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This is why I love Risen 2

Belboz

Literate
Joined
Mar 31, 2021
Messages
18
A warning, to the reader, the naysayer, the skeptic... THIS IS WAR!

Just kidding. And with that said... I don't claim that Risen 2 is better than Gothic (1 or 2 is the same) or that the best installment of the series, but I really love this game.

In an RPG world full of drama, in which you are the overly serious Geralt of Rivia – implied in an overly serious political struggle or in an epic search for a sassy 'princess'; in which you are the Shepard of the Galaxy or the mighty Dovahkiin, it is pretty refreshing to be an almost 'normal' guy, with an eyepatch, with an obnoxious fiancee and an “epic mission” which is NEVER taken too seriously.

I love to hate Patty, because she is the 'romantic' interest which never falls in love with the protagonist (and she also mocks you, the scoundrel!), and so it is an immense satisfaction to make her toil in the kitchen in Puerto Sacarico, provided you have enough oratory skill... because dialogue skills matters in Risen 2.
I love some of the companion: the confused Bones, the tribal girl, and the vulgar Jaffar. I especially love his cursing, the nose scrubbing and his “stupid” Auri Culci quest, a meta joke to all the “epic” missions in most RPGs.

Graphic wise, Risen 2 is still amazing today (just forget the faces). It has a beautiful day-night cicle, with thunderous stormy effect and beautiful waves crashing on the beach. Every TINY island is full of nook and crannies and it is a joy to explore. A truly “hand-crafted” experience in stark contrast with a scenario full of open world, “rich” of copy-pasted locations (yes, Skyrim, I'm talkin about your Dewmer's ruins). The OST is wonderful. Sadly, Kai Rosenkranz is not on board this time, but every piece of music is a treat to listen and it is immensely atmosferic.

In terms of gameplay, Risen 2 offers more than any contemporary RPGs. We have two distinct way to roleplay our experience: we can be a 'mindless' rifleman or a Voodoo expert, in which case we can resolve the main mission in most cerebral ways (se Sebastiano's main quest in Puerto Isabella). I also love the way in which we can customize our avatar: it may not seems much, but if compared to the +5% increments granted by almost every skills in Wild Hunt, it is immensely pleasurable to send out our monkey to distract some guards, or to plunder some otherwise inaccessible loot. I never take pickpocket in any RPGs, but the rewards in Risen 2 are well worth the GLORY investment.

I love the cursing, the pirate vibe...I also love the main antagonist and the fact that the NPCs refer to her as a bitch. Not to mention, that the final boss battle is one if not the most satisfying Piranha Bytes has ever made.
And, of course, I love Steelbeard. He is a bit cartoonish, but he oath moment is highly reminescent of the oath of fire in the first Gothic, and a pleasure to behold. Steelbeard is also a buffoon, but he goes off with a bang, reclaiming his dignity.

Risen 2 has also no (insert a random curse of your choice) random loot: every chest is worth opening because it can contain useful crafting material (never too abundant) or a part of a mighty sword. The combat system is not particularly evolved, but mastering parry and riposte can give a bit of welcome strategy, if melee is you primary choice, and the voodoo charms work like... charm! Ahem! Pistols and muskets are also fine, and perfectly viable.

So, in conclusion, it is no Gothic or Risen (the first, obviously), but Risen 2 is a fun solid game, underrated and unfairly slandered.
 

Lord_Potato

Arcane
Glory to Ukraine
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
9,837
Location
Free City of Warsaw
It's funny, I give you that. Jaffar is fucking great. Combat is better than in 3 (no stupid leap attacks). Removal of actual factions is painful, but in 3 they made factions meaningless (they all have some access to magic and don't compete or struggle with each other, just fight the grand evil collectively).

However I do not agree about the tone of the game. It may very well be much darker than Witcher actually. In Witcher's world lots of ugly shit happens but humanity is not at the brink of total anihilation. In Risens humanity lost the war to the Titans and is in full retreat. The seas are empty because most ships were already sunk. The last big city on the mainland is besieged by Titans and hellish fires.

Despite the humor in Risen 2 you feel humanity is at its last legs and you can't really change that much. Sure, you can kill Mara and her sea monster but she is just one Titan out of many. More will come to exterminate the last remnants of civilization.
 

Cunt Dickula!?

Guest
Every TINY island is full of nook and crannies and it is a joy to explore. A truly “hand-crafted” experience in stark contrast with a scenario full of open world, “rich” of copy-pasted locations (yes, Skyrim, I'm talkin about your Dewmer's ruins)
That's sadly a false dichotomy you have to create to give Risen 2 points in this area when we already have seen in Gothic 1, Gothic 2, Risen 1 and lately ELEX that hand crafted open worlds are very well achievable.
And this was the main point why Risen 2 failed for me as exploring a detailed, well thought-out open world is the whole thing with PB games.

But the setting and characters are really refreshing for an rpg. I have to give em that.
Risen 2 is also one of the few rpgs where economy works great as skills and equipment are expensive enough that you never have enough money.
This helps with the pirate setting as every found treasure really helps to progress your character.

All in all its clearly the worst piranha bytes game but i too thought that its still enjoyable enough.
 

Belboz

Literate
Joined
Mar 31, 2021
Messages
18
I'm considering to give this game a second chance. Good job, Belboz.
I hope you will enjoy it.

...

However I do not agree about the tone of the game. It may very well be much darker than Witcher actually. In Witcher's world lots of ugly shit happens but humanity is not at the brink of total anihilation. In Risens humanity lost the war to the Titans and is in full retreat. The seas are empty because most ships were already sunk. The last big city on the mainland is besieged by Titans and hellish fires.
...
It may... but it never shows: pirates wander about, minding their own business, counting sugar packs and cursing. The tone is almost always light; even the death of a major character is immediately forgotten.

