The legendary role-playing game Gothic is now a real MMO – just not officially. Fans have expanded the world and the game with a multiplayer mode. And MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus now fears for his free time because of this.
If you don’t know Gothic: the game from the German studio Piranha Bytes is considered one of the most popular role-playing games, at least in Germany. As the nameless hero, you complete quests, fight against gods and dragons. Summarizing the entire story would exceed the scope here.
The game became popular mainly for its simple yet exciting combat system, the many possibilities and storylines, as well as the role-playing aspect. You can fully immerse yourself in the role of the hero – or simply blow away anyone who annoys you.
For me, Gothic is a piece of childhood and youth. The first part was released in 2001, and the second already in 2002. I was already a nerd back then and fully immersed myself in the games – and for the first time, I could even talk about the hobby with friends. We all spent dozens of hours in the games.
Together with Ragnarok Online and shortly after that World of Warcraft starting in 2004, Gothic shaped a good part of my early gaming time. The appearance of the medieval band In Extremo in the first part even significantly contributed to my current taste in music. Gothic is one of the few games I have played through multiple times, just to see all the possible decisions.
Now a group of fans has started a project to turn Gothic into an MMO. Gothic Online: Untold Chapters is the implementation and even has its own website. In a new trailer, the team shows what the project is all about:
Gothic as an MMO – And I will have no life anymore
Untold Chapters is based on the expansion of Gothic 2: The Night of the Raven from 2003 but includes content from both Gothic 1 and part 2. The magical barrier is still there, and the prisoners there are still mining for ore.
The fans’ MMO implementation focuses more on role-playing than on looting and leveling. Similar to the RP servers of GTA V Online, you play a role and interact with other players. Everyone has their own personality and fulfills their role in the world.
However, if someone wants to become “more important,” for example, to ascend to a mage or paladin, they are said to need to invest several months into the game and earn everything. All of this is already playable, and there is a guide for installation available on the official website.
I personally am still not quite ready for the project. Less because it doesn’t sound like the original Gothic but more because I would probably spend too much time there. I love Gothic and this MMO idea sounds excellent.
In other RP projects, I have worked on my role for years. But whether I can manage that again – no idea. Especially since 2022 is otherwise not lacking in good games. Let’s see if Untold Chapters can captivate me – or if all the new releases like Nightingale will draw me in too much:
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