Next-Gen Reviews

It is important to keep close to any NPC you may come across at first, as they are likely to aid you in battle and you will experience a much less frustrating time whilst playing Risen 3.

 

Even when the game is set to an easy difficulty (this can be changed in the settings at any time, so long as you are not in battle), the game is not friendly to anyone who has not yet picked up on the combat system. For awhile, you will be majorly under-powered and lacking skills and this is where dodging and parrying will become your best and only friend. Each battle will take a long, long time doing this, but it's a lot easier than constantly dying. And, if you haven't saved recently, you will have lost all of your progress since the last auto save which adds to the already frustrating gameplay.

 

You do have things like rum (GENIUS!) to heal yourself with during battles, as well as provisions that will slowly increase your health over time. These can be set to hot keys making them easier to access and use. However, they're pricey, so you have to be sure to loot any and everything you kill as well as visit camp site fires often to “cook” any raw meat you have picked up.

 

Your currency is gold and can be found on the ground, in homes and sometimes in fires, and since these are few and far between, be sure to speak with vendors (aka: everyone you speak with in this game) to sell any junk you may have.

 

Killing enemies also produces “glory”, which will be your currency to purchase upgrades to attributes such as; melee, ranged, cunning, influence and so on. Each time you upgrade a slot, you will notice that the cost increases by leaps and bounds, making it difficult for you to improve your character's combat skills quickly. As mentioned above, quests will also produce glory as well as gold, thus making doing each tedious task worthwhile to some degree. The minimap and standard map are both extremely well done and excellent at keeping you on point for quest objectives.

 

The graphics are sub-par for a game released in this day and age. Each island visited is pretty unique and decently thought-through, at least. Viewing distance is sketchy if you try to look out at the oceans or too far ahead in general because you’re greeted by the very frustrating…. Pop-in. The character designs are not that great and the fact that a character creation does not exist is a downer. One positive to everything is that the game does change the appearance of clothing, weapons, etc. as you upgrade them.

 

Risen 3 does an excellent job of helping players remember what buttons do what, even after the tutorial. For example, if something is attacking you and you don't know it, you will be shown text in the upper left hand corner telling you to draw your weapon etc…

 

Unfortunately, multiplayer mode is not an option for Risen which would have been great!  It would have been nice to share the frustrating and infuriating gameplay that Risen 3 has to offer, but hey-ho.

 

Overall, Risen 3 is very disappointing. The player will find themselves dying numerous times and becoming very frustrated before they get to the point of being powerful enough to survive on their own and enjoy the game. Visually, Risen 3 looks pretty bad and the voice acting is very bland. Controls for thegame are very easy to pick up and remember, and the game helps the player out with constant small reminders as they go along. However, Risen 3 is lacking in nearly every area of the game and it totally ruins the experience for RPG and gaming fans alike.

 

 

4/10