Gothic 1 Remake Review: A welcome return, but not entirely convincing, says Millenium

Twenty-five years after the release of Piranha Bytes' cult RPG, Gothic 1 Remake manages to resurrect the Mining Valley by speaking the language of Unreal Engine 5. The challenge is clear: staying true to its source while making the title approachable for modern players. On that front, the analysis is more measured, explains the journalist from Millenium.

The gameplay retains the rough-edged DNA of the 2001 Gothic: an open world without markers, quests to solve by cross-referencing a journal with NPC information, and progression heavily dependent on slow but rewarding learning of the factions. This old-school approach clearly has its charm, provided you take the time to observe the routines of the camp's inhabitants to optimize your skill points, particularly in one-handed weapons or crafting. Unfortunately, the animations remain stiff, hitboxes are often approximate, and the readability of certain fights is quite unpredictable despite the complete overhaul of the combat system.

Aesthetically, the Mining Valley benefits from beautiful lighting, successful vistas, and the excellent choice of an art direction that respects the dirty, mineral atmosphere of the original. But according to Millenium, the faces and certain textures fall behind the current standard, and in some configurations, performance can clearly drop, as demonstrated by several recent benchmarks. On the audio side, the well-known themes are carefully re-orchestrated: the music is often very well handled and contributes to the immersion, but the mixing of voices and sound effects could have been more precise.

In terms of longevity, this is a very generous action-RPG, the journalist tells us: the main quest, rival camp quests, and a whole host of side challenges (around forty achievements in total, geared toward exploration or skill mastery) occupy a plethora of hours. But faithfulness is sometimes pushed to the point of archaism: an unclear interface, a very brutal difficulty curve, occasional bugs... A solid remake, but not a definitive one, concludes Millenium.