Gothic is one of many RPGs to take influence from the pioneers of the RPG genre and in this case, it takes inspiration from the Ultima series. However, the entry it takes influence from is Ultima IX, the final game in the main series and one that proved very controversial even to this day. That being said, Gothic takes the basic format and manages to make it work by using what was good about Ultima IX and avoiding many of the mistakes.
Gothic has not aged particularly well, both visually and in terms of mechanics, but the gameplay is nowhere near as janky as it is made out to be by some, nor is the story actually that bland. It would be fair to admit it is an acquired taste, but Gothic does manage to tell an interesting story, and the new touches done to the game have made actually playing the game less frustrating than it would normally be for newcomers. What we are left with is a bit of a dated game but one that still can be fun to play, both for veteran fans and those wanting to look for an older experience.
But what was added to Gothic Classic on Switch? Well, a number of things and all of them make a big difference when combined. The game has been adapted to modern screens and has received improved texture quality, making dialogues, books, your character’s diary, and item descriptions much more readable than originally, while keeping the font the series is known for as close to the original as possible.
That is just the beginning as the inventory system is completely overhauled, removing the single-column user interface of the original and bringing in an interface based on Gothic II, but better. There is also a new tab added to make it easier to cast spells and spells can even be placed on specific keys. This is not even mentioning the new quick-access menu that lets you easily access potions, torches, and other items you will use a lot, and the option of Quicksave/Quickload has been added.
There have been a number of AI fixes as well, and NPC and enemy behaviour has been improved, including how NPCs react to the enemies and to your character depending on your actions. NPC behaviour will now be closer to what was intended originally but not realized in the original release due to bugs, albeit these were issues that modders later fixed, while many quest and gameplay issues present in the original release are gone in this version, again issues that modders had addressed independently on PC. On that note, it seems that Pirhana Bytes took notice of a lot of fan mods that improved Gothic over the years and incorporated ideas from them for this version of the game, including how inventory was managed
The inventory system overall feels improved, with the ability to equip two different melee weapons at once being one example, something that could not be done in the original game where equipping a ranged and a melee was an option but not two melee weapons. You will also see a different visual depiction if your character equips a two-handed and a one-handed weapon, so this is a very nice touch. Of course, this helps since combat also feels improved on Switch, especially from the start as they feel less cumbersome. On Switch, there is an option for motion controls as well, but while it is nice to feel around in, it is ultimately too clumsy to use for the whole game.
The game tries to reach 60 FPS but struggles in some areas with some frame drops being very noticeable in some open areas. That said, improvements have also been applied to some visual aspects of the game, making them look a bit better than the PC version. The music is still the same classic Gothic music so if you were a fan of the soundtrack, you are in luck.
Overall, Gothic Classic is a great way to experience an RPG that, while showing its age, still has a lot to offer. Many of the improvements, aside from the motion controls, will be coming to the PC version as well, but it is really great to see a console port that truly captured how the devs wanted the original game to be. Gothic Classic is recommended and is a great experience to be had.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
