Which one? There's a couple in the series.

Risen 1 is pretty good. It's a lot like Gothic 1 and 2, so if you liked those at all it's worth a try.

IMO the Risen games go downhill after that, but 2 is not too bad.

the first one, heard it's good I actually enjoyed Gothic 2 even though the graphics is so outdated (I know there's mods, but I don't want additional hassle to enjoy the game). the first Risen looks good, hows the map size?

Big enough, I think. As the game starts you're shipwrecked on an island. It's not huge, but it's pretty densely packed with interesting features so the exploration value is good. The overall land area is similar to the size of Gothic 1...perhaps slightly bigger than that, or a bit smaller than Gothic 2 without the Night of the Raven expansion areas.

Just don't expect a vast landscape where you can walk for days.

As UniversalWolf says its very similar to Gothic 1 and 2. Same developers.

It's not a huge map but there is a lot in it and when you start back tracking its generally to discover something new. As with Gothic there's various factions to chose from and often a couple of different approaches to quests.

Thanks guys, I bought it and currently enjoying it. And this game is sooooooo Gothic in every kinds of way, I can even say that this is Gothic but with waaayy better graphics. Love how the game made me feel like a homeless hobo trying to stay alive, addicting stuff :)

IMHO isn't like Gothic 1 or Gothic 2. I've completed Risen and to be honest, i rather play G1/G2 despite the terrible controls. Why?
- Lack of content. One city, one Monastery one bandit camp... How many cities, temples and camps are in Gothic 3? And spells, Gothic 2 have more than twice the amount of spells than Risen 1.
- Boring quests. Gothic 2 have few boring quests, but Risen is infested of filler quests.
- Combat - Bows have a insane "drop" and slow projectile i have a 175 lb crossbow and hit a target at 70m in real life is easier than hit a target at 20m in Risen
- No first person
- Learn magic is a insane bureaucracy.
- Non RPG final boss. Doesn't matter your build, stats and etc. The final boss is your against a generic platform boss

I love Gothic, mainly the 2 and 3 but din't enjoy Risen. Maybe if you like play as warrior in melee and don't see some quests as filler you can enjoy.

EDIT : I've seed videos of Risen 3 and will purchase. I don't expect a game like Gothic 2, but Risen 3 is similar to Gothic 3?

Having recently completed Risen the other day, I can say I actually kind of enjoyed the final boss. You're totally right in saying your build doesn't matter (something that honestly was a little disappointing, having focused on swords the entire game), but I thought the boss was rather refreshing, after just coming out of hordes of lizard warriors, elite warriors, priests, etc., where I was hacking and slashing my way through them mindlessly. I thought the strategy required for the unique final boss fight was cool. I was certainly dreading having to just continuously swing my sword, like I had been doing before that.

The boss is good? For a plataform game is. But is terrible for a RPG... I was expecting something like Daimon of Dragon's Dogma in Risen. "But PB isn't a AAA developer", look to mount and blade. Amazing combat and is made by a small developer. If you will force me to play in melee, please. Made a playable melee combat. I generally don't enjoy melee in games but in M&B, i can play as an archer, crossbowman, lancer, swordsman, halberdman, maceman, light cavalry, heavy cavalry and have fun.

That is the greatest problem of Risen. The melee combat sucks and they force you to play melee for very long time. The ranged combat and magical combat in other hands is average.

I understand what you're saying and I'm glad you enjoyed it. For me it's just too incongruous.

If you play a mage (my favorite path), it makes absolutely no sense at all. You've spent the whole game learning magic, and all of a sudden you're supposed to wear full armor and a shield and fight using a hammer.

I can definitely see why a magic-heavy playthrough would feel a bit cheated, or even an archery build (if those can even work in Risen).

In a sense, though, I also understand why it was done. Titans are supposed to be these huge, all-powerful creatures that could potentially end civilization entirely. If just any skilled swordsman, mage, etc. could defeat them, they wouldn't feel nearly as powerful. Especially if that skilled swordsman, mage, etc. was a complete novice castaway only a couple of months prior. It makes sense for the titan to require a very specific assortment of items to be defeated, and in this case, those items included a warhammer and full plate.

Story-wise, it makes perfect sense. Or, at least, as much sense as fantasy can make. Gameplay-wise, I can agree it could have been handled better. Perhaps make the titan weapon moldable, to fit the wielder's skills, or something like that.

Overall though, I don't think it was a let-down by any means. It was a unique boss, and I can appreciate that at the very least.

I bought the series for $12.47 at the Humble DRM Free sale.
I'm just meeting the Don in chapter one, but I'm loving it so far.
Been killed far too many times though.

Be prepared to die far too many times more. This game is brutally hard at times, and once you think you're getting the hang of things, it'll slap you right in the face again. Hahaha.

It really is a great game, though, so hopefully the difficulty doesn't throw you off too much!

Just out of curiosity, have you ever played the Gothic games? If you like Risen you'll probably like those a lot, since Risen is based on them and made by the same developer.