History VideoGame / Risen

* XMarksTheSpot: Literally. After you get a hold of a treasure map, location of the treasure will be marked with large X on the ground.

Developed by German developer Piranha Bytes, ''Risen'' is a third-person WesternRPG released in 2009. It is '''very''' similar to the games of the ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'' series made by the developers before they left their former publisher and lost the rights to the franchises name. One of its signature elements is the combat system: You can parry weapons, dodge, and break the enemy's guard, similar to a fighting game. The game is somewhat similar in nature to that of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', but instead of everything being randomly generated (leaving you to the mercy of [[DynamicDifficulty level scaling]]), everything is hand-placed by the developers, and leveling is accomplished by paying trainers to slowly raise your stats. This approach in execution makes leveling up feel more like a real accomplishment rather than flipping a flag that gives you [[PossessionImpliesMastery instant mastery]] over all types of weapons, as is usual in this genre.

The sequel, titled ''Risen 2: Dark Waters'' continues a story from the first game with the same protagonist. This time he tries to stop Titan Lords from awakening Titans who lay the world to waste. It takes place in a tropical setting (read:WelcomeToTheCaribbeanMon) and introduces several new elements, like firearms. ''Risen 3: Titan Lords'' was released in 2014, starring a new protagonist.

* TakeYourTime: Common in all three ''Risen'' games, but especially {{egregious}} here because your companions will tell you all day how important it is for you to quickly gain back your soul unless you wanna end up as a mindless minion. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation There's never any real urgency to your quest, might as well idle and complete all the optional side content]].

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the third game, where you can swim to your heart's content, the only limitations being that you will be bounced back if you go a certain distance from the shore, and you can't dive.

* MoneySink: Notably absent. While you can splurge on the better equipment pieces, you can also skip and save the money. By joining the Inquisition or Mage factions, you get your armor for free; the best weapons can be found or crafted. However, in the end, you will end up with tens of thousands of gold coins with nothing to spend on, [[spoiler:unless you exploit a [[GoodBadBugs|GoodBadBug]] and use them to buy experience points.]]

* SpiritualSequel: ''Risen'' is essentially ''Gothic IV'' with all the names changed thanks to some (now resolved) legal shenanigans between developer Piranha Bytes and publisher [=JoWood=].[[labelnote:some explanation]] After the lackluster reception of Gothic 3, Piranha Bytes and [=JoWood=] decided to split up and go seperate ways. The contract between them specified that [=JoWood=] had the rights to ''Gothic''.[[/labelnote]]

The sequel, titled ''Risen 2: Dark Waters'' continues a story from the first game with the same protagonist. This time he tries to stop Titan Lords from awakening Titans who lay the world to waste. It takes place in a tropical setting (read:WelcomeToTheCaribbeanMon) and introduces several new elements, like firearms. ''Risen 3: Titan Lords'' was released in 2014..

* AllMonksKnowKungFu: There's even a clifftop monastery, where... well, you get the idea.

* BeefGate: You can generally get a good idea of where you're ''not'' supposed to be on the island by whether or not the enemies in the area can one-shot you.

*** Technically you can explore 90% of the island before joining any faction and clear out all monsters and loot (including weapons) from there, you don't have acces to advanced training (which is crucial) and armor (even more so) though so accomplishing this requires exploting all the tricks you can think of and even then it is a trully masochistic task.

* CharacterClassSystem: Each of the three factions fill one of the traditional fantasy class niches. The [[GoodIsNotNice Bandits]] represent warriors, the [[TakeAThirdOption Order of the Holy Flame]] represents mages, and [[KnightTemplar the Inquisition]] is a mix of the two.

* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: Played straight. If you go the Bandit route, early on you will be asked to hand over a very decent sword. You can keep it, but at the cost of seriously pissing off several important [=NPCs=] (hint: it's not worth it).
** Elaborating on the "it's not worth it", the sword is of little use in combat, as it can quickly be replaced by better weapons. Despite being made of gold, it can't be sold because of its SwordOfPlotAdvancement status, and so you'll end up angering [=NPCs=] for nothing.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Actually, one of the central premises of the game. [[spoiler:Mendoza's Ocular enables its wearer to ''see'' (and thus fight) the Titans]].

* GraveRobbing: Annoyingly, you need to do it to advance the main questline and most graves contain nothing but deathtraps.

** There is the chance to [[TakeAThirdOption join a third faction]], but it requires earning enough favor with both of the previous factions to enter the main city undetected, and then prove your worthiness to the third faction before UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar faction forces you to join them.

* InfinityMinusOneSword: Several, actually (i.e. the Titan weapons). There's one for every possible weapon spec.

