In my review of Arcania, I've explained that the game was so fundamentally flawed, it had absolutely nothing in common with any of the previous Gothic games. To recap, it lacked the open world exploration and the sandbox of previous Gothic titles, a hallmark aspect of the series, was replaced with locked zones segregated with often illogical artificial barriers which relied on linear quests; it dropped non-linear story advancement and multiple solutions to quests in favour of a simplistic "on-rails" approach to the point it has little difference than a Call of Duty title; narrative quality found in previous games were also simplified for cookie cutter spoon-fed storytelling and with a character template full of "personal drivel" forced on the player character to the point of not even giving the player a chance to define his or her character through words or actions, negating the point of Role-Playing entirely. At least for a game carrying the Gothic title.

Now, it is no secret that expansions often come with greater freedoms in design than in their main games. In many ways, an expansion is as much a reward for developers as it is for the gamers. It's often a recognition by a publisher that the developer has done good so they might as well give some leeway with the stuff that wasn't desired in the main game. Good examples that come to mind are Gothic 2 (Night of the Raven), Neverwinter Nights 2 (Mask of the Betrayer, Storm of Zehir, Mysteries of the Westgate), Morrowind (Tribunal, Bloodmoon), Titan Quest (forgot the name of this one) or Grand Ages: Rome (Reign of August). All of these expansions did things that were rather radical to the base game. Some added complete new features, others focused heavily on the narrative and writing. So, when a fully fledged expansion (ie. not a mere "DLC") arrives for a game from a big publisher, you generally expect good things. Greater than the main game in execution, though understandably not in scope.

Quite sadly, Fall of Setarrif falls even on that front. It made an almost tragic game even more so. Locked zones segregated with artificial borders got even more partitioned and limited. Story became so linear, you often had to wonder why you were partaking in it at all. Absolutely no improvements to the base game mechanics. So, Fall of Setarrif, offering absolutely nothing new or different, is quite very literally a cheap attempt at a quick money grab, perhaps to try to alleviate for the poor reception and poorer sales of Arcania? Quite possibly.

It has been mentioned that Fall of Setarrif are only option one will ever have if one wants a closure on the Gothic storylines. I disagree. There is simply absolutely no reason at all to even take Arcania into account. It's best forgotten. If I were the owner of the IP, I would simply retcon both games and pick up where Gothic 3 left off.

However, if you, or your 6 year old son or cousin, actually enjoyed Arcania, I can see that you would most likely enjoy Fall of Setarrif as well.

Fall of Setarrif is a closed-world expansion to Gothic 4. It's still visually beautiful, but I would steer clear until it is on a hefty sale. It isn't the mind-blowing addition you were looking for. (Kind of like Final Fantasy moving away from open world... everything is so much worse)

A stand-alone expansion pack, Arcania: Fall of Setarrif is the next installment of the Arcania storyline.An ominous, demonic force devastates the Eastern lands of Argaan, heading towards the coastal city of Setarrif. Meanwhile, King Rhobar III mobilises his royal military forces to conquer the last of the rebels. To make matters worse, the route to Setarrif is blocked by a volcanic eruption. Only the most simplistic of history books will describe this series of unfortunate events as a coincidence. The outcome of this tale depends on the nameless hero and his strongest allies...

Well, the first gothic I couldn't enjoy inspite of patching and modding...no new ideas and not challanging at all. And not captivating as all the other "gothics". Pretty disappointing, but still playable.

Gameplay is identical to the core game, fast paced combat and linear quests. It isn't classic Gothic, but is still fun. Players should approach with the knowledge that the open world has been replaced with quest zones, generally based around a settlement and some wilderness, similar to many MMOs. Unfornuately the game doesn't really allow travel backwards through the zones, so be sure to finish any side quests before moving on to the next area. The game is entertaining, I would recommend it, especially if you can grab it on sale.

This is a fun game, but it's pretty short, even for an expansion. It's also very linear - there is only one side quest, and most areas really only have one path through them. Overall, the graphics are decent, the controls are easy to master, and the final battle is entertaining. This is a good deal if you buy it as part of a bundle, but if you're going to buy it on its own wait for a good discount.

It's by no means a bad game, it's okay. When compared to the other games in the Gothic series it doesn't quite stand up. You can still enjoy the game, as I have, but honestly unless you can get this for a low cost it isn't worth your money.

Stand-alone addons. For some reasons I really hate them. I might be unfair to this game just due to that fact. Anyhow, this is an addon that continues the story of ArcaniA (Gothic 4), you can import your character from a completed Gothic 4 file and get started. This addon is fairly short (8 hours max,) and honestly if you don't get it with Gothic 4 or are a die hard fan of said game I'd say skip it, as the extra content adds very little to Gothic 4. All and all, if you are a person who needs to see all the content of a game to feel it's really complete than it's a good buy, short of that, skip.

Arcania Fall of Setariff being a standalone expansion has a storyline all of it's own that other reviewers will tell you moves the series towards a close, but without the Gothic universes unique feel.

I was not terribly impressed to be honest.

ArcaniA Fall of Setarrif has many of the same flaws as the parent game, and unfortunately, like it's parent game, ArcaniA Fall of Setarrif has taken several steps in the wrong direction. That is to say that it has taken steps away from the Gothic feeling. However for those who wish to see the Gothic story moving forward, towards completion, ArcaniA Fall of Setarrif is the only game for you, literally. All in all ArcaniA Fall of Setarrif is still quite capable of giving you several hours of RPG enjoyment, just not of the Gothic variety, and if you accept that, you may want to give this game a go.