Written By: Aaron Washington
Twitter: @amasterw
Traditional western RPGs have been on a hiatus for the past couple of years. Though we’ve had several action rpgs, we have yet to have a traditional create your own character RPG. Enter Greedfall which scratches the itch for something familiar, yet still different.
Focusing on the character of De Sardet, the player is given free reign on what De Sardet looks like, fights and how they act. Allowing for complete customization, the player is given the ability to make any choices that they want, while progressing on the main story.
The main story itself focuses on your endeavors on the recently discovered island called Teer Fradee. This island is vastly different from the continent that you were born on; free of major industrialism, warring factions and deadly politics. This land represents a new opportunity for the various factions that inhabit it.
There are six major factions on this island. Thélème is a theocracy governed by their Mother Cardinal, believing in the light they wish to spread their teachings to everyone on the island. The Bridge Alliance is made up of scientists who wish to learn from the island in order to create a cure for the malichor. The Coin Guard make up the bulk of mercenaries and bodyguards on the island, they are the main military force present. Master of the seas, the Nauts are the only one’s who know how to navigate the deep waters making them invaluable to everyone on the island. The congregation of merchants is the player’s home faction, they are made up of merchants and those who wish to increase their wealth.
The final faction is the natives. Taking heavy inspiration from Native Americans, this group has lived on the island before the beginning of the game and view you, the player, as an outsider. Many are opposed to the efforts to colonize their land, leading to deadly encounters between them and the various other factions.
The main story focuses on you as you travel to the island to assume your new duties as Legate for the Congregation of merchants, as legate you the diplomatic ambassador for this faction. Though this is your title, you have another mission of even greater importance. To find a cure for the malichor, a disease that plagues your countrymen. Turning the blood black, the veins follow suit until the entire face is filled with black tendrils. Your first experience of this horror is when you say goodbye to your mother. Generally fatal to all those diagnosed with the disease, the cure has become paramount to the continent’s survival.
The game does a good job of presenting multiple sides of the story, by giving the non-native factions an overall reason to be on the island it becomes easy to sympathize with them. While at the same time, the game does not shy away from the pain and injustice that has been heaped on the natives. By showing that story it allows the game world to exist in this area of gray instead of the black and white world most games inhabit.
This game shines with its story, completely refreshing and new compared to what is currently out. The gameplay on the other hand is forgettable. Forgettable in the sense that once you master the basics and learn the different enemies’ types, you can almost turn off your brain during those fights. As the AI does little to change its patterns and once you have a proven strategy there is no real reason to change how you play.
I will say that I played Spider’s, the development studio, last game The Technomancer and that game had very clunky gameplay leading it to become a slough to play through. They did make some serious improvements since then, increasing fluidity and the range of motion your character can go through as well as your options during combat. Giving Greedfall a much better combat system and overall freedom.
Overall this game shines with its story and interconnected tales, giving the player the opportunity to experience multiple diverse perspectives. While the combat can at times be in the way of the story, it does not completely derail the overall game. And being priced at $49.99 is plus and gives the consumer the feeling of getting exactly what they paid for.
I would recommend Greedfall to any RPG fan as it makes a great case for itself and the world it creates.
Twitter: @amasterw
Traditional western RPGs have been on a hiatus for the past couple of years. Though we’ve had several action rpgs, we have yet to have a traditional create your own character RPG. Enter Greedfall which scratches the itch for something familiar, yet still different.
Focusing on the character of De Sardet, the player is given free reign on what De Sardet looks like, fights and how they act. Allowing for complete customization, the player is given the ability to make any choices that they want, while progressing on the main story. The main story itself focuses on your endeavors on the recently discovered island called Teer Fradee. This island is vastly different from the continent that you were born on; free of major industrialism, warring factions and deadly politics. This land represents a new opportunity for the various factions that inhabit it.
There are six major factions on this island. Thélème is a theocracy governed by their Mother Cardinal, believing in the light they wish to spread their teachings to everyone on the island. The Bridge Alliance is made up of scientists who wish to learn from the island in order to create a cure for the malichor. The Coin Guard make up the bulk of mercenaries and bodyguards on the island, they are the main military force present. Master of the seas, the Nauts are the only one’s who know how to navigate the deep waters making them invaluable to everyone on the island. The congregation of merchants is the player’s home faction, they are made up of merchants and those who wish to increase their wealth.
The final faction is the natives. Taking heavy inspiration from Native Americans, this group has lived on the island before the beginning of the game and view you, the player, as an outsider. Many are opposed to the efforts to colonize their land, leading to deadly encounters between them and the various other factions.
The main story focuses on you as you travel to the island to assume your new duties as Legate for the Congregation of merchants, as legate you the diplomatic ambassador for this faction. Though this is your title, you have another mission of even greater importance. To find a cure for the malichor, a disease that plagues your countrymen. Turning the blood black, the veins follow suit until the entire face is filled with black tendrils. Your first experience of this horror is when you say goodbye to your mother. Generally fatal to all those diagnosed with the disease, the cure has become paramount to the continent’s survival.
The game does a good job of presenting multiple sides of the story, by giving the non-native factions an overall reason to be on the island it becomes easy to sympathize with them. While at the same time, the game does not shy away from the pain and injustice that has been heaped on the natives. By showing that story it allows the game world to exist in this area of gray instead of the black and white world most games inhabit.
This game shines with its story, completely refreshing and new compared to what is currently out. The gameplay on the other hand is forgettable. Forgettable in the sense that once you master the basics and learn the different enemies’ types, you can almost turn off your brain during those fights. As the AI does little to change its patterns and once you have a proven strategy there is no real reason to change how you play.
I will say that I played Spider’s, the development studio, last game The Technomancer and that game had very clunky gameplay leading it to become a slough to play through. They did make some serious improvements since then, increasing fluidity and the range of motion your character can go through as well as your options during combat. Giving Greedfall a much better combat system and overall freedom.
Overall this game shines with its story and interconnected tales, giving the player the opportunity to experience multiple diverse perspectives. While the combat can at times be in the way of the story, it does not completely derail the overall game. And being priced at $49.99 is plus and gives the consumer the feeling of getting exactly what they paid for.
I would recommend Greedfall to any RPG fan as it makes a great case for itself and the world it creates.
Tags:
Video Games