* ItemCrafting: You can craft your own weapons and jewelry.

* MoneySink: Some of the better equipment pieces and high-level skills can burn quite a hole in your pocket unless you're very compulsive about hoarding treasure.

* OurGnomesAreWeirder: Small, funny UglyCute creatures, who love nothing more than taking things, wether it's by scavenging, theft or by force. When they attack you they throw random things, including fish.
* OurOgresAreHungrier: Big and strong, speak slowly, claim to have no real interest in gold [[GameplayAndStorySegregation while charging the player a fortune for training.]]
** It's justified, though. They need to pay the butcher's shop.
* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: The only way to determine that a given enemy is way beyond your level is to start hacking away and monitor its healthbar. Unless it drops noticeably, you now have a life expectancy of about 1.2 seconds.

* SpiritualSequel: ''Risen'' is essentially ''Gothic IV'' with all the names changed thanks to some (now resolved) legal shenanigans between developer Piranha Bytes and publisher [=JoWood=].[[labelnote:some explanation]] After the lackluster reception of Gothic 3, Piranha Bytes and [=JoWood=] decided to split up and go their seperate ways. The contract between them specified that [=JoWood=] had the rights to ''Gothic''.[[/labelnote]]

* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Justified. You cannot wield ogre clubs (too big), and Saurian swords (also not meant for humans) require a strength level disproportionate to their effectiveness.

* ChargedAttack: Melee attacks can be charged for a really long time, which makes the fights look like BulletTime sometimes.

* ElementalPunch: The main spells cost nothing and can be chained in combos like melee attacks. The only difference to melee is that they can hit multiple targets.
* FlunkyBoss: The Shadow Lords, [[spoiler:Nekroloth]].

* MagicKnight: Guardians

* GreyAndGreyMorality: The two main factions are a group of fanatical KnightTemplar and a bandit clan. You ''have'' to side with one of them. Though the Bandits have a bit of a moral edge due to the fact that [[spoiler:the Bandit leader is the rightful ruler of the island who was ousted by the {{Knight Templar}}s.]]

* GoodBadBugs: Due to the way the game is programmed, [=NPCs=] can kill a defeated enemy while yelling "You die!", and moments later claim that they'll find the one responsible for the murder.

!! Sequel contains examples of:

** There is the chance to [[TakeAThirdOption join a third faction]], but it requires earning enough favor with both of the previous factions to enter the main city undetected, and then prove your worthiness to the third faction before the KnightsTemplar faction forces you to join them.

Developed by German developer Pirahna Bytes, ''Risen'' is a third-person WesternRPG released in 2009. It is '''very''' similar to the games of the ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'' series made by the developers before they left their former publisher and lost the rights to the franchises name. One of its signature elements is the combat system: You can parry weapons, dodge, and break the enemy's guard, similar to a fighting game. The game is somewhat similar in nature to that of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', but instead of everything being randomly generated (leaving you to the mercy of [[DynamicDifficulty level scaling]]), everything is hand-placed by the developers, and leveling is accomplished by paying trainers to slowly raise your stats. This approach in execution makes leveling up feel more like a real accomplishment rather than flipping a flag that gives you [[PossessionImpliesMastery instant mastery]] over all types of weapons, as is usual in this genre.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: The two main factions are a group of fanatical KnightTemplar and a bandit clan. You ''have'' to side with one of them. Though the Bandits have a bit of a moral edge due to the fact that [[spoiler:the Bandit leader is the rightful ruler of the island who was ousted by the {{Knight Templar}}s.]]
** There is the chance to [[TakeAThirdOption join a third faction]], but it requires earning enough favor with both of the previous factions to enter the main city undetected, and then prove your worthiness to the third faction before the KnightsTemplar faction forces you to join them.

** Elaborating on the "it's not worth it", the sword is of little use in combat, as it can quickly be replaced by better weapons. Despite being made of gold, it can't be sold because of its SwordOfPlotAdvancement status, and so you'll end up pissing NPCs for nothing.

* AcrophobicBird: The Sea Vultures. Incidentally, there aren't really flying enemies in the game, just giant moths that hover above the ground.

** Most two handed swords count, but the absolute king of this trope in Risen is Titanwing, the best sword in the game, which is hinted to be ForgedByTheGods before they forcefully left the planet.

* SuperDrowningSkills: Anything beyond waist-deep water, and you either sink and wash over to the nearest shore, or get swallowed by a giant worm-thing [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartmentand wash over to the nearest shore]]. Really more of a sandboxing mechanism.

