Risen 3: Titan Lords Reviews
Bloated in the mission department, threadbare everywhere else, Risen 3: Titan Lords is cobbled together from rehashed material, and the series' many flaws are enhanced a hundredfold in the process.
Like it's predecessors, Risen 3 provides a rollicking adventure that doesn't quite deliver on the details.
Despite its oddball shortcomings, Risen 3 is a solid open-world RPG packed with entertaining characters and challenging combat scenarios.
Combat quibbles and muddy graphics do little to spoil the fun of this enjoyable RPG.
Instead, all that Risen 3 offers is a decidedly average RPG which leaves behind the bitter taste of missed opportunities and bad rum..
With three different core paths to take and tons of optional adventures, there's a ton of content to consume. However, the combat feels like it could use some work and the lengthy, sometimes absurd diatribes that NPCs launch into can bog the adventure down
Despite still having a few issues Risen 3: Titan Lords is a vast improvement on Risen 2. The combat could be better but doesn't cripple the game this time, the world is more interesting and easier to get around, and there's tons of stuff to do.
Risen 3: Titan Lords is an old-school RPG that will appeal to only the hardcore Risen/Gothic community. For the rest, this last-gen offering is one that will likely fly under the radar. And given that well-executed freedom of exploration and passable combat barely balance out the handful of negative aspects, this is one experience that can wait for a price drop.
Risen 3: Titan Lords is a clunky mess of a game that fails to capitalize on the potential it has put forth. While the concept sounds alluring, and it's chock-full of charm, it's weighed down by stodgy design and a lack of polish.
Risen 3: Titan Lords will still manage to hold your attention. Where this game excels in is its overwhelming sense of freedom and control you have over your pirate and your journey. If you're big on pirates and don't mind some boring broken combat, consider taking a 30+ hour voodoo-inspired romp through an intriguing open world. However, the uneven difficulty, exploitative combat mechanics and uninspired story will turn off most people who aren't hardcore RPG fans.
It's fun to fight in Risen 3: Titan Lords, but other important elements of the experience fall far short of acceptable.
Risen 3 is a large role-playing game you can pay money for, and it is functional and will occupy your time.
It's a rusty cutlass in the heart of a sequel that, otherwise, is progressive in small but welcome ways. The series still lacks a worthwhile identity of its own and is too quick to run away from its piratical setting in favour of more familiar fantasy archetypes, but for surprisingly hefty chunks of Risen 3 I was drawn in and entertained, at least until another clumsily staged battle soured me again. For those who have been able to cut through the clutter and clumsiness of the series so far, this may well be a small hurdle, and you'll discover a commendably deep and full RPG for your trouble. It's just a shame that such a fundamental feature as combat takes the shine off what could have been the sequel to make Risen popular beyond its small audience of devotees.
Even with the problems it has, I still think it's worth any RPG fan's time.
The whole experience isn't awful, just thoroughly uninspiring; a box of biscuits where some are moldy and all are digestive. It's fun to be a pirate, but it's far, far more fun elsewhere, with Risen 3 once again struggling and failing to rise above anything but its own mediocrity.
For such a large RPG, it's the small moments where Risen 3 works best. The game just needs more of them; times when you get swept up in a random quest, stumble upon hidden treasure, or chuckle at a random quip from Bones. It's a game with its heart in the right place and when everything clicks, you won't want to leave.
Risen 3 is a triumphant return to Piranha Bytes' golden age and a fantastic CRPG in its own right. An open world epic that is guaranteed to get better with each passing hour you put into it and won't let you go until the end. With its long 60+ hour quest, well over 300 side-quests and a very easy to grasp combat system, it's by far and away the most approachable of Piranha Bytes' games – and perhaps its most enjoyable one as well.
And so that's my final verdict on Risen 3. It's almost a good game. For some of you that will be enough. It's a neat little diversion and it's fun in spurts, and maybe that's all you are looking for. However, there are many other better RPGs to play out there with better stories, and better systems. I would recommend at least trying the game out somehow before diving in to the purchase, but considering this is a Steam game, that's easier said than done.
In spite of its somewhat inept systems, Risen 3 has a certain sense of adventure around it, that will pull you in and make you endure the atrocious combat and some of the misgivings about the dialogue in order to explore its tropical islands, hoist the Jolly Roger and see what else it has to offer.