Risen 3: Titan Lords Review: Great RPG for Those Who Love Piranha Bytes

When Piranha Bytes announces that they intend to release a new game, the heart of every fan of the Gothic series starts to beat a little faster. It was the same case in February this year when out of the blue, news appeared that the third part of the Risen series will be released soon - for me personally, it was one of the two nicest surprises in the publishing plans for 2014. Although some players had mixed feelings concerning the second part of the series, where some things made them uncertain towards the game, I would like to calm down everyone - it's a really good game. The Titans Lords eagerly uses good aspects of the Dark Waters, but also strongly depends on the groundwork of the first part of Risen as well as the Gothic series.

Again, the players fill a role of a nameless protagonist, but this time it is not the hero from the previous entries. We quickly find out who the mysterious daredevil is and it turns out that it's not just a random character...

The protagonist is in fact the son of Captain Steelbeard and a younger brother of Patty who are known from the first Risen. At this point I must admit that at the beginning the new hero seems to be more friendly than the previous Nameless hero. Soon the protagonist proves that he indeed has some character and charisma in comparison to the first hero who seemed to be lackluster and expressionless.

In contrast to Dark Waters, The Titan Lords allows the players to explore the game on their own quickly. The first stage ends with divesting the soul of the protagonist by the Shadow Lord, and it is then when the players are able to sail wherever they want to. During the voyages there are absolutely no limitations and the entirety of the South Seas is open to us. An old friend – Bones can help a little bit and explains in the detail the crummy situation the players are in. He recommend looking for one of the three powerful wizards who could support us in solving the problem. The most suitable candidates seem to be a druid, a magician and a voodoo shaman. Who will the players look for in the first place, depends solely on them.

This is how the beginning of our adventure looks like.

There is no shortage of places to explore because the world in Risen 3 is well-developed. The player receives the home of mages Taranis which was owned by Antigua pirates, captured by the Tacarigua Inquisition, Calador and Kila - sacred to the indigenous people and a peninsula of the continent (DLC additives provides additional two islands - Mists and Thieves). To see everything, the player will have to run for a while - luckily the game offers a fast travel system. On the islands You can find various teleports, which first must be activated by special stones. However, there is one condition - you cannot move from island to island, first you must go there by ship. In this huge world it is difficult to get lost, because from the very beginning the players receive detailed maps of each region.

The World of Risen 3 is really beautiful.

Locations in Risen 3 are surprisingly good looking. Piranha Bytes has used an old engine known well from Risen 2 and they really amped it up. The locations in the game are beautiful and filled with picturesque landscapes of tropical islands. All who are alarmed, I would like to reassure that in the game there are also more gloomy places that have been changed by the presence of Shadows. Bringing to mind the devastated mining valley from Gothic II. Those locations are few and far between, and provide the much appreciated variety. The player can visit villages, ancient temples, mines, destroyed ruins and the afterlife (more about it later). There are plenty of places to see and the world in the Titan Lords simply wants to be explored.

Our trips can end quickly if the character does not meet specific requirements. The development system is very similar to the Risen 2, but it is more extensive. In the Titan Lords, the so-called Glory Points introduced in Dark Water make a return. The players receive the points for every action in the game – from killing a rat, swimming to a new island to the execution of the mission. Glory Points are like a currency for leveling up and help the players increase the stats in major categories; there are more of then than in the second game in the series – eight to be exact. Raising attributes is essential to increasing damage during the fight, while using a sword or magic, but it also gives the player the right to purchase some private lessons and achieve the specific skills. If you provide gold to the teachers, they can teach you very useful abilities, which cannot be taught in any other way.

The companions are sometimes helpful. Here “Bones” heals the hero.

Some talents are available from the very beginning, the possibility of obtaining the rest of them is only available after joining one of three factions (the Demon hunters, the Guardians and the Voodoo Pirates), which do not compete with each other this time. The headquarters of each faction is located on a different island, each of them has its own problems and tasks. If you are a member of the community, you can of course be promoted and obtain a higher rank, better equipment and access to more advanced abilities.

