Risen

Risen is an action role-playing game developed by the German company Piranha Bytes and published by Deep Silver. The first title in the Risen series, it was released internationally for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in October 2009, with a North American release for Xbox 360 in February 2010. Ports for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch were released in January 2023. The game tells the narrative of an unnamed player character's adventures in Faranga, a mountainous fictitious island ruled by the ruthless High Inquisitor Mendoza. Mendoza knows about a temple that leads to the interior of an erupting volcano dominating the island, and the player character follows Mendoza's instructions to get entry to it. The temple is home to ancient beings known as Titans, which Mendoza attempts to control in order to strengthen himself. Risen received mostly positive reviews, with acclaim for its gameplay, graphics, and voice acting, but criticism for the poor Xbox 360 port. The series is continued by Risen 2: Dark Waters and Risen 3: Titan Lords. Backstory Risen is set on Faranga island, the visual of which is inspired by Sicily. The environment is mostly mountainous, with different climates and Mediterranean vegetation. The island is dominated by an active volcano and inhabited by a wide variety of creatures; the island has buildings and suggestive names from the Spanish Inquisition in Sicily and the Norman period. There are two main settlements on Faranga: Harbor Town, under the rule of Bandit chief Don Esteban, and the Monastery, where mages and scholars study and research magic. Dotting the islands are small settlements and farms, as well as lone dwellings of hunters and druids.