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Risen
Delve into a gritty, raw and atmospheric fantasy world in which every action has a consequence. In the epic world of Risen, filled with mysterious earthquakes, fearsome monsters and unimaginable treasures, forge your path with the sword, learn the art of staff fighting or become a powerful mage.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-08-31 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-12.
What reviewers agree on
48 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“---{Graphics}--- ☐ Its better than going outside of home ☑ Good ☐ Mid ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ---{Gameplay}--- ☑ One second is month of flying irl ☐ Good ☐ Mid ☐ Bad ☐ Starring at walls is better ---{Audio}---…”
“Great game, despite its age its still one of my favorites. [h3] Positives:[/h3] 1. Enjoyable and immersive story and dialogues (often I dont enjoy dialogues this much in RPGs, but in Pyranha Bytes games for some reason…”
11 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“7 out 10 for me. Game has plenty of charm, progression was rewarding, exploration felt great, until chapter 3 started... Everything that made 70% of the game amazing is thrown away in favor of fortress/tomb clearing…”
“Great game, despite its age its still one of my favorites. [h3] Positives:[/h3] 1. Enjoyable and immersive story and dialogues (often I dont enjoy dialogues this much in RPGs, but in Pyranha Bytes games for some reason…”
“Old School RPG greatness. If you want a game that starts you with literally nothing, and lets you become OP by the end, this game does that. There is some jank, can't lie about that, Piranha Bytes games are not for…”
8 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“---{Graphics}--- ☐ Its better than going outside of home ☑ Good ☐ Mid ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ---{Gameplay}--- ☑ One second is month of flying irl ☐ Good ☐ Mid ☐ Bad ☐ Starring at walls is better ---{Audio}---…”
“Great game, despite its age its still one of my favorites. [h3] Positives:[/h3] 1. Enjoyable and immersive story and dialogues (often I dont enjoy dialogues this much in RPGs, but in Pyranha Bytes games for some reason…”
“I really enjoyed playing Risen, especially as someone who has been a fan of the Gothic series since the beginning. I liked how the game was built to preserve many of the elements that made the older Gothic games special…”
6 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Great game, despite its age its still one of my favorites. [h3] Positives:[/h3] 1. Enjoyable and immersive story and dialogues (often I dont enjoy dialogues this much in RPGs, but in Pyranha Bytes games for some reason…”
“I really enjoyed playing Risen, especially as someone who has been a fan of the Gothic series since the beginning. I liked how the game was built to preserve many of the elements that made the older Gothic games special…”
“Such a nice game. No unnecessary mechanics. Great story, pacing, music and world design.”
4 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“---{Graphics}--- ☐ Its better than going outside of home ☑ Good ☐ Mid ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ---{Gameplay}--- ☑ One second is month of flying irl ☐ Good ☐ Mid ☐ Bad ☐ Starring at walls is better ---{Audio}---…”
14 of the 102 reviews raise this · 11 of them still recommend the game.
“Game is not bad, set FPS to 60 for better combat experiences. Dialog seems mature and sometimes funny. Hitboxes seem to be out of place which makes the combat suck enormous ass, enemies can oneshot you before you can do…”
“Old School RPG greatness. If you want a game that starts you with literally nothing, and lets you become OP by the end, this game does that. There is some jank, can't lie about that, Piranha Bytes games are not for…”
“Risen is a proper old-school RPG with rough edges & a dark vibe charm. You get dropped onto a dangerous island with almost no handholding & start with a bloody stick, progression uultiamtely feels earned. Exploration is…”
13 of the 102 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Game is not bad, set FPS to 60 for better combat experiences. Dialog seems mature and sometimes funny. Hitboxes seem to be out of place which makes the combat suck enormous ass, enemies can oneshot you before you can do…”
“7 out 10 for me. Game has plenty of charm, progression was rewarding, exploration felt great, until chapter 3 started... Everything that made 70% of the game amazing is thrown away in favor of fortress/tomb clearing…”
“tbh I wish I could have my 2$ and 19 hours of playtime back. Game is janky but nice until third chapter where all fun parts are throwed into the window and you must endure endless sequences of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ combat. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥…”
9 of the 102 reviews raise this · 7 of them still recommend the game.
