Tag: Sword & Sorcery

Gothic 1 Remake – Xardas trailer

Alkimia Interactive released a very stylized Gothic 1 Remake trailer a couple of days ago, featuring the mage Xardas explaining the state of the colony. And it looks very good, with the narration doing a great job of inviting you into the world of Gothic. However, I’m in the middle when it comes to remakes and remasters, as for many of us, we already know the story, with the gameplay feeling like old hat. Four times out of five, it’s the exact same game, just “visually improved”. Yet, even that aspect can come off as questionable at times…

As it is, with this remake, I’m honestly hyped. The demo was great, and while I know the story, I can’t help but feel excited to experience the struggle of the penal colony once again. Much thanks to Alkimia Interactive taking the job seriously, which comes through in their video dev logs. I was hoping Gothic 1 Remake would come out this year, but sadly, it has been set for release in early 2026, So a while until then. In the meantime, check out the cool trailer below:

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Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim – Playtest Impressions

If you are missing a comfy game like Majesty 2 in your life, I got a treat for you. Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim is a spiritual successor to Majesty 2 coming out this year according to Steam. I was invited to playtest the game, where I tried out three campaign missions and an endless mode. My first impressions are very positive. It retains that cozy approach to gaming where you just feel relaxed (just like Majesty 2), due to its presentation and gameplay. Even the original narrator returns! However, even perfect weather comes with a few clouds of rain.

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The Temple of Elemental Evil (Rediscovered)

I have been playing the semi-forgotten party based D&D RPG Temple of Elemental Evil from 2003 with the mods Temple+ (engine fixes) and Circle of Eight (more engine fixes, + extra game content). The reason I mention the mods so early in the article, is that when I played Temple of Elemental Evil the first time, none of these mods existed. And Temple of Elemental Evil was not a stable game, at all, at release. However, it showed serious potential, which these excellent modders saw and started to work on. These mods are now, as I can see it: essential. Temple+ for the numerous fixes, and Circle of Eight for the additional quests, that makes the first part of the game much more enjoyable.

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Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition – Impressions

I’m not a Neverwinter Nights 2 expert, since I never gave the original release much more than about twenty hours or so for the first main campaign. That’s a minuscule amount of time, considering the collection on GoG, and now this Enhanced Edition comes with several expansions, and a whole sea of player made custom adventures. However, I do know why I never finished it. It had camera issues, party-control felt messy, stuttering, questionable story beats, and overall jank that brought the experience down. It has always been my plan to play again one day though, so why not now when the golden opportunity presents itself? With that, the only question remains: has the Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition remedied any of my concerns?

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Lands Of Lore: The Throne of Chaos – Old Hag Terror

It was finally time to play and finish one of the classic RPG blobbers: namely Lands Of Lore – The Throne of Chaos by the legendary Westwood Studios. Now, while it’s certainly an RPG by design, I can’t help feeling that it plays more like an advanced adventure title, than a “true” RPG. This might sound heretical to some, and I don’t blame the people throwing that word my way. However, I felt it lacked story decisions when it comes to the plot, stats to gawk at, and character building when it comes to the combat.

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