Gothic 1 Remake is the best new open-world RPG for Witcher 3 fans

More than a decade later, no game has captured what made The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt so special. Monster-hunters Geralt and Ciri made for compelling leads, but the real allure of The Witcher 3 was its world. Maybe that’s why, against all odds, we’re getting a brand new DLC for the game in 2027.

Cities like Novigrad and Beauclair are as dense and alive as real European cities, NPCs strolling through them with purpose, lost in their own little worlds. Quest lines unfolded with character-driven twists as unpredictable as IRL human behavior. The beauty of The Witcher 3 is that it very clearly did not care about you. As Geralt, you existed in its world but were not the center of it. Playing CD Projekt Red’s open-world RPG gave the impression that, if you stepped away, its world would keep on spinning.

This week, players seeking that flavor of fantasy RPG get another contender with the release of Gothic 1 Remake.

Gothic 1 Remake is the perfect game for Witcher 3 fans

Developed by Alkimia Interactive, Gothic 1 Remake is a full-on remake of the first Gothic game, an open-world RPG known for its relentless difficulty and rich fantasy open-world. As in the original, you play as a prisoner sent to a penal mining colony called the Valley of Mines, which is surrounded by a magical barrier meant to prevent anyone from escaping. The colony is divided into three distinct factions: bootlickers who don’t want to change the status quo (the “Old Camp”), yearners who think they can stockpile enough magical weaponry to fight their way out (the “New Camp”), and fanatics who believe an all-powerful deity will come to rescue them and smite their enemies (the “Sect Camp”).

You play as an unnamed prisoner who has to navigate these factions. Gameplay falls along traditional third-person fantasy action RPG tropes: you can attack enemies with melee weapons like sword and axes, shoot at them from afar with bows and other “rogue”-ish tactics, or blast them with magical spells. But the combat is by no means a cakewalk. As Polygon’s Marloes Valentina Stella found out for her Gothic 1 Remake preview, some enemies — namely murderous dinosaur-bird-things — can kill you in a single attack.

But in Gothic 1 Remake, the more you play, the better you get; skills level up as you use them. And although the Valley of Mines isn’t as overwhelmingly massive as The Witcher 3‘s Continent, it’s just as dense — and arguably more alive. Everywhere you get, you’ll meet NPCs backed by scripts that go way beyond a string of predetermined barks. Here’s how Marloes described the game’s rich cast of supporting characters:

After meeting 10 or so NPCs, all with a unique personality and extensive dialogue options, I was already impressed, but the stream of new acquaintances just didn’t seem to end. I could talk to every single person, and although some of the nameless ones didn’t have unique voice lines, many Old Camp residents are fully fledged characters who immediately hit me with jokes, threats, lore, and requests. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of talking to Mud, whose sole purpose in life is to stalk and annoy the player. But as with everything else in Gothic 1 Remake, unexpected events lead to creative opportunities.

Gothic 1 Remake will be released on June 5 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. You should have plenty of time to get through it before The Witcher 3 DLC actually drops.