Rating:
Welcome to the world of colonialism, exploration, tough moral choices, love, and… consequences of greed. This game takes you into a world that resembles European colonies spiced with magic and god-like creatures. The players find themselves in the role of De Sardet, a diplomat whose aim is to travel to Teer Fradee, a new world. And find there a cure for Malichor, a deadly disease that already killed De Sardet’s relatives and threatens to wipe out the entire old continent. This journey brings many surprising revelations, forces the player to balance difficult relationships between the clashing nations and find the origins and meaning of De Sardet’s own existence.
The game opens with the possibility to choose a male or a female De Sardet and the specific skill set which will be developed as the character levels up. De Sardet’s creation is one of the early fun parts of the game thanks to different look choices. A few dialogues explain the basic problems and off we go to solve some inevitable minor complications and board the ship.
Combat is an essential part of this game and it is explained right after the character creation. The game developers obviously did their best to make it look as natural as possible and the resulting combat system is far from mindless swinging of a weapon. The whole body has a role and the rich skill trees promise further elaborations. The combat system also covers the usage of several alchemical or technical accessories. The player can choose from different approaches, be it magic, shooting from firearms, waving a heavy mace, or dancing around the enemies with a light saber. De Sardet travels and fulfills the mission with various companions who come from the different factions. They represent the nations from the old and new world. Each of them has a unique fighting style that can suit De Sardet.
The enemies the player faces are varied. It is often not clear what is the next challenge. Certain situations seem like heading into a major battle while a non-violent solution is possible. And sometimes there is a two-phased boss.
The next thing that strikes the player right after the few minutes in the game is the visual beauty of this fictional world. The cities are cramped with cargo, people, and dirt. The buildings are magnificent, cozy, or shaggy, depending on the location. The nature is breathtaking. There is no other word for that. The forests, rural paths, swamps, mountains, and coasts all evoke a different vibe and it is a joy to travel through Teer Fradee and explore it. And when you get tired there is a clever use of a complex fast travel system that helps you to get where you need.
The various cutscenes that fill the quests are another brilliant artistic addition. The characters behave in a very natural way. Their body language full of motion and gestures looks real and the whole impression is supported with good voice acting. The rich dressing possibilities where you can alter the appearance of De Sardet and his NPC companions are a nice bonus.
The actual weight of the decisions and the number of different ways the game can progress after De Sardet’s certain actions make Greedfall an enjoyable RPG. The different outcomes open the way for multiple playthroughs. It is fulfilling when the actions matter. And ignorance bears consequences as well. Painful consequences. The game makes it clear how a true diplomat should behave and the natural consequences of not fulfilling De Sardet’s mission punish the player for ignoring Teer Fradee’s problems or not paying attention to what the other characters have to say. There are times when De Sardet needs to choose between personal feelings and what might be better for the world. The different factions De Sardet needs to work with have their own goals and making a mistake can simply anger someone. Or cause whole cities to fall.
Finding true love is definitely a possibility in Greedfall. The romance options are, once again, unique and balanced. The developers presented different kinds of love interests and each player can choose to woo a fictional person with a preferred temper and ideals. Do you prefer a cold nerd focused on science? Someone exotic who would whisper poetry into your ear? Someone with a tragic past looking for a haven, or someone eager to enjoy the wildest adventures in the open world? Even the different sexual orientation is naturally incorporated and some companions are available for both De Sardets and some prefer only one sex.
Greedfall certainly has a great number of different endings. Some very positive and heartwarming, some tragic. The developers truly made sure the player’s actions have a significant impact. Paying attention to details and pursuing even the smallest quests bears a reward in a form of a rich epilogue where all of the choices leave a permanent mark on the fictional world. Ignoring the quests, or not caring enough to play a true diplomat show in the epilogue as well and the player sees vivid illustrations of their choices.
Nothing is perfect and I would like to point out also some weaknesses of Greedfall. But before that, it is important to emphasize this game was produced by a very small studio and the cons are most probably caused by a low budget and lack of staff.
The majority of the world is beautiful, as said above. However, some indoor locations almost don’t change on whole Teer Fradee and the repetitiveness gets boring after visiting the third village.
Unlike voice acting, the soundtrack did not sound impressive to me. Some parts of it even made me feel somehow uncomfortable. But that is a manner of taste and I am sure many other people appreciated it.
There are a few parts of the story where it feels like more cutscenes were planned but did not make it to the final version of the game. These events are clunky and it is obvious more lore, action, and talking could enrich the game experience. Some quests progressed illogically quickly, the solution was simple beyond belief or they ended too abruptly with wasted previous hype. The other complication that made many quests less appealing is the constant need to go and talk to different NPCs, return to other NPCs and talk some more and then run and talk to someone again… It often got tiring.
The same goes for the exploration options. There are a few hints about the lore, the player can look for old and tattered letters… But these moments are scarce and do not do the fictional world justice.
The combat system is definitely interesting and enjoyable. However, the default keybinding is far from comfortable and I needed to change the settings to achieve a more natural binding.
Having your companions around De Sardet all the time makes sense since the main character is a noble on important missions that influence several nations and two continents. Such people are simply not allowed to risk their life alone. But, even playing on the hard mode, the companions often make the game rather easy. There are instances where a logical series of events tear De Sardet from protection and the player faces a foe alone. I would welcome more opportunities like that.
Glenn's Nest 