*** Tevhnically you can explore 90% of the island before joining any faction and clear out all monsters and loot (including weapons) from there, you don't have acces to advanced training (which is crucial) and armor (even more so) though so accomplishing this requires exploting all the tricks you can think of and even then it is a trully masochistic task.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: You need it to damage the BigBad.
* InWorkingOrder: All the levers, buttons, drawbridges and ''especially'' deathtraps function perfectly despite the dilapidated and partially collapsed state of the underground temples in which they're found.

* SuperDrowningSkills: Anything beyond waist-deep water, and you either sink and wash over to the nearest shore, or get swallowed by a giant worm-thing and wash over to the nearest shore. Really more of a sandboxing mechanism.

* TooAwesomeToUse: Most potent magic scrolls, if you don't actually level magic. [[spoiler:TheDragon is pathetically weak and the BigBad is immune to magic anyway so you're quite likely to never use those Inferno scrolls you've hoarded...]]

* WeBuyAnything: And I do mean ''anything''! The poorest peasant can and will take any amount of treasure off your hands. Unlike in early ''Gothic'', no NPC ever runs out of money.

Developed by German developer Pirahna Bytes, ''Risen'' is a third-person WesternRPG released in 2009. It is '''very''' similar to the games of the ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'' series made by the developers before they left their former publisher and lost the rights to the franchises name. One of its signature elements is the combat system: You can parry weapons, dodge, and break the enemy's guard, similar to a fighting game. The game is somewhat similar in nature to that of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', but instead of everything being randomly generated (leaving you to the mercy of [[DynamicDifficulty level scaling]]), everything is hand-placed by the developers, and leveling is accomplished by paying trainers to slowly raise your stats. This approach in execution makes leveling up feel more like a real accomplishment rather than flipping a flag that gives you [[PossessionImpliesMastery instant mastery]] over all types of weapons, as is usual in this genre. Reviews for this game were generally positive for the PC, but the Xbox360 port received mixed reviews.

The sequel, titled ''Risen 2: Dark Waters'' continues a story from the first game with the same protagonist. This time he tries to stop Titan Lords from awakening Titans who lay the world to waste. It takes place in a tropical setting (read:WelcomeToTheCaribbeanMon) and introduces several new elements, like firearms. The reception, from both critics and fans, for the PC release was not as positive as with the original, and the console ports received a much more negative reaction. ''Risen 3: Titan Lords'' was released in 2014 and had a similarly mixed reception, albeit it was much better received than Dark Waters.

** Take a stroll along a beach and you'll soon run into some [[GiantEnemyCrab Giant Enemy Crabs]]. You can indeed flip them over (by kicking them) to [[AttackItsWeakPoint attack their weak points]] [[ForMassiveDamage for massive damage]].

* CaptainErsatz: ''The entire game world'' is ''Gothic'' with the serial numbers filed off. This is taken to the point where there is ''nothing'' stopping it from taking place in the same world beyond ([[http://www.gothicz.net/serie-gothic/mike-hoge-talks-about-gothic/ now non-existent]]) legal reasons. [[spoiler: The backstory of the game is also very similar to one of the endings of ''Gothic 3''.]]

* CaptainErsatz: ''The entire game world'' is ''Gothic'' with the serial numbers filed off. This is taken to the point where there is ''nothing'' stopping it from taking place in the same world beyond ([[http://www.gothicz.net/serie-gothic/mike-hoge-talks-about-gothic/ now non-existent]]) legal reasons.
** [[spoiler: The backstory of the game is similar to one of the endings of ''Gothic 3''.]]

* SpiritualSequel: ''Risen'' is essentially ''Gothic IV'' with all the names changed thanks to the developers getting ScrewedByTheNetwork.
** There was no network Screw. At one point, Piranha Bytes and [=JoWood=] were practically the same company, but [=JoWood=] was unhappy at the bad release version of ''Gothic 3''. They apparently decided to go their seperate ways at least politely, if not happily. The contract between them specified that [=JoWood=] had the rights to ''Gothic''.

* EyepatchOfPower: The protagonist sports one. [[spoiler: It hides the Mendoza's Ocular]]. Also Steelbeard.
** Actually the ocular had to be removed (along with the hero eye) because of the curse that was on it, still when people comment about it they seem to think that is a sgn of a true badass rather than a handicap.

* Shout Out: Cassandra says that archivist's job is boring, but the [[Series/TheXFiles 'X Section']] of the Caldera archive provides a interesting read.

** A borderline example, as he is a brother of an important NPC from the previous two games and a son of a famous pirate leader that plays an important role in the second installment, so players who played 'Risen' and 'Riosen 2' are familiar with at least his family.