10 Severely Underrated RPGs You Need To Check Out

4. Risen

"So if Gothic 2 was such a big deal back in the day, what happened to its developers afterwards?" I hear you ask. The answer is Risen and its sequels, which sadly became more forgettable with each successive game. The original Risen, however, was an interesting RPG set on a mediterranean-style island where long-dormant titans have re-awoken and blah-blah high-fantasy-guff blah-blah.

While the story is forgettable, the unique setting, level of character customisation and plenty of meaningful dialogue options that shape your character make Risen worthy of checking out. The unique Sicily-style island offers a solid blend of pretty summer-holiday scenery and devious trap-filled dungeons. In this, and every other way, Risen is pretty much a fully-checked checklist of everything an RPG should be - open, mysterious and customisable - while not doing anything particularly unique or progressive.

A game doesn't need to be revolutionary to be enjoyable, so unless you have that unreasonably lofty expectation, you could happily sink plenty of hours into this spiritual successor to Gothic. Risen is currently available to buy at GOG.com.

Contributor
Contributor

Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.