Gothic 1 Remake Review: An Excellent Remake for Fans, but a Headache for Regular Players

After trying out the demo version of the first "Gothic" remake last year, I was extremely skeptical about the reimagining of this cult RPG. And now, a year later, literally a month before the official release, some incredible turmoil has erupted around the yet-unreleased game. Influencers are posting compilations of bugs from the preview version. Fans are begging the developers to postpone the release for additional polishing. Some individuals are even calling for the remake not to be released at all. In short, there are too many reasons to worry, and when I received the pre-release version, I was preparing for the worst.

After fully immersing myself in Gothic 1 Remake, all my skepticism disappeared. All the demo version's issues I noticed had been fixed. The bugs and rough edges shown by bloggers did not appear for me personally (of course, there were other nuances, but more on that later). And the coolest thing is that the remake turned out exactly as the developers pitched it six years ago: a meticulous recreation of the original using modern technology. No regard for the casual audience, no simplifications or tweaks to fit trends. It’s immediately clear — this project was created primarily for fans. However, whether picky old-school fans will love it, and whether there’s a place for the modern player used to simpler and more accessible RPGs — that’s something worth discussing in more detail.

It so happened that I played the original "Gothic" more than twenty years ago and wasn’t particularly eager to return to the Valley of Mines. Back then, there was no decent internet to look up guides, so you had to constantly circle the map looking for the right character or item without which you couldn’t complete a side quest. Dozens of hours spent on "save-scumming" (constantly reloading saves), thousands of nerve cells burned from hardcore fights with primitive-looking molerats and scavengers, sore fingers from the awkward controls — this is just a small part of the trauma the first Gothic inflicted on my young psyche. So, launching the remake, I was at least hoping for a more forgiving gameplay experience. After all, industry standards have changed long ago, and nowadays hardcore is mostly left to soulslikes and extraction shooters. Oh, how wrong I was…

Gothic 1 Remake begins exactly the same way as the original. The Nameless Hero is thrown onto the island of Khorinis, surrounded by a magical barrier. Inside are convicts mining ore for King Rhobar II, who is waging a protracted war against the orcs. In the protagonist's hands is a letter for the mages of the Old Camp, and in his mind is the main goal: to escape captivity. The problem is that the barrier kills all living things if touched, and the local population isn’t particularly friendly to newcomers. So, first, the hero needs to build relationships with the local crowd, and only then look for a way to leave Khorinis.

Fans can breathe easy: the developers at Alkimia Interactive didn’t rewrite the main storyline and kept all the canonical events, with the story still divided into chapters. Choosing one of the three camps, preparing for the ritual, collecting focus stones across the map, meeting Xardas — it’s all there. However, don’t expect to be able to complete the story campaign purely from memory, knowing where the characters are and how events will unfold. Trust me, you’ll quickly fall into the trap called “we changed a few things to close plot holes.” And in the context of Gothic, these targeted changes mean only one thing: start running around the map and searching for quest characters on your own.

For newcomers, let me explain: Gothic is an old-school role-playing game. There are no quest markers, no proper map, and the objectives in the journal are described as briefly as possible. So you’ll have to listen carefully to the dialogues, memorize the layout of each of the three camps, and, ideally, even remember the global map. You need to know where key characters are located and, preferably, where they rest. Gothic doesn’t hold your hand and certainly doesn’t explain why a quest character suddenly disappeared from sight or where to look for them now. And in this respect, the remake fully matches the original.

So, by the end of the first chapter, there were already serious divergences from the canonical events, which forced me to experience the full charm of Gothic’s quest design all over again. For example, to get into the crawler cave in the Old Mine before, you had to get permission from the boss, gather templars, and open the gates. In the remake, however, the cave is blocked by rocks, and none other than Lester — a key story character — runs over to clear it. After finishing some minor errands, I needed to meet him at the cave entrance, but Lester simply vanished without a trace. There were no notes in the journal. Where to look for him — unclear. And here begins the signature “Gothic gameplay”: wander around, poking into every corner, until half an hour later you find Lester, who had long since left the mine and was waiting for the hero by the road the whole time. What can I say, the quest implementation is on par with the original. If you want to know exactly how the first Gothic looked and played, check out our feature "Gothic Turns 25: Remembering the Cult Series".

And despite the fact that I spent a ton of time searching for characters, items, and buildings, the targeted changes in the story are actually more of a plus than a minus. Firstly, the structure of the main story in the remake has become more coherent and tidy. Quests are no longer handed out randomly, but are given out in portions, in the right order. And the extra searching and exploration of locations is, at the very least, entertainment for devoted fans who know the original by heart. At least they’ll have something to do in the remake.

In general, wandering around locations and talking to every passerby is the main highlight of Gothic. In the first chapter, due to the protagonist’s helplessness, the core gameplay mostly consists of chatting and exploring the three camps. And in the remake, interacting with characters has become even more enjoyable thanks to improved dialogues and well-written personalities. Yes, even the annoying Mud, who follows the main character everywhere and interrupts with sudden dialogue windows, is so pathetic and downtrodden in the remake that I put off the moment of giving him a smack for as long as possible, just so he’d finally leave me alone. By the way, in the remake you no longer have to kill him. After a couple of punches, he’ll get offended and stop following the hero.

