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[cormack12]

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/gothic-remake-details-release-date-combat-ai-story-interview/

Gothic was a game before its time, overshadowed by its flashier Bethesda-made rival. With later games from developer Piranha Bytes not quite building on the potential showcased in the original or its 2002 sequel, the series faded into something of a niche—known and adored by a small but passionate community. In 2018, Spanish developer Alkimia Interactive (formerly THQ Barcelona) was tasked with remaking this PC classic. The remake’s been in development for over five years, and has gone through a drastic directional change since its ‘Playable Teaser’ came out four years ago.

But the gameplay presentation I saw definitely is faithful to the original game, closely replicating its early segments as you wake up at the bottom of a waterfall and meet Diego, who shows you the ropes. Made in Unreal Engine 5, the remake boasts some nice lighting, fog effects, and a cold colour palette befitting of the gritty world you find yourself in. I’d describe the art style as ‘no-nonsense,’ and Pollice says this is the intention. “We could have created a very artsy and unique look, but in the end I feel like the topic screams for something realistic.”

 

[Kupfer]

Do we know if the German version will be dubbed with the iconic Ruhrpott (Ruhr area) slang again?

 

[Denton]

Sounds great, very much like the look of it

 

[L*][*N*K]

 

[Labadal]

I wasn't a fan of the concept demo.

Cautiously pessimistic.

 

[Alexios]

The visuals are a lot like the demo's but those weren't the problem, I hope the gameplay has been altered a ton since then. To be honest, the original games didn't play so good either, playing them well felt more like exploiting the AI and dodgy systems than actually using intended combat systems and what not, but perhaps some more or better animations alone could have fixed that aspect (ie, better flinching and what not for when you time your attacks to stunlock an enemy without letting them attack you at all). Either way, somehow they were more than the sum of their parts and their mechanics fit together much better than the demo's did. Still, with the likes of the Souls games and recent Zeldas around they really need to make combat feel good, while maintaining the challenge and style of gameplay and progression that made the original unique.

 

[Denton]

I wasn't a fan of the concept demo.

Cautiously pessimistic.

How about...I dunno...reading the article? The remake has nothing in common with the prototype demo, gamedev was started from scratch after it.

 

[Skifi28]

What they said sounds good, but I'd like to see an actual presentation of the game with gameplay if they're confident about it. Hearing impressions about the first 20 minutes is not doing it for me. Let's just say I went from pessimistic to neutral.

 

[Labadal]

How about...I dunno...reading the article? The remake has nothing in common with the prototype demo, gamedev was started from scratch after it.

Still don't trust their judgment.

“We intentionally went in a direction we knew like ‘OK, we don't think they will like this,’” Pollice begins. “But I think you cannot go on something where you are like ‘yeah, maybe that's OK,’ because then you don't get a strong reaction and for us it really worked out because we got a strong sentiment about what people liked about the original.”

Bullshit.

 

[Denton]

Bullshit.

I agree that explanation is bullshit, but I do believe they changed trajectory completely. All information we got and all assets from the game point to that. Plus as long as Kai Rosenkranz is involved and Nicolas Lietzau is writing for it, I am on board.

 

[Skifi28]

Bullshit.

Yeah, that part didn't make any sense.

 

[Bigfroth]

That's cool, I remembering really liking this game back in the day.

 

[Drizzlehell]

The demo had some promise but it also had a lot of problems. I hope that the devs learned the correct lessons from it because despite the obvious annoyances, I thought that they at least understood the general spirit of Gothic when it finally allowed for some exploration and player agency.