Risen

The story begins as the protagonist washed ashore on a remote island after a disaster at sea. The first character you come up with is another survivor of the ship.

The game starts as you find your way up to a house to leave somewhere safe the other survivor.

As you progress the game you learn that the island was ruled by the infamous Don Esteban, until a bunch of temples rised to the isle’s surface and the Inquisitor came to take over the island and banned Don Esteban out of the city.

The characters make an impression, such as the stubborn and manipulative Don, the local barmaid afraid to reveal her secrets, and a mother worried about her missing sons. When a greater threat is eventually exposed and the story expands, you realize that you care about them and their fates. By the time your real enemy is revealed, you'll embrace your role as hero, because you know how desperately these people need one.

Risen's greatest strength is the number of choices it gives you, and how well it balances them. Your choice of faction is the most obvious example of the decisions you face, and it affects which quests you can take, the skills available to you, and even how the world evolves. But even many side quests can be approached in multiple ways. But be carefull don’t be caught by the monks because your choices then are more limited.

You explore dark caverns, clash with pirates over buried treasure, stab lizardmen in their faces, and earn the help of a furry friend with a talented nose.

Progression isn't limited to leveling, which occurs relatively slowly. As you advance, you visit trainers who teach you the skills needed to get the most out of your exploration. Some trainers teach you how to skin creatures, others help you with your alchemy skills so you can create potions out of herbs and roots, or teach you to make swords and jewelry. You also train up your combat skills and related stats, such as strength and dexterity, by visiting helpful citizens.

Risen offers a lot of flexibility as a result, and the side activities are varied enough to keep you interested. For example, smithing a new weapon is a multistep process that involves using an anvil, a trough, and a grindstone (though it's admittedly annoying when you have to wait for a non-player character to finish using the tools first). Picking a lock entails entering a sequence of key presses in the correct order, and you can use a frying pan to cook raw meat over a campfire. These activities are simple on their own, but they're nice diversions between temple excursions and result in helpful items and equipment.

One of the interesting things in the game is, when you come to a battle with other characters, and your life is about to end you kind of passed out, but you don’t die. After that, the character that you fought with, comes and take your weapon and some of your money.