In Risen 3 redeemed skills can help us have more fun, but most of the monsters can be beaten at a very early stage of the game using a dose of patience and remaining even-tempered. The players who are appropriately skilled will get to know the battle mechanisms quickly. Problem of irritating fights with monsters, known from the second game completely disappears. Now, it is pointless to use the firearm to shoot enemies and then run away from them – it is more efficient and entertaining to take part in a standard skirmish. Firearms can still be developed, but I rarely enjoyed putting time into them and after learning the first voodoo spells I removed them from the Quick Access bar. The combat system in Risen 3 is a lot of fun and it’s probably the best Piranha Bytes has ever made. The first part of Risen can only compete with it, but the mechanisms introduced in the Titan Lords are more dynamic (there are even finishers). The combat is smoother and the hits can be combined in sequences - the hero usually does not even have a problem to hit the opponent who is standing behind him. Do not be fooled. If you are careless while playing, you can still easily die and mindless clicking will not bring any results.

Winning a duel often ends up with finisher.

The companions (friends from our team) can support us in combat. Friends are useful mainly to focus the opponent’s attention on themselves, but not only - some of them can heal the player or themselves. Their activity is not only helpful during the fight. They comment visited places lively, they can start a conversation with a NPC, as well as share their thoughts on our progress with us.

Morality system has been implemented in game. Due to the fact that the nameless hero was deprived of a soul, now his actions leave their marks, bringing it to humanity or condemnation. It is a pity that it is really just a skeleton of a real morality system. Soul points can be received or lost mainly during the conversation with NPCs – whether you talk to them politely or aggressively. Solving a quest cannot determine the final result. There is also no physical changes in the appearance of the hero (at least when we play well). The most serious consequence I noted was the risk of being left by the companions, when going a different path for too long.

Risen 3 is not just tropical climates.

Before the release of the game there was a lot of talk about an indicator representing the condition of the soul as well as the presence of the player in the world of the dead and this element turns out to be a disappointment. Afterlife is not equivalent to the real world of fun in any case. We visit it only a few times, mostly in dreams. Those are very limited locations - both in terms of size and things that can be done there. Sometimes there is an opportunity to make a very brief conversation with the spirits of the dead, besides that we collect the soul dust (it can be exchanged into points of humanity or gold). On the other hand there is also astral vision - if it develops well, it can be used to highlight important components of the environment, but do not overestimate its usefulness.

In the afterlife we will meet more or less friendly characters.

Risen 3 as a game created by the Piranha Bytes could not do without the optional possibilities and activities that are necessary to complete the game and provide diversity. We can brew potions, roast meat, break locks, and curse items (unfortunately, similarly to the Dark Waters, it is done on a separate screen). There are also mini-games, such as knife throwing or arm wrestling. Another activity, but compulsory, is fighting with sea monsters. Before releasing Risen 2, the crew of Piranha Bytes said that they cannot program the sailing a ship very well and they were not wrong - to sail forward, we simply press "w" which apparently affects the strength and direction of the wind magically. Another thing is shooting at the sea beasts, which is not very precise and eventually becomes irritating, because these tasks cannot be skipped. The fights which take place on board the ship are much better.

Sometimes You have to visit the dungeons.

The quests which are in Risen are characteristic for Piranha Bytes. There are not many complex tasks and they are mainly related to the main storyline, but there are also a lot of courier missions. There is no shortage of orders associated with finding specific items, but for the less patient players there is the option of marking the approximate location on the map, which can be very convenient in the world of this size, although hardcore fans are not obliged to use this option. Everyone who is enthusiastic about building relationships with companions should be over the moon, because there are also separate quests associated with the members of the crew. However, it is important, that even though there are many tasks, the game can be completed very smoothly, enjoying exploring the world, and tracking history. The main storyline will take about 25 hours, but when the player wants to clear the log of all extra activities, we should add at least another fifteen hours.

An additional advantage of the sequel, and what can be missed by newcomers, is the numerous inclusion of references to previous games of the developer. The Titan Lords visits many places that we remember from the previous entries and also gives us an opportunity meet familiar characters. Gothic veterans will find something for themselves. For example there is a character named Moe in a tavern on Caladro island, and Kyle – the demon hunter who has a problem with a double entrance to his chamber. It sounds like nothing, but it brings a smile to a face of a series veteran.

Jack, the lighthouse keeper. The game will definitely satisfy the fans of Piranha Bytes.

Risen 3: Titan Lords should please all fans of Piranha Bytes RPG’s. While the Risen tried to copy all the mechanics of Gothic nearly 1: 1, Dark Water whilst searching its identity floated too far, the Titan Lords tries to combine the best elements of both predecessors and it succeeds. As a result, we received a game which brings a lot of joy during combat. The game provides a character development system without unnecessary skills. Finally, there is a large world waiting to be explored. Will there be a Risen 4 in the future? If the quality of the game would be similar to the Titan Lords, I hope so.