Gothic (series)

Gothic is an action role-playing game franchise, created and owned by Piranha Bytes. The latest release was published by Nordic Games.

The latest installment in the spin-off series was developed by Spellbound Entertainment.^[1]

Games

• Gothic (2001)
• Gothic II (2002)
  • Gothic II: Night of the Raven (2003)
• Gothic 3 (2006)
  • Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods (2008)
  • Gothic 3: The Beginning (2008)
• Arcania: Gothic 4 (2010)
  • Arcania: Fall of Setarrif (2011)

Gothic

The first game of the franchise was released on March 15, 2001 in Germany, and on November 23, 2001 in North America.

The game takes place in a medieval fantasy world, in which humans are losing the war against the orcs. The hero, a young nameless man, is forced to work in the Penal Colony, because of his crimes. In order to continue the fight against the orcs, the king needs to extract magical ore and use it for weapons and armor. Every burglar, thief or criminal is sent in the Colony to work in the mines, by the king's order. To keep the prisoners inside, the king ordered 12 magicians to create a magical barrier over the colony. However, due to complications, the barrier trapped a much larger territory than originally intended, along with the 12 magicians and the king's forces. Thus the militia blocked inside soon lost control over the prisoners, and the king had no choice but to trade with the convicts. Soon after the convicts divided into several camps, one of which the Man can join in order to survive and advance the plot.

Gothic II

Gothic II is the second game in the Gothic franchise, released on November 23, 2002 in Germany, and October 29, 2003 in North America. It's the sequel to Gothic.

The game events continue the ones from the first Gothic - as the barrier was destroyed, many prisoners escaped; many of them headed to Khorinis with fake titles (since the militia started to search for the escaped convicts), and others remained in the mountains forming groups of bandits. But things aren't quite that good in Khorinis, as many thought - Xardas (the hero's mentor) informs him that a greater evil is now threatening the land - as The Sleeper was banished he made a last call to all his minions to gather in the Valley of Mines.

Gothic ll - Night of the Raven

Gothic II: Night of the Raven is the official expansion for Gothic II. It was released on August 22, 2003 in Germany, and on January 20, 2005 in North America as a part of the Gothic II Gold package.

The expansion introduces a new world to the game called Jharkendar which is located in the northeast of Khorinis. It is an ancient and deserted city, populated mostly by pirates and bandits.

The hero opens a portal to Jharkendar with the help of the Water Mages, and after getting there, discovers what threatens the island: Raven, a former ore baron in the Penal Colony who has sold his soul to Beliar, the god of darkness, and is hungry for power.

Gothic 3

Gothic 3 is the third game in the Gothic franchise, and the official sequel to Gothic II. It was released on October 13, 2006 in Europe, and on November 20, 2006 in North America.

The third part of the saga shows the hero and his friends sailing to Myrtana. After getting there, they discover that the continent has been overrun by orcs which have enslaved mankind. The hero also gets another hit, when he finds out from locals that Xardas, his mentor, is the one who helped the orcs with their evil scheme. Things will change later, when the hero discovers Xardas and finds out that he only helped the orcs for his own purpose. He quests the hero to retrieve some artifacts and kill the king which had imprisoned him in the Colony; after that, they (Xardas and the hero) went together through a portal into an unknown land.

Forsaken Gods

Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods is the official standalone expansion for Gothic 3. It was released on November 21, 2008 in Europe and North America.

Two years have passed since the hero and Xardas went into the Unknown Lands. From there, they were watching over Myrtana - which was destroyed by wars between the factions. The hero could stand no more, seeing that the land for which he almost gave his life for was destroyed, and decided to return. Xardas refused to let him go and tried to explain that eventually mankind will tire of war and peace will prevail. The angered hero refused to listen, and after a great battle which almost killed him, returned to Myrtana to unite it. Eventually the hero will crown himself the new king of Myrtana.

Gothic 3: The Beginning

Gothic 3: The Beginning is a role-playing mobile video game, produced by the German developer Handy-Games GmbH, and published by JoWooD Entertainment.

The action takes place 140 years before the events in the first Gothic game, on the island of Khorinis. Xardas (one of the main characters from the original PC Gothic series), an orphan, raised by farmers, is visited one night by the ghost of Buthomar. The ghost tells the young Xardas about an unknown threat and asks him to find "the other four Chosen Ones".

Gothic Universe Edition

In October 2007, JoWooD published Gothic Universe Edition, a collection pack containing Gothic, Gothic II and Gothic III.^[2] The Universe Edition was originally released only in Europe,^[3] but was added to the Steam store in November 2010.^[4]

Arcania

Arcania was known as the fourth game in the Gothic franchise, which was released on October 12, 2010.

As of 2011, with the return of the Gothic rights to Piranha Bytes, Arcania has become an independent series, a spin-off from the original series.

In September 2014, Nordic Games dropped Gothic 4 from the game's title, with no statement being offered so far of why this action has been done, but left fans speculating that it may be related with Piranha Bytes getting back the rights to the Gothic series. Also all references that connected ArcaniA with the Gothic series have been removed from the game's description.^[5]

Arcania is the first game in the series which will have a new hero. Also, it is the first game in the franchise which was released for two platforms: Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. While delayed, the game was also released for PlayStation 3. The fourth game was also being developed by a different company, Spellbound Entertainment.

The events in Arcania continue directly from Forsaken Gods. Arcania will introduce players for the first time to the Southern Islands. 10 years have passed; the self-crowned king has turned rogue and has destroyed/overrun parts of the Southern Islands. A new hero arises, after he finds his hometown destroyed by the evil king. Great threats await the new hero as he quests for revenge.

He eventually discovers during his quest for revenge that it wasn't the king who destroyed his village but a rogue element in his army and finds out that he is the only one who can put an end to the demon that was tormenting the king. In the end, after receiving his revenge, the hero also puts an end to the demon's possession of Rhobar but it is then summoned by enemies that were long since thought to have been defeated, thereby setting the stage for a possible sequel.

Fall of Setarrif

Announced by Spellbound and JoWooD on December 9, 2010, Fall of Setarrif is the first standalone addon for Arcania: Gothic 4, which was released on October 25, 2011 for PC and May 31, 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[6]

Arcania: Fall of Setarrif ties up the loose ends of the main game's story and adds yet another chapter to the epic tale. After the demon that possessed King Robar III was exorcised, it made its way to Setarrif to find a new host. In Setarrif, which is cut off from the rest of the island, chaos and anarchy spread rapidly!

King Robar III is troubled by these developments and is afraid of losing the city and some of his companions, which are in Setarrif at that very moment. The nameless hero is therefore sent by the king and must journey to Setarrif… But he has no idea of what lies before him.^[7]

Future

Speculations on who really has the rights for the Gothic series have made their way around since 2007 until 2011, when, Mike Hoge, co-founder of Piranha Bytes, Gothic's creator, stated that soon (after the release of their current game - Risen 2: Dark Waters) the rights for the series will return to Piranha Bytes, but avoided mentioning if they will develop another game within the series.^[8]

Later in 2011 it was confirmed by JoWooD Entertainment that they only had rights for the fourth game in the series and the expansion. As such, the rights returned to its former developer - Piranha Bytes.^[9]

It is currently unknown if Piranha Bytes will develop another game within the Gothic series.

See also

• Risen, a similar game by the developer of the first three games

References