If you shove the Orson Welles "homage" quote up your ass, I think Archolos is beautiful. The mod is soaked with reverence to all the highs and lows of Gothic that make it a classic game that is still worshipped in the homeland of the creators: Poland, and also Russia and Germany: the items placed in every hidden corner you wouldn't expect them to be hidden in, which ironically makes the items kind of predictable to find (especially with the Telekinesis spell), the "hey, remember when?" moments like the guy with the pot on his head who's an obvious reference to Mud, and also the excellent Vardhal that is a far darker take on Gothic 2's Irdorath, et cetera et cetera. I could go on about how much Archolos is soaked in pure, unsubtle love for Gothic 2's entire being, and some would say it's a bad thing because of its lack of its own identity... but fuck no. The first time I played it felt like I played the series all over again in new flesh which added to my excitement and curiosity to explore the map of Archolos like I'm a kid again.
If Gothic 2 blazed the trail, Archolos scorched it with its own flames. It set Gothic's achievements in stone, and improved upon them with newfound complexity and choice. You can smell the sheer love and passion of the creators through the screen. The years that went into making it what it is. Their friendship, and of course their shared love of their beloved childhood game that happens to be Poland's national treasure, and that game is fucking German. It kicks ass, dude. Play it.