Gothic 2: Gold Edition is the sequel to the original Gothic and comes with the Night of the Raven add-on by default. The game is very similar to its predecessor, once again the player takes on the role of the nameless hero on what's presumably an epic quest, but first you've got to get a job and social standing because nobody trusts a hobo to save the world.
Gothic 2 is an RPG first and foremost and the path the player chooses can change the game pretty dramatically as a result because each faction holds a monopoly on a group of skills, quests, merchants, and other useful resources. Every level up is significant too, especially at the beginning.
The game is also very immersive with only minimal UI elements, a day and night cycle, and animations for mundane actions such as reading or eating. The world map is also deterministic and exploration is fantastic because of it, there are no chests with randomized loot based on the player's level like in so many other RPGs.
Gothic 2 is realistic in the best way possible because it enhances the gameplay to create a unique experience. The player starts at the bottom of the totem pole and is rewarded for exploiting the system as much as possible. So many fantasy stories, not just games, make the main character into a messiah who gets everything served on a silver platter and here comes Gothic 2 where the chosen of Innos has to start by doing manual labor for a bowl of soup. It's awesome.
On the downside, however, the game shows its age in some regards. Obviously graphics and character animations don't look so sharp anymore and the controls are a bit hard to get used to, english voice acting is also (in)famously bad and there are plenty of minor bugs. I don't personally mind the presentation because some of the visual UI tricks the title employs wouldn't work well with more realistic graphics, such as the subtle highlight for when you are looking at an interactive item, but the rest are valid concerns, especially the bugs.
To conclude, Gothic 2 is a fantastic game and a must play for RPG fans. I'm unsure if the Steam version is the best out of the box, but the answer to that probably requires being fluent in Polish.
P. S. I think you should play Gothic 1 first or a lot of references will fly over your head.
Gothic 2 is an RPG first and foremost and the path the player chooses can change the game pretty dramatically as a result because each faction holds a monopoly on a group of skills, quests, merchants, and other useful resources. Every level up is significant too, especially at the beginning.
The game is also very immersive with only minimal UI elements, a day and night cycle, and animations for mundane actions such as reading or eating. The world map is also deterministic and exploration is fantastic because of it, there are no chests with randomized loot based on the player's level like in so many other RPGs.
Gothic 2 is realistic in the best way possible because it enhances the gameplay to create a unique experience. The player starts at the bottom of the totem pole and is rewarded for exploiting the system as much as possible. So many fantasy stories, not just games, make the main character into a messiah who gets everything served on a silver platter and here comes Gothic 2 where the chosen of Innos has to start by doing manual labor for a bowl of soup. It's awesome.
On the downside, however, the game shows its age in some regards. Obviously graphics and character animations don't look so sharp anymore and the controls are a bit hard to get used to, english voice acting is also (in)famously bad and there are plenty of minor bugs. I don't personally mind the presentation because some of the visual UI tricks the title employs wouldn't work well with more realistic graphics, such as the subtle highlight for when you are looking at an interactive item, but the rest are valid concerns, especially the bugs.
To conclude, Gothic 2 is a fantastic game and a must play for RPG fans. I'm unsure if the Steam version is the best out of the box, but the answer to that probably requires being fluent in Polish.
P. S. I think you should play Gothic 1 first or a lot of references will fly over your head.