Overall, the story content fully satisfies the demands of both fans and new players. For the former, in addition to altered classic quests and an updated structure, there are plenty of new tasks that definitely weren’t in the original. The latter will get a solid, time-tested story with vivid characters, lively dialogues, humor, and a global mystery.

The gameplay and visuals of the first Gothic were the parts most in need of modernization. Even at the time of its release in 2001, the game already looked outdated. And while the ugly graphics could still be tolerated, the gameplay with its terrible controls would scare off even the bravest enthusiast. Although, if you enjoy suffering in games, you should definitely check out our TOP-35 hardest games.

The remake’s developers understood perfectly what needed urgent fixing and what could be left as is, so as not to anger picky fans. Thus, Gothic 1 Remake is by no means a large-scale reimagining of the classic, but rather its recreation on Unreal Engine 5. Whether that’s good or bad depends on your point of view. The fan audience will definitely be satisfied: their beloved game is essentially the same, just with a more presentable look. But new players are in for a tough time, because the remake is basically a twenty-year-old project, and getting through it without guides will be quite problematic.

Gothic 1 Remake is a classic 90s RPG: with very strict progression, harsh punishments for mistakes, a systemic open world, a vague economy, challenging combat, and a terrible quest system that has no right to exist in 2026. And it’s exactly this kind of game that fans begged THQ Nordic for when they announced their intention to create a remake. Sorry, new players — you weren’t part of the deal. But we couldn’t leave you empty-handed: especially for those who want to get to know the genre with less pain, we’ve prepared a TOP-77 best RPGs for PC and consoles — including both new releases and timeless classics.

And don’t get me wrong: I love CRPGs where you slowly get your bearings in an open world, where levels don’t rain down like confetti, where you have to use your head in quests, and where a sharp tongue can get you clubbed in the face. These are truly lively, deep, and multifaceted projects you can lose yourself in for dozens or even hundreds of hours. And Gothic 1 Remake is that very old-school project, where you literally have to endure and suffer through the entire first chapter, getting beaten up even by the most basic mobs. But then, when your level goes up a bit, you get a sword in your inventory, and one of the camps gives you your first armor, the game suddenly winks at you and says: “Well, buddy, are you ready for revenge?”

Now just imagine the face of a modern player who launches Gothic 1 Remake, gets to the Old Camp, and, after joking with a guard about burning down the walls, suddenly gets punched in the face. Or when the arena master makes you fight a character who kills you in one hit — and you can’t refuse, because it’s an important story quest. Or when a random miner offers to go beyond the camp walls to fetch an amulet, but ends up leading you into an ambush where it’s almost impossible to win a fight against three people. And these are just events from the first chapter. It only gets crazier from there.

Speaking of outdated gameplay, it’s impossible not to mention the unreal amount of backtracking in the quests. You constantly have to walk on foot from one camp to another. And believe me, even though the map in Gothic 1 Remake seems tiny compared to other open-world RPGs, the journey between locations is still far from short. The developers noticeably increased the size of the landscape, adding both new landmarks and completely redesigned areas. Of course, wandering through the open world guarantees encounters with wild animals, for killing which you can earn a decent amount of experience points, so fans are unlikely to see backtracking as a bad thing. As for where the gameplay really got modernized — check out our list of the best remakes and remasters for PC and consoles.

Progression in Gothic 1 Remake is among the best of any RPG out there. Alkimia Interactive very precisely transferred the leveling system from the classic to the reimagining, preserving the perfect difficulty balance throughout the main campaign. At least during my playthrough, I never had any issues with boss fights or sudden grind walls. Character development for the Nameless Hero isn’t about distributing points on a stats screen, but about learning specific skills from trainers, as well as choosing your starting camp, where you receive a specialization with additional bonuses.

Skills are another important detail in the progression system. Without them, the game simply won’t reveal itself to the extent the developers intended. For example, climbing, stealing, wielding a two-handed sword, acrobatics, or swimming — all of these are active gameplay elements. Gaining new features that improve gameplay is a huge motivation to level up. After the third chapter, I just went off to clear the map of every living thing to get enough experience points and max out my two-handed sword skill.

The lockpicking system has also been completely reworked. Now it’s a full-fledged mini-game that will literally blow your mind with its difficulty. The developers really went overboard with the puzzles. Because of this, even opening the simplest chest turns into a long struggle with a lockpick. I wish they’d just added the standard system from Bethesda games.

Speaking of swords and the new combat system. The new combat is much better than what we saw in last year’s demo. The developers have significantly improved the animations and the impact of hits. Fighting has become much more comfortable and easier, especially compared to the clunky combat system from the original. There are four types of attacks, as well as blocking, parrying, and dodging. You can combine all of these to create combos and spectacularly take down crowds of enemies. The only drawback is the target lock system. It’s so clunky that it’s almost impossible to fight properly with it. Targets automatically jump from one enemy to another, and controlling this with the switch buttons is just unrealistic. However, when it’s a one-on-one fight — it’s pure bliss. I managed to win arena battles at level two just by using dodges and parries correctly.

