GB Feature: Risen 3: Titan Lords Review
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After spending a full two weeks with Piranha Bytes' latest endeavor, Risen 3: Titan Lords, we've published a six-page review that should help nudge you in whatever purchasing direction you ultimately arrive at for the RPG threequel. A sampling:
I already mentioned that the game reintroduces factions. For the most part, it's the same three faction setup Piranha Bytes used in most of its titles: At a certain point of the story you're asked to join one of three factions, and depending on which you choose, new quests, abilities and equipment are unlocked, and even the character's appearance is altered slightly. For my full playthrough I joined the Demon Hunters, which meant my character gained a short-range teleport ability instead of the normal dodge and could learn rune magic from the teachers around the Citadel. Just as you might expect from a Piranha Bytes' game, it's possible to rise through the factions' ranks by completing quests, and with each rank comes a more powerful tier of faction armor. Unfortunately, despite all that, I can't help but be slightly disappointed with the implementation of factions in the game. They feel artificial, and not as well-integrated as they were in the past. The main quest requires you to join one faction but doesn't really explain why it's necessary, and there is little to no interplay between them. While in the original Risen choosing a faction felt like a real commitment, in Risen 3 it feels more like a flavor choice, and has very little effect on the main quest.
In general, consequences of your choices are pretty rare in the game. At the beginning of the game I was given the chance to betray one of the possible companions, and chose not to because I was trying to play a good guy. Much to my disappointment, I later discovered the companion was necessary for some plot sequences and would have survived anyway. Minor conundrums have multiple solutions, as usual, and your alignment can convince some companions to leave you, but that's really all there is to it. That said, quest design tends to be pretty decent, with a mixture of simple and more elaborate quests, which often offer multiple options. Sometimes, simply exploring the environments can lead to a memorable situation and a new quest, whether it's a particularly stupid pirate deciding to tag along and bother you constantly with tales of a hidden temple, or what appears to be a skeleton asking for your help after a fight.
