Review of Gothic 2 Complete Classic – the return of the classics in a worthy form

The Gothic series has long been one of our favorite games. At least its first two representatives could be characterized as timeless role-playing games, but this is not entirely true. If you want to play them, you will have to try some tricks. Or at least that’s how it used to be. But now the situation is changing a little. The legendary second part was released on Nintendo Switch. The following lines will tell you what innovations it brings and whether it is worth paying attention to.

Platform: PC, Nintendo Switch (review version)
Publication date: 11/29/2023
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Genre: Action RPG
Czech localization: Yes
Multiplayer: No
Download data: 10 GB
Game time: 70 hours
Price: 735 CZK (Nintendo)

Khorinis declares his chosen one in Gothic 2 Complete Classic

Those who thought that the nameless hero’s journey would end after defeating the demonic entity known as the Sleeper quickly discovered in Gothic 2 that there are more threats in this universe and some of them are worse than others. The story of Gothic 2 Complete Classic offers you two storylines from the very beginning. Thus, your hero has the opportunity to go hunting for dragons even on a mysterious island, where the tyrannical Raven and a bunch of living statues await him, which must be broken into pieces. For those of you already familiar with the story, certain passages will not come as much of a surprise. But they can offer newcomers some pretty interesting adventures.

Since this is not a remake, the creators are not coming up with any significant innovations in terms of plot. However, for those new to the Nintendo Switch console, it offers a truly worthy narrative from an era when not every decision determined the fate of the world, but there was always a decisive choice. Prim in Gothic 2 Complete Classic reproduces the innovations that the authors of the new version came up with. One of the biggest is undoubtedly the graphical improvement of the game world, the passage of which is now much more digestible than in the PC version. Whether you’re heading to a former mining colony, a tropical paradise or one of the many musty dungeons, the whole thing will always run at a beautiful 60fps, so smoothness really isn’t an issue this time around.

Graphics aren’t the only thing that’s been improved

Visual processing had advanced relatively, at least as far as I could see. However, while working on their project, the creators managed to improve several aspects, which makes Gothic 2 Complete Classic not the only trump card. In fact, I wouldn’t be afraid to say that this is one of the “lesser” elements that the writers came up with. In the original version of this article, I always had problems with inventory management. The developers managed to solve this problematic element, so that even on the console you will not have any difficulties in working with it, which surprised me a little, but, frankly, I’m glad about it. Navigating the spell menu was also no problem.

But what pleased me most was that in this version, as in the Gothic 1 remaster, the creators make the most of the potential of the Nintendo Switch console. In practice, this means that in addition to being able to play Gothic 2 Complete Classic on the go, there is also an alternative associated with Joy-cons. You can “pull” them out of the console and start working with them. More precisely, to mow down enemies. Because if you swing them effectively enough, you can perform a trick or trick with them. There is also the ability to clearly direct attacks, so you can create unpleasant pressure on your opponents, to which they cannot always react effectively. I personally fell in love with this element.

The creators of Gothic 2 Complete Classic are targeting a specific group of players.

Gothic 2 Complete Classic is a worthy remaster that has undergone major changes in many ways. Improved graphics, gameplay, and inventory appearance. A very important innovation is the ability to work with Joy-cons, which are actually weapons in your hands, thanks to which you will be able to enjoy the entire adventure with much more intensity than before. However, the basic idea remains the same.

In my opinion, the price will no doubt be an issue for some players. 30 euros is certainly not a small amount, but in the creators’ defense I will say that this time they are selling the community not just one game, but a game with a really extensive expansion, which in practice means that you have 70 hours. Adventures await you ahead, and that’s only if you focus only on the main storyline. However, I understand that some people may still be concerned about the price. Personally, I would recommend this work primarily to fans for whom the updated version of the cult game gives the opportunity to once again travel to Khorinis and its surroundings. Hopefully, even so, we’ll eventually see a remake.