Risen from the grave
If there was ever an embodiment of the Ryan Reynolds GIF it is the remaster of Piranha Bytes’ 2009 RPG Risen. In the era of literally every single game getting a remaster or re-release there are some that still leave me scratching my head. Risen is now over a decade old and has spawned multiple sequels. For those that are unfamiliar this would be lumped into a category of RPGs lovingly referred to as Euro-jank. Solid games that are just a bit rough around the edges. There is a love for this genre and Risen is at the forefront of discussions about it. Perhaps that is why it is seeing a new release in 2023.
The game kicks off with players washed up on a deserted shore and left to their own devices to figure things out. This is of a time when games didn’t hold your hand every step of the way. I appreciate that on some levels. I recently played One Piece Odyssey which stopped every two seconds to tell me how to press a button. It can be annoying. Risen instead leaves players without much explanation to “role play” the situation.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
Once I dug myself out of the slogging tutorial, I reached a town where the true game kicks off. This isn’t a game with a linear path. The world of Risen is built more as a place to explore. There are several factions scattered throughout the world and plenty of NPCs and quests to interact with. The story revolves around a brutal inquisition that is enslaving people and your character takes it upon themselves to either help the people, or side with the opposition. There is so much to see and do and again the game doesn’t hold your hand. Instead, it leaves it up to the player to dig around every nook and cranny of the world to live their own adventure.
While it all sounds unique on paper it is more in the execution where things start to show their cracks. As I said, the game doesn’t lead the player very often. Leveling up in the game is complex and designed to encourage multiple playthroughs. Completing quests and defeating enemies will level up stats like strength and dexterity much like a normal game. On the flipside the style of play is dictated by purchasing training from NPCs around the world. This requires gold grinding as well as learning points which are earned through the normal methods. There are also two types of magic and plenty of weapons to master, which also attributes to the multiple playthrough design.
The game feels like a budget Skyrim and that is not as derogatory as it sounds. Every skill can be upgraded in the game, it just takes more effort to figure it out. It can be extremely rewarding once you get used to the jank surrounding it. The biggest issue I have with Risen is that it feels counterintuitive to modern games. With the job of going back and retouching the original I would think some quality-of-life features would have been added. I mean the jump button is mapped to clicking the right stick, which is just absurd. Also, some minor tutorials or streamlining the quests would have gone a long way. Instead, the game stays pretty true to its roots, for better or worse.
Then we get to the visuals, which even in their day weren’t all that spectacular. This re-release basically just cleans up some things here and there and makes it run better. This is a pretty barebones release on all fronts. It doesn’t even get the benefit of a Series X/S or PS5 version. The world is still interesting, and I am impressed there are no loading screens, even in the original. The world is very brown and gray for the most part but there are some interesting enemy designs. Overall this looks and feels like a 360/PS3 era game because that is exactly what it is.
Risen is a weird release. Sure, we are getting just about everything these days and I love that, but this one is just a weird pull. The genre has its fans, heck one of them is on our weekly podcast, so I can see the appeal of bringing back the classic Euro-jank formula. Risen is packed with content and if you can get past its blemishes there is a solid RPG here to last you at least 60 hours, but I feel a lot of today’s gamers won’t even get off the beach tutorial at the beginning of the game.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
