Gothic 1 Remake PS5 Review: The Gothic 1 Remake had me instantly intrigued when it was announced, not only because I knew it as a cult classic RPG, but also because I had never played the original myself. As such, this remake seemed like a great opportunity to catch up on this iconic part of video game history. As you might well expect then, my review comes from the perspective of someone who is new to Gothic.
Performance Woes
First, let me address the biggest problem – the technical performance of the remake, especially as it pertains to PS5 and PS5 Pro. The full release looks and runs just as bad as the PS5 demo did. Many textures look reminiscent of the PS4 era, the game runs at max 30 FPS on PS5 and PS5 Pro, there is no performance mode and there are constant texture/shadow pop-ins. Overall it runs like a poorly optimized PS4 game from 13 years ago. For a modern day graphical remake, the bare minimum expectation should be acceptable graphics with 60 fps support, otherwise why even bother remaking this in the first place. The Gothic 1 Remake falls far short of that baseline.
Beyond the graphical issues, I also ran into audio issues immediately. During dialogue I would hear voices overlapping. Other times background music was playing so loud I could barely hear a word (but fixable with adjusting audio settings). Eventually the audio glitched out and the game went completely mute. Rebooting the game fixed it for a while but I ran into the same issue again five minutes later. This seems especially bad in the “Old Camp” right near the start of the game where a larger number of NPCs congregate.
The remake runs on Unreal Engine 5, which hasn’t typically translated that well to console and especially base PS5. Whatever the issue might be with the Gothic 1 Remake however, there seems to be a fundamental limitation with the game’s core graphics code. I briefly tested the free demo on PC to compare, and even with all settings cranked to the highest, I got the same texture/shadow pop-ins on PC. So yeah, something is pretty broken here.
That said, it’s not so bad that it’d be unplayable. It just takes some getting used to. If you stand still the graphics actually look pretty good, especially the environments in the far distance. The characters also look good enough during dialogue, but as soon as you make fast movements, the washed-out textures coupled with the 30 FPS limit will be off-putting to a lot of players, especially those who care about graphics.
If you have a good PC, I would recommend avoiding the console version and playing the game on PC for 60 FPS and more graphics options. It’s one of the worst performing PS5 games I have seen in comparison to the PC build.
Redeeming Qualities
Underneath the graphical issues however, sits an interesting game with deeply immersive gameplay. The remake is unapologetically holding on to its roots: there are no quest markers, combat is punishing, and dialogue choices can result in your death if you anger the wrong people. I love all that.
Modern games have gotten players used to maximum handholding with waypoints and clearly signposted paths, but what makes an adventure is to find your own path. That’s how memorable experiences are made and the Gothic 1 Remake feels like a blast from the past in that regard. The game starts with you needing to join one of the three camps. You have to figure out for yourself where to go and who to talk to – although some friendly travellers will point you in the right direction. You need to listen to dialogues attentively to get hints on what to do next. If you skip dialogues, you’ll have a bad time. I quickly realized I should write down the names of people to talk to. It felt a little bit like doing detective work. It can be easy to get lost and not every modern gamer will appreciate this, especially new players not familiar with the original. That said, if you are having a troubling time, there are always walkthroughs to fall back on.
Combat feels simplistic, yet difficult. You die in two to three hits even on the easiest difficulty. There is an optional permadeath mode which will be a fun challenge. Getting better gear is essential – as is timing your attacks and not getting surrounded.
I also enjoyed the music very much, especially at Old Camp. Each area has a distinct background music that really adds to the uniqueness of that particular locale.
Overall, if you are a big fan of the original 2001 Gothic and you can look past the technical performance, the Gothic 1 Remake is certainly worth a look. For new players, it’s hard to recommend the PS5 version in its current state, and if you have the option you’re better off with the PC version instead.
Gothic 1 Remake is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X and PC.
Review copy was kindly provided by the publisher.