GreedFall is the new action RPG published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Spiders. The French software house, over the years, has never managed to take flight in the videogame market by presenting videogames of mediocre success. Since its announcement, however, it seemed to us that GreedFall could somehow break this sad reputation of Spiders and give us an exciting, original and well-made game.
Will it have met our expectations?
GreedFall Review - Welcome to Teer Fradee
GreedFall is set in the XNUMXth century France. A paradise island was discovered in new world and the major colonial forces intend to impose their authority on the place. This island, called Teer Fradee, in fact, it hides a thousand riches, mysteries to be discovered, the extraordinary culture of the natives of the place and terrible threats. But not only. That fascinating land could also hide the care of Malicora, an incurable disease that is afflicting the people of the old world. The mother of our protagonist is also affected by the Malicora: the young man, or the young woman, De Sardet grandson of Prince d'Orsay. In an attempt to find a cure and driven by the desire to explore the pristine lands of Teer Fradee, our protagonist will leave for the new world in the company of his Cousin Constantin, the new governor of the island.
Teer Fradee will turn out to be one a land full of opportunities but also of dangerous threats. The whole place is in fact inhabited by bizarre and dangerous creatures ready to do anything to defend their territory. To make the protagonist's life even more difficult are the different factions in play who founded their own colony on the island, claiming its authority. Each of them has their own interests, religious, military or commercial and they will not easily give up the riches and opportunities offered by the place. Added to this is the role of natives of the island, who have to face the threats of the new invaders and their just mistrust.
The way in which the protagonist will approach the different factions depends only on our choices. The player actions in fact, they influence many elements of the game: from politics, to relations between factions and between the various characters up to some elements of the plot that will modify the ending of GreedFall. There are also many side quests that add more details and interesting notions to an original and compelling lore.
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The ingredients for a GDR fantasy satisfyingly they are all there and well mixed together, starting with the protagonist who is created at the beginning of the game. The possibilities of personalize the protagonist's physique are not many and are limited to the choice of sex and facial features, but they still manage to give a personal imprint to the young De Sardet, considerably increasing the player's sense of involvement. Once the physical characteristics have been chosen, it will be necessary delve into the skills and role of the character.
Here the features at stake are many and well defined. The skill-tree it is in fact divided into three categories: attributes, skills and talents. Each category allows you to develop a certain peculiarity of the player such as attack and defense power, ability in oratory or alchemy, his agility and so on. While many of them are passive abilities or small buffs, some allow you to perform specifics actions useful for combat, such as the ability to roll and dodge enemy blows. Other categories allow you to explore new areas: alchemy, for example, will grant you access to particular explosives to destroy fragile walls, while agility will grant you access to areas that would otherwise be forbidden.
The possibilities are endless even if, at times, they are not valued as they should. Who will choose to take the path of magic, for example, he will be faced with a meager and unsatisfactory list of spells. More attention and more variety towards certain categories would have made GreedFall a cornerstone of RPGs.
In the wilds in company
GreedFall hands over to the player the reins of most of the actions to be performed. In fact, the game uses a system of responses and alignments during the dialogues that will allow you to act according to your tastes. This kind of gameplay winks at games like Dragon Age or The Witcher without simply “copying” them but creating your own effective style. It must be said, however, that the possible answers are sometimes not very varied and defined, limiting yourself to a "yes" or "no" and you will rarely have the impression of seriously changing the course of history. The endings of the story, however, are multiple and will change depending on your relationship with the factions and with the other characters in the game.
Party members there are many, each with its own fighting style and its own story that can be developed through side quests. You can decide who to take to the field with you and with whom to create friendships or even something more. Unfortunately it is not possible to choose any tactics for your allies, other than their equipment, they will act on their own initiative. Fortunately, the game's AI is quite efficient and will guarantee battles worthy of the name.
I enemies to be defeated are in fact many and bring the "action" to this RPG. THE monsters on the island they are well characterized and feature original elements and designs that enhance GreedFall's reputation. In addition to the "smaller" or neutral monsters, we can find around the map huge creatures equipped with weapons and sets of varied and deadly attacks. It will not be enough to slash through the air, but to use a good dose of strategy and take advantage of the experience of many, many, lost battles.
Low budget chi?
Unlike major titles with a large publisher behind them, GreedFall is a video game created with a relatively low amount of funds. This gives an added value to the game that has little to envy to triple A titles. The game graphics and settings are spectacular. While we cannot speak of a real Open World, both the vast expanses of Teer Fradee and the towns and villages are well detailed, increasing the player's involvement.
Another note of merit goes to soