Up until the Fire Mages are killed, the game is fantastic. The Colony feels alive, the three camps all have their own agendas, and you're constantly involved in the political struggle between them. It feels like your actions matter.

But after the Fire Mage massacre, the game suddenly becomes very linear. Most side quests disappear, the camps stop evolving, and you're basically funneled into the main quest: collect the Focus Stones, enter the Sleeper's temple, and finish the game.

The biggest missed opportunity is Gomez.

He's built up from the very beginning as the most powerful and feared man in the Colony. He controls the ore trade, orders the murder of the Fire Mages, and is arguably the main human antagonist of the story. Yet after betraying you, he barely has any role left. For someone with that much buildup, his story ends surprisingly abruptly.

I think Act 3 should have expanded the political conflict before sending us after the Sleeper. Imagine having to undermine Gomez's rule, weaken the Old Camp from within, recruit allies from the New Camp, or even trigger an uprising before you could continue your quest. It would have made the Colony feel alive until the very end and given Gomez the payoff his character deserved.

The final dungeon and the Sleeper are great, but the transition from the political story to the supernatural finale feels rushed.

I'm really hoping the remake expands this part of the game instead of keeping it almost identical. I think there's a lot of untapped story potential here.

What do you all think? Does Act 3 feel too linear, or do you prefer the game's shift toward a focused endgame?

I've always felt that Gothic has one major pacing problem after Act 3