German Developer Piranha Bytes has been known for creating massive open world, crafting based RPG games with its Gothic series, before switching over to the high fantasy themed Risen in 2009. This year Piranha Bytes teamed up with Deep Silver to create the follow up to a good game with lots of potential with the pirate themed Dark Waters.

After the original Risen, Piranha Bytes has set sail with a much different setting, while staying with the nameless protagonist from the first game in the series. this causes the game to feel a lot like a new title altogether, rather than a sequel to Risen. Dark Waters is a more focused game with less terrain to explore and get lost in, than previous Piranha Bytes titles along with an attempt at more concise and usable combat. While the reduced size of the map has its advantages and works rather well alongside a good story with a decent variety in quests, the combat just doesn't feel right. Apart from some glitches along the way, which can be forgiven in a large scale RPG, there just aren't enough good options to the decent sword combat. Enemies often act erratic and cause the average combat mechanics to make the experience a bit sloppy. The voodoo spells can make up for some of the shortcomings in the combat but it still does't get past being average when compared to today's RPG landscape.



Nonetheless, Risen 2: Dark Waters leaves a very good impression, especially if you are a pirate fan. Piranha Bytes has done an excellent job with the setting. The feel of the world is spot on and the game looks very good at times, making players feel immersed in the world. Of course it helps that many of the NPCs are rude, obscene and offensive - just like real pirates. Apart from the main quest, which is having to defeat a rather massive beast that was laying dormant in the sea for a very long time, Dark Waters will have players collect treasure and loot around the wold or take on ghost ships. This also means battling lots of NPCs and giant crabs - the combat can sometimes make these quests feel a bit 'grindy' but it won't make you sorry that you accepted a quest from a drunk sexist.



The characters in Dark Waters are probably my favorite part of the game as they are as obscure and hilarious as they come. The NPCs range from crazy doctors to gnomes with rather unique abilities, I won't say more in order not to spoil any of this for you. Many times the conversations will have you smirking, if not for the content it may be the animations and voice over as it isn't always top notch if you know what I mean.

While the setting and characters make Risen 2 very memorable and enjoyable, the skill system is another let down because of its difficulty to use properly. While Dark Waters has a deep focus on user-friendliness, the games upgrade system is very convoluted and not easy to master. Sure most RPGs have some complexity within the skill tree but Dark Waters seemed unusually difficult to master. However, once you have earned enough glory to level up certain abilities such as the sword fighting, there are enough moves to make it fun and a lot easier to battle enemies. Some of the more interesting non-combat upgrades will allow players to scare an NPC into giving you information or simply flirt your way past them - not doing this may result into bribing which will cost our hero some money.



Risen 2: Dark Waters may not be Piranha Bytes best Role Playing Game but certainly is its most user friendly title to date. Dark Waters shines with its hilarious NPCs and a believable world which allows for lots of immersion along with a pirate theme that really works in the game's favor. However, the sloppy combat system and difficult skill tree along with some less than exciting quests, makes this game not the full on hit it could have been. Regardless, Risen 2: Dark Waters is a good game with some flaws that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Score: 7 / 10

Risen 2: Dark Waters was developed by Piranha Bytes and published by Deep Silver for Xbox 360 and PS3 on July 31st, and PC April 27th. A retail copy of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by Deep Silver for reviewing purposes.