It Goeth Before Fall - Risen 3: Titan Lords Rising In August

The Risen games have never been anything even marginally resembling perfect, but they've got more heart than Borlikkulax, the heart collector that comes in the night. We (by which I mean Alec) have written countless words about them, so I can't help but anticipate Risen 3: Titan Lords with a trepidacious sort of glee. Will it finally realize the series' lofty open-world role-playing ambitions, or will this wannabe genre titan fall into a crater of glitch-ridden obscurity? We'll find out in August.

Well that sure could've been a CG trailer for any fantasy game ever. Unlike Risen 2, which was about pirates (Assassin's Creed apparently didn't invent them; I know!) and other such scalawaggery, Risen 3 returns to a more traditional fantasy setting. This one's full of fallen gods, mages, and soulless warriors.

This part, however, is the one I'm most interested in:

"The key element of the cult Gothic series as well as Risen is the vivid world and the freedom to explore it. The world of Risen 3: Titan Lords will be diverse, authentic and full of life, providing the player with an authentic, classic RPG experience."

"Like a carpenter with a hand-crafted piece of furniture, we put together the story, the characters and the landscape until it all fits and the player has the possibility to discover things all around the place. You can try out and find things that others might not. Exploration is the key to our game."

I found that same carpenter analogy on the back of a bottle of cider last week. I'm not joking. It was some absolutely delicious cider too, so I take that to mean that Risen 3 will be the best fantasy RPG since Skyrim with a delightfully fizzy raspberry finish.

Risen 3: Titan Lords will be out on August 12th. My headline would've been a lot better if it were coming out in the fall, and not right before it.