Millennials, particularly European Millennials, rejoice, for an absolute classic finally got its firm release date. Those who are not European millennials should rejoice as well, because Gothic Remake looks like a real treat whether you know the original or not.
What is Gothic Remake’s release date?
Gothic Remake will launch on June 5th, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
What is Gothic?
Gothic is an action RPG developed by German studio Pyranha Bytes and released in 2001. It featured an compact, but well-designed open map, a low-magic fantasy setting, and a world that was impressively immersive, especially for the time.
The series spawned several sequels, and now, 26 years later, it is getting a full remake.
Gothic Remake: what do we know?
First of all, it’s going to be a faithful remake of the original game, rather than a reboot under the same general premise. As a result, fans of the original will get to visit the same places, meet the same characters, and, most likely: experience the same story beats.
Where the upcoming game provides added value, is in
- dramatically improved graphics,
- less clunky controls,
- improved and expanded systems (including better mobility options),
- more fleshed out locations and characters
- extra questlines,
- expanded NPC behaviour
By and large, the changes involved appear to be angled towards addition, rather than substitution or subtraction, all in order to preserve the atmosphere of the general experience. From that perspective, it reminds me of the mindset that greatly benefited recent Resident Evil remakes.
What is the story?
In Gothic Remake you’ll be playing as the Nameless Hero, a prisoner thrown into a prison colony surrounded by a magic barrier impassable by any living creature. The colony was supposed to mine a magical ore the kingdom needs to win a war against orc incursion, but the ritual went awry, the barrier grew larger than is was supposed to, and the prisoners used the confusion to stage a little takeover, as a treat. Now in control of the region and the mines, they can negotiate with the king.
But you won’t get access to many of the benefits. You might be the Nameless Hero, but you’re no hero when you begin. Gothic games and their spiritual descendants are notorious for making the players work for every scrap of personal power, as in the beginning even a run-of-the-mill critter can end your journey. Better join one of the factions, find somebody to teach you combat and survival skills, and find allies.
In time, you might even get a chance at escaping, for now, you aren’t even important enough to warrant meeting anybody important. Good luck.
What is the gameplay like in Gothic Remake?
Like the original, Gothic Remake will be a third-person perspective action RPG, with an open world you can freely explore at you own peril. While combat will be important, with melee, ranged, and magical options, you’ll also get to learn less violent abilities to better fit into the world.
If the world design will be anything like the original in spirit, going off the beaten path and visiting remote locations will yield valuable findings, although it might also kill you, since monsters don’t care you’re just level three and only have a rusty sword.
Notably, at the beginning the protagonist won’t even know how to use that sword properly, and will need a tutor to learn many other skills. And this doesn’t just mean “low bonus to hit” or anything like that, proficiency is actually visible in animations, speed, and fluidity of your attacks.
It’s a power fantasy, but you have to work for the power, you start as an actual nobody.
Is there a demo?
At the time of writing, there is a Demo, the Nyras Prologue, released in February 2025, which provides a decent look at the basics of the game, but without spoiling the core story, and without various bells, whistles, and optimizations that happened since its release.
Who will Gothic Remake be for?
Fans of low-power action RPGs should keep their eyes on it, since Gothic is reasonably grounded and not particularly bombastic. It’s somewhere between The Witcher 2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance in terms of tone and atmosphere.
A revived classic
On June 5th, Gothic Remake will become available for all to play, so you have some time left to check the demo, look at the trailers, decide if it’s the kind of game you’d be into, and then perhaps find a good deal on it, if the default asking price does not appeal to you.
See you in the Colony!