Risen 3 Review

Pirates and RPGs come together in Risen 3 – Titan Lords. Is the game worth setting sail for or should you just stay in port an avoid the storm? Check out this honest game review and decide for yourself!

Admittedly this is my first Risen game so if anything, I will likely be more forgiving of previous problems and complaints than most, likewise I’ll be more excited at features others have seen before, but let’s go. The story is about a pirate captain who dies looking for treasure and is brought back from the dead without a soul. Ultimately you will be trying to get your soul back while, of course, saving the world from utter destruction. A ghost pirate is terrorizing the Southern Seas and you will need to get a fleet to fight back. You can get the aid of different factions in the world and pledge your allegiance. Along the way you will do plenty of side quests and island exploration. The game doesn’t do anything ground breaking in the story area but it works.

Combat plays a large role in the game as you will be doing tons of kill X or collect Y while killing X type missions. The combat was one of the worst parts of the game in my opinion. Once you learn riposte you will not get hit unless you don’t try to block. Yeah you can learn magic and you have a side arm but neither of those are needed to beat the game. You will sometimes execute the last enemy you kill and he will glitch over a rock and you will beat nothing into the ground, the animations don’t feel at all connected or fluid. The melee was reminiscent of the first Assassin’s Creed where you could just counter everything to win. To be fair you can’t counter the bosses but those are few and far between.

The enemy AI is hit and miss. Sometimes they will flank you with amazing levels of ability, and other times they just sit there dumb founded as you thrust your sword through their innards. The dodging mechanics are also rather peculiar as they seem to always dodge through other enemies. I’m not sure if it’s intended or not but it is very annoying and clouds the combat in frustration. The ally AI gets the job done but the game could really benefit from more partner control. Your allies will do what they want but they are useful. You can only bring one ally with you per island but you can summon minions to help you as well.

The games graphics are nothing to write home about but it isn’t a AAA title either so you shouldn’t expect them to be. This is good news for players that don’t have the latest PC rig as the graphics do scale very well. The voice acting is pretty solid and a few of the jokes will make you laugh. The game could do with more banter between the two characters during exploration. You get some for side quests and main quests but not nearly enough while you are just running around, creating a level of separation between you and your companion.

One thing I found odd about the game is the fact you can’t explore the open ocean. You have a ship but it’s only to pick your ally before exploring an island. There are a few sea battles and the ship moves fine a but the combat doesn’t really live up to expectations. It would of also been nice to be able to upgrade the ship or change what it looks like. Maybe I’m just spoiled by Black Flag.

Whats a pirate game without loot right? The game has tons of items to pick up from weapons to monkey skulls. The game has buried treasure on most of the islands you can find with a map. Gold, gems and jewelry await those who find all of the chests. The game also has a basic crafting system that has tons of recipes and ingredients to be used. You can upgrade weapons, make potions, brew potions and tons of other things if you have the gold to learn the crafts.

Overall anyone looking for a decent pirate RPG might want to pick this one up. Just be ready to put up with some headaches when it comes to the combat.