Witcher 3 has pires, shows main NPCs impaled (if you make the “wrong” choice), has undead fetus and so much more. It is more darker and it shows the tolls of the war. Look at the Velen region and its gallows, the fields full of corpses.

Every TINY island is full of nook and crannies and it is a joy to explore. A truly “hand-crafted” experience in stark contrast with a scenario full of open world, “rich” of copy-pasted locations (yes, Skyrim, I'm talkin about your Dewmer's ruins)
That's sadly a false dichotomy you have to create to give Risen 2 points in this area when we already have seen in Gothic 1, Gothic 2, Risen 1 and lately ELEX that hand crafted open worlds are very well achievable.
And this was the main point why Risen 2 failed for me as exploring a detailed, well thought-out open world is the whole thing with PB games.
...
You are absolutely right.
For that precise reason I compared Risen 2 to Bethesda and CD Projekt Red's open worlds.
Even if I've not played Elex, yet, Gothic I, II and the first Risen have better open maps. That's for sure.
 

Mauman

Learned
Joined
Jun 30, 2021
Messages
909
I legitimately like Risen 2.

Is it perfect? Oh hell no. But I still found it fun and charming none the less.
 

HoboForEternity

sunset tequila
Patron
Joined
Mar 27, 2016
Messages
9,176
Location
Disco Elysium
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I legitimately like Risen 2.

Is it perfect? Oh hell no. But I still found it fun and charming none the less.
PB NEVER made a bad game. Mediocre ones? Yes. Straight up bad? No. ( or at least in gothic 3 case i never played without unofficial patch so i can't comment on the quality of vanilla g3 that i heard is broken to this day)
 

Doktor Best

Arcane
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
2,849
Everytime Piranha Bytes is mentioned someone is gushing HARD about one specific entry and it makes me want to install and play a pb game.

No other gamedev does that for me.

And yes Risen2 is underrated. Flawed but a fun time nonetheless. I'd put it on par with Elex.
 

ELEXmakesMeHard

Learned
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
807
Questionable 'Liquid Courage' trainer

Screenshot-2022-01-07-154435.jpg
 

Roguey

Codex Staff
Staff Member
Sawyerite
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
35,660


My favorite bit of bad localization because apparently both the English voice actor and director nodded along with what was written. It's possible they may have asked "Shouldn't this be changed?" and were told no. :lol:
 

ELEXmakesMeHard

Learned
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
807


My favorite bit of bad localization because apparently both the English voice actor and director nodded along with what was written. It's possible they may have asked "Shouldn't this be changed?" and were told no. :lol:


I see the cum-guzzling trainer of questionable virtue (from my post above) is the only audience :M
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath


My favorite bit of bad localization because apparently both the English voice actor and director nodded along with what was written. It's possible they may have asked "Shouldn't this be changed?" and were told no. :lol:

Aren't Piranha Bytes German? The word order is the same in German - Ich habe nicht genug Gold. So what localization messed this up? ;d
 

Doktor Best

Arcane
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
2,849
Its PB guys. They pay the localization with the money thats left in the coffee fund box.
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
7,308
I played it twice and enjoyed most of it both times. Second time even more because voodoo path turned out to be more fun. I'm actually getting an itch lately to replay Risen 1 and 2. 3 is the one I cannot stand. Made two attempts to play it and uninstalled very fast both times. It just felt very off-putting.
 

adddeed

Arcane
Possibly Retarded
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
1,473
Risen 2 is one of PB's best games. All of their games are superior to other RPGs, but after Elex Risen 2 is probably my favorite.
 

Nikanuur

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Mar 1, 2021
Messages
1,489
Location
Ngranek
But Risen II doesn't have Bones. That's like THE most serious flaw a Piranha game can have :smug: I mean, truly, why is there no Bones reference in any of earlier or latter Piranha games? That's an outrage :argh:
 

Zlaja

Arcane
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Messages
5,683
Location
Swedex
I'm actually getting an itch lately to replay Risen 1 and 2. 3 is the one I cannot stand. Made two attempts to play it and uninstalled very fast both times. It just felt very off-putting

There's barelly anything Risen 2 does better than Risen 3. It's actually R3 that's the underrated game around here.

Risen 3 has better combat (or less shitty might be a better way to put it), world design, actual factions which provide more replayability than R2, more loot/skills, similar humor/voodoo pranks as R2, Patty has bigger tits etc. But hey, let's pretend R2 is a better game simply because the game scratches people's itch for pirate-themed stuff more. Also, some people seem butthurt about the protagonist in R3, but I kinda liked his asshole attitude.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
7,308
There's barelly anything Risen 2 does better than Risen 3. It's actually R3 that's the underrated game around here.

Risen 3 has better combat (or less shitty might be a better way to put it), world design, actual factions which provide more replayability than R2, more loot/skills, similar humor/voodoo pranks as R2, Patty has bigger tits etc. But hey, let's pretend R2 is a better game simply because the game scratches people's itch for pirate-themed stuff more. Also, some people seem butthurt about the protagonist in R3, but I kinda liked his asshole attitude.

I don't give a shit. I tried Risen 3 twice and it was fucking unbearable. From ear bleeding voice of main character to some of the ugliest looking bloom ever, it was a completely off-putting game right from the start. It makes no difference to me whether Risen 2 is better or worse than 3, it's the one I could enjoy while I couldn't stand the other. Also, Patty model is not an improvement in any way in R3, it was one of the things I thought was retarded about it. I don't play video games to jerk off.
 
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adddeed

Arcane
Possibly Retarded
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
1,473
Risen 2 is awesome. I also didnt finish Risen 3 for some reason even though it was a competent game.
 

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