RPG lovers shouldn’t lie sleepless for very much longer since the upcoming game Risen, in development by RPG giants Piranha Bytes, is shaping up nicely. Around 30 screenshots have been released and although the press release mentions the “diversity that Risen has to offer,” almost (not really) 92 percent of all screens pictured a short but sturdy blacksmith making a sword. I don’t know if the designers were particularly happy with the blacksmith design or if the protagonist has this thing for metal craft, but this anomaly needs further investigation in the future. Apart from the “blacksmith mystery,” we get to see the beautiful scenery and design of the island. Wouldn’t mind running around there killing and looting strange creatures with my home-made sword, actually.

To keep you up to date, Risen is about the game’s protagonist being washed up on a puzzling Mediterranean island after a shipwreck about a thousand years ago. Strange temples start to rise up from the ground around a volcano that’s located at the center of the Island, together with monsters such as the godforsaken Ashbest and his associates. There’s even a screenshot of our blacksmith/handyman slaying one in the gallery.

An “innovative and intuitive user control interface” is said to support both casual players and the otakus, meaning we’ll end up with something understimulating and too easy, or we’ll get refreshing mechanics, i.e. we wont be clicking/pressing our fingers to death like in most RPGs. I have high hopes this time, since Piranha Bytes haven’t really received any blessings for the controls in their Gothic games. Time for them to rise and shine.