I played it early at the release party yesterday - its Gothic 1 through and through with modern graphics.
As a fan since 25 years, i was very skeptical if they would A.) dare to make a game like this in modern times , B.) if they would be able to pull it off. They kinda did, the AI reactions and the way to world treats you are all intact, even somewhat amplified since the early enemies like Scavengers do a bit more damage than in the original. Also, the combat was great, they really took the feedback from the demos to heart.
Bought it right after. They don´t make them like this anymore...until they did.