Arcania: Gothic 4 Review
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Taking cues from The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Arcania: Gothic IV tries its hand at populating the world with all manner of objects to interact with and, handily, steal. The problem with this is two-fold: a lack of moral code and repercussions for stealing anything that isn't nailed down means that you're never lacking items to resell or use. Secondly, it really takes away from the realism and immersion of the world. Walking into a store and simply looting their chests is baffling; there are no repercussions.
This lack of reaction is at odds with the progress the genre has made; games like Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect and the Elder Scrolls series have shown the importance and benefits (particularly for storytelling devices) that these kinds of moral choices can have. As a result, Arcania: Gothic IV feels overly simplistic and even acerbic at times.
This also extends to the storytelling. There are only a few real instances where quests deviate from the set 'fetch quest' mentality; you're given a few options on how to resolve quests through head-on bloodshed or marginally deeper investigation but never to the extent we've seen elsewhere even years after Gothic 3. This slimmed-down approach likely stems from a smaller team and tighter budget, but when a game is tackling market leaders like these, it's still a bitter pill to swallow that such options simply aren't catered for.