“Game is not bad, set FPS to 60 for better combat experiences. Dialog seems mature and sometimes funny. Hitboxes seem to be out of place which makes the combat suck enormous ass, enemies can oneshot you before you can do…”
“7 out 10 for me. Game has plenty of charm, progression was rewarding, exploration felt great, until chapter 3 started... Everything that made 70% of the game amazing is thrown away in favor of fortress/tomb clearing…”
“In my opinion: One of the best RPGs from that era. From the story-line and in-game dynamics (involvement in factions, freedom of choice, etc.) a little less balanced than the Gothic-Saga and the story-line is a little…”
7 of the 102 reviews raise this · 6 of them still recommend the game.
“Game is not bad, set FPS to 60 for better combat experiences. Dialog seems mature and sometimes funny. Hitboxes seem to be out of place which makes the combat suck enormous ass, enemies can oneshot you before you can do…”
“It's hard, tedious, punishes every mistake and has clear design flaws that are now more visible than ever, since the game came out literally 17 years ago. Love it, though. ♥”
“im sorry, but thias game is probably amazing for it's stunning atmosphere (as people say), but because of the fighting system it turns into a ♥♥♥♥ on a unparried stick. UPD: wWhen you understand, how to grind your…”
7 of the 102 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Risen is a proper old-school RPG with rough edges & a dark vibe charm. You get dropped onto a dangerous island with almost no handholding & start with a bloody stick, progression uultiamtely feels earned. Exploration is…”
“This game was old when it came out so you can imagine that it did not withstand the test of time at all. The only thing holding the janky lines of code together is the power of nostalgia and I am all for it. I enjoyed…”
“[h1] "A Hidden Gem for RPG game" [/h1] [u] simplified Comment :[/u] The game is quite similiar to the 'The Witcher (2 or 3)' in the term of gameplay. The whole island as a map is quite sight as you traverse around it.…”
Counted across 102 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 88.8% positive rating · as of 2026-05-12
“So much better on the steam deck. I recently seen this game on sale so I decided to grab it. I knew it would be a little outdated but wanted to give it a try. So far I have not been disappointed. I initially tried it on my pc but it had that n64 feel so I decided to try it on my…”
— a player, Steam review · 121 hrs played“Risen is a classic, gritty fantasy RPG focused on exploration, factions, and tough combat and feels like a true spiritual successor to the Gothic series. It offers a strong old-school RPG feel, some meaningful faction choices, decent world design, and challenging combat that…”
— a player, Steam review · 42 hrs played“I bounced off piranha bytes hard after trying all the available demos (3 gothics and 2 risens). I don't mind jank but the useless quest, map without markers, no minimap and all the 'realism' I'm not looking for in video games pissed me off. and the non-realism of not showing…”
— a player, Steam review · 126 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-09-05.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-09-04). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Risen Patch & Ports live!
To celebrate the launch of Risen on modern consoles (PS4, Xbox One and Switch) we also gave this SKU here an update. The game now fully support DirectInput compatible gamepads (either use the launch o
Gothic Playable Teaser
Welcome to the colony, Risen fans! If you love Piranha Bytes RPGs then make sure to contain your joyous screams: The original Gothic is getting a makeover and coming back... as a playable teaser! If y
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-12.
| Genres | RPG |
| Player tags | RPG · Open World · Gothic · Fantasy · Adventure · Singleplayer · Atmospheric · Third Person · Exploration · Action · Magic · Dark Fantasy (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Full controller support · Steam Trading Cards · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * , French * , German * , Italian, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Russian * * |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 50 |
| Official site | http://www.thqnordic.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS *: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10/11 Processor: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD CPU 2 GHz or equivalent Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: 256 MB DirectX™ 9.0c compatible graphics card (nVidia® GeForce® 7900/ATI Radeon™ X1800 or better) DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 5 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX compatible