"Welcome to our colony!" – has it really been 18 years since we heard these words at the beginning of Gothic, the fantasy role-playing game that was a milestone in German fantasy, which includes games like Risen and Elex? Since then, we've all gotten older, gotten wrinkles, and gotten used to laughing heartily at what we looked like in the early 2000s and what games were like back then.
But what if we turned back time? What if you took something that was great almost 20 years ago and gave it a modern makeover (like with Unreal Engine 4)? What if we improved something that was a little weaker than everything else (for example, the combat system)?
Meet the trailer for the Gothic game prototype: https://youtu.be/HuuUaHa3_sg
Pay attention to the comparison video: https://youtu.be/Crc2iO_-LR8
To find out what true Gothic fans think of the modern version of the cult role-playing classic, THQ Nordic and new Spanish studio THQ Nordic Barcelona set up an experiment. Starting today, a free game prototype of how the new Gothic could look and play will appear in the Steam library of every user who owns games from the Piranha Bytes studio: Gothic 1-3, Risen 1-3 or ELEX. They will be able to play the as-yet unnamed updated version of Gothic and wander through the expanses of the Khorinis mine valley. At the end of the prototype, each player will be asked to complete a survey. Thus, THQ Nordic is eager to find out whether it is worth continuing development of a full-fledged updated version of Gothic or leaving the fond memories of the great game untouched.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You must have thousands of questions. We will try to answer at least a few:
Question: Who is developing the game?
Answer: THQ Nordic Barcelona. More information about the studio can be found at www.thqnordicbarcelona.com
Question: Are Piranha Bytes involved in development?
No! The Piranha Bytes staff is busy with another project that will be announced in 2020.
Question: Why can you only play for two hours?
Answer: Because this is just a prototype created by a small team from Barcelona. It includes everything that we can show so far.
Question: Yes, I see. How long will I have to wait for the full version?
Answer: Quite a long time. We will begin full development only if the community demonstrates demand for an updated version of Gothic. We'll need to bring in more people, rent a bigger office, and rebuild Gothic from the ground up.
Question: Will this be a high definition re-release?
Answer: We would prefer the name "updated version". Since we are moving to Unreal Engine 4, we can basically only use the story, world, atmosphere, music and essence of Gothic. All technical aspects, all graphics, all sound, all game systems will be recreated to 2020 standards.
Question: Is it possible to purchase a prototype?
Answer: Yes and no. Anyone who owns ANY game from Piranha Bytes will get it for free. But if you don't have Gothic, Gothic 2, Gothic 3, Risen, Risen 2, Risen 3, or ELEX, then you'll have to buy one of these games to get the prototype.