The Gothic 1 remake is a love letter to classic RPGs

RPGs come in all shapes and sizes – some are light-hearted and whimsical, while others focus on dark, blood-soaked battles and heavily political narratives with warring groups and corrupt powers. Unsurprisingly, the Gothic 1 remake falls into the latter camp.

Rebuilding the classic 2001 RPG from the ground up, the Gothic 1 remake is vibrant, intricate, and a delight to explore, even as someone who hasn’t played the original game – yet. Here’s Kyusai’s full, spoiler-free Gothic 1 remake review, completed on PlayStation 5.

Dark and mysterious

The 2026 iteration of Gothic 1 is a detailed remake of the 2001 RPG, giving new players the chance to experience the Valley of the Mines and veterans an opportunity to sharpen their blades on monster skulls once more.

It’s a dark and magical RPG with spell-slinging, swamp magic, and an in-depth narrative; while I can’t speak to how faithful of a remake it is as someone who hadn’t played the original beforehand, I can confidently say that it feels like a love letter to a niche era of RPGs, highlighting what makes the genre so compelling.

In Gothic 1, you play as an unnamed, fairly standard action RPG hero; you’re called Hero or referred to as the Nameless Hero, you’re a little clueless, and you’re decently capable in a fight. 

I wasn’t too sure how I felt about the blank slate approach to a protagonist, but after digging into the game’s chapters and getting a feel for the narrative style, it felt like a brilliant foundation to expand upon. 

In my playthrough, I opted for the subtle and stylish approach of “find a big weapon, smash monster in the face,” as combat in the Gothic 1 remake felt somewhat slow but satisfying once I’d gotten the hang of it. Movement did admittedly feel a little clunky in places, but largely, it was solid. 

I also enjoyed the fact that fighting felt punishing in the earlier stages of the game. Often, I find remakes of classic games veer towards more challenging experiences, and while Gothic 1 wasn’t brutal by any means, it had a satisfying difficulty curve.

I spent my first gameplay session running from location to location, hoping to get a feel for the game’s aesthetics and map, and promptly got beaten to a pulp by the local flora and fauna, encouraging me to skill up and think about my gear before continuing with my quests and the main campaign. 

A classic fantasy world

The story in the Gothic 1 remake is what hooked me from the jump. The visuals are gorgeous, and the combat was decently tactile, if a little heavy, but the world-building and narrative design stood out as the strong points of Gothic 1. 

Knowing that I’d be reviewing this game before checking out the original title, I tried to keep my initial gameplay session as blind as possible, only looking at the core details about the 2001 title before starting – I did then do a deep-dive into the original title afterwards so I could get a feel for the lore.

As a brand new Gothic 1 player, the story was intriguing. I’d been expecting a standard “go on quest, kill dragon, king/wizard/hermit is evil” vibe, but was surprised to find out that the game featured a seemingly lawless prison colony, split into multiple camps and infested with all manner of creepies and crawlies. 

The dialogue felt interesting and well-written, too. Almost every interaction provided me with a barrage of dialogue options to pick from, and characters were well-rounded, each with their own intentions and background. I particularly liked seeing the various tattoos, armor styles, and jewellery pieces that characters wore. 

I found the cutscenes to be a mixed bag, though. The game had a habit of pulling the camera towards a character and locking me into a cutscene when I wasn’t expecting it; logically, this made sense as there weren’t always clear indications of who to speak to, but it did feel immersion-breaking in some instances.

Characters could also get stuck at slightly weird angles during these cutscenes, too. There was one instance where an NPC was walking through a door when the cutscene triggered, meaning he spoke to me over his shoulder, clipping slightly into his armour. It wasn’t a massive issue, but it looked a little clunky in places.

Outside of these minor complaints, though, the performance of the Gothic 1 remake was generally solid, with breathtaking visuals, no major instances of frame drops or strange textures, and a pleasant user experience.

The Gothic 1 remake is a behemoth of an RPG – the game’s store listings note it as being around 50 hours in length, roughly, but I think you could spend far more time with the game, particularly as a completionist or explorer who enjoys taking pretty screenshots.

I found the experience of playing through Gothic 1’s remake to be a delight. The world was expansive and peppered with interesting quests, wicked monsters, and well-written characters, and while there were a few minor elements like cutscenes that felt somewhat clunky, I had a blast with the game.

I can’t speak to how the game lives up to the original title fully – although the remake has motivated me to explore the Gothic franchise – but I can confirm that it’s a joy to experience as someone new to the series. 

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