The enemy AI isn’t as dumb as bloggers claimed after trying the preview version. Enemies don’t just rush at the player — they wait for you to make a mistake. The “wait, dodge, and counterattack” pattern from the original doesn’t always work in the remake. More often, after a miss, your opponent immediately jumps back to a safe distance and tries not to enter your attack range. Because of this, battles don’t turn into mindless button-mashing, but force you to think strategically.

In non-combat situations, the AI works exactly like in all systemic role-playing games. Characters have a schedule and a daily routine. At night, they go to sleep, and during the day, they do something useful. I never once saw characters just standing in a T-pose, getting stuck in textures, or doing things that were out of character. Of course, it’s not a full-fledged simulation with detailed needs, but the world still feels alive. I specifically experimented with the AI and checked things I used to do in the original game. If you bring wild animals to a camp, the guards immediately run to kill them. If you lure crawlers into the Old Mine, absolutely everyone rushes to fight them, but when the templars arrive, the miners and guards leave the danger zone. Yes, sometimes quest-companion NPCs can lose their way, but after a couple of seconds, they get back on track and continue in the right direction. So, all these complaints that the AI in the remake is broken — it’s just empty talk.

To sum up, I want to say that despite a bunch of annoying remnants like the vague journal (where you can’t figure out what the game wants from you), the lack of proper navigation, tons of backtracking, and the need to save after every sneeze — I just couldn’t tear myself away from playing Gothic 1 Remake. This is truly the kind of RPG where you want to explore the open world, clear the map of monsters for experience, experiment with magic and scrolls, and look for additional content that wasn’t in the original. The game constantly motivates you to explore uncharted places and rewards you with in-game achievements and character growth — from a convict thrown into the camp to a hero capable of defeating a dangerous demon.

Like most modern projects, Gothic 1 Remake is built on Unreal Engine 5. The visuals are very pleasing. The developers took user feedback after the demo seriously and completely reworked the lighting, saturation, and shading levels. Now, at night, you can actually see something without a torch. The environment detail is top-notch as well. The forests are lush — the artists clearly didn’t hold back on vegetation. Locations are very well-designed: the developers carefully recreated all the key features of the original art, making the game look like “Gothic” from the very first frames. And when the visuals and atmosphere match the original, that’s already a huge plus for a worthy remake.

The variety of character models was also a pleasant surprise. All key characters have a unique appearance, which positively affects the perception of the open world. Animations have been noticeably improved, and the horror we saw in the demo version is gone. The developers greatly increased animation variety and created many unique actions, which again positively affects the overall picture. There were no problems with facial animations. Lip sync is correct. There were no moments where characters talked with their mouths closed.

The soundtrack — my compliments. Thank you, THQ Nordic, for bringing back Kai Rosenkranz, the composer of the original score. Without him, it’s hard to even imagine how the atmosphere of classic “Gothic” would have worked in the remake.

The technical state of Gothic 1 Remake is the game’s main problem. Yes, I didn’t encounter the same bugs bloggers had in the preview version, but other issues occurred regularly. First, the constant crashes. Maybe it’s an issue only with the review build, but because of the frequent crashes, I had to replay huge story sections — I simply forgot to save every five minutes. Once, a main quest with the water mage Saturas broke. The character just stood in his hideout, and his guards wouldn’t let the hero through. I had to wear the game down and experiment with magic scrolls to bypass the softlock and trigger the main story quest. By the way, a similar problem was present in the original game. Maybe the game designers decided to make a literal remake and brought over everything, including the bugs.

Performance also leaves much to be desired. I had to tinker with the settings to get good visuals, reduce excessive sharpness, and still have acceptable frame rates. Unfortunately, there were still drops. The game runs especially poorly in mountainous areas, and during heavy wind or storms, the FPS drops so much that it’s better to just send the hero to sleep and wait out the bad weather. And yes, a warning: the game runs very poorly on an HDD. Keep that in mind. But if you don’t plan on upgrading your hardware any time soon and still want to play an interesting RPG, check out our TOP-25 best RPGs for weak PCs and laptops in 2026.

Gothic 1 Remake is a great example of how to satisfy the wishes of a devoted fan base, regardless of modern trends of casualization for mass appeal and attracting a new audience. This is a true classic role-playing game in a modern wrapper, where every level feels like a celebration and finding a story character feels like another victory. Replaying the first “Gothic” with a new combat system and improved storytelling is now the best way to get acquainted with the genre’s classics. And if it weren’t for the performance issues and bugs that interfere with a comfortable playthrough, this would be one of the best remakes to date. But all of this will surely be fixed with patches — just like with the original game. And the main foundation Alkimia Interactive has built is on a very decent level. Now we’re waiting for a remake of the second part.