Arriving almost 24 years after the original release – and 5 years after a divisive “Playable Teaser” was used to assess interest – the “Nyras Prologue” demo of the full-blown Gothic 1 Remake shows serious potential. Albeit probably only for existing Gothic fans or the increasingly niche audience that enjoyed Piranha Byte’s later work like Risen and ELEX. In stark contrast to the Playable Teaser’s action-focussed gameplay and wise-cracking protagonist, the Nyras Prologue aims for a degree of authenticity despite the smoother mechanics and modern game engine powering it.
Using a rockslide as an excuse, the self-contained demo traps the titular Nyras in the impressively recreated “Exchange Camp” canyon from the opening of the original game. The human Kingdom of Myrtana is slowly losing a war against orcs, essential ore for the war effort comes from the Valley of Mines, but a magical barrier cast to contain the prisoner workforce went awry trapping the entire region under a magical shield that kills anything attempting to leave. Fresh prisoners and goods are sent in by the king in exchange for ore, but the humans trapped inside the valley have split into three factions with their own ideas on how to thrive or escape.
All the basics are covered as Nyras encounters members of the Old Camp – former prisoners intent on maintaining the flow of ore for goods; members of the New Camp – outcasts and bandits that grow their own food and plan to escape; and he hears of the Sect Camp – swamp-dwelling, weed-smoking mystics intent on reviving an old god. You’ll also encounter and hear rumours of the dangerous beasts that stalk the wilds between settlements. If nothing else, those interested in the Gothic 1 Remake with no prior knowledge of the originals could find this demo a useful primer.
The limited scope of this demo means there’s only so much to see and do, but it feels much as I’d expect from a “AA” style remake targeting an existing audience rather than the masses. A lot could obviously change, but there’s a clear trade-off between playability and authenticity that should thrill Piranha Bytes fans but might frustrate anyone expecting a modern action-RPG experience. Gothic was never an RPG in which you start competant and end up overpowered; it’s a game about starting on the bottom rung, climbing up while being kicked in the face repeatedly, and eventually coming out on top.
The demo suggests that design philosophy is intact, but traversal, combat, and menu-ing feels way less clunky – especially on a gamepad if you’ve ever experienced the Nintendo Switch ports. It remains to be seen if the remake tweaks progression, but Gothic was a traditional RPG in the sense you could go far by mastering the stiff combat system but improving your character level, skills, and gear were essential (that or breaking the AI). Also familiar is how dense and hand-crafted the world feels, with plenty of fine details, NPCs going about daily tasks, and items secreted away to reward exploration – assuming you don’t run into something that kills you first.
The Nyras Prologue demo provides a few opportunities to die by scavenger beak or goblin club if you’re reckless, but the combat feels far more fluid and manageable when facing one or even two opponents. You can swing a sword, pick, or flaming torch; parry or dash back and to the sides to avoid damage; and draw back a bow to full extension for maximum damage at range. While it might not be an intentional nod to the original, I could even cheese a few enemies by awkwardly climbing onto high ground and leaving them sitting around helplessly. I don’t doubt the Gothic 1 Remake will be rife with enemies that’ll one-shot you early on, but the smoother combat is perhaps the most significant takeaway from this demo.
The last thing to touch on is the Unreal Engine 5 powered visuals and lighting. Despite the archaic engine, the Gothic games generate an impressive atmosphere when the visuals are coupled with ambience and music. The Nyras Prologue demo might not push boundaries, but it still looks good in this early build and recreates that original atmosphere by using the classic soundtrack. On my ageing gaming laptop – with an Intel i7 4C/8T CPU, 8GB RTX3070, 16GB DDR5 RAM, NVMe SSD (components running at lower power draw/clock speeds than their desktop counterparts) – 1440p/30 on the high “Gothic” settings was surprisingly doable, albeit with some momentary chugging after reloading a save.
Wrapping up my thoughts, the Gothic 1 Remake – Nyras Prologue Demo shows a lot of potential for those craving an authentic Gothic experience, but it’s ultimately a tiny chunk of a much larger game, with limited mechanics and only one environment on show for now. While playing the demo, I kept thinking of 2024’s Alone in the Dark – a game I really enjoyed and felt was underappreciated, but one that commercially underperformed and spelt the end of the developer. I just hope Alkimia Interactive and THQ Nordic are looking at the budget and sales of a game like ELEX II and planning appropriately so we actually have a chance of seeing this become a success and maybe fund a remake of the sequel too.
Gothic 1 Remake – Nyras Prologue Demo was played on PC (GOG or Steam). The final release will be coming to PC, Xbox Series S|X, and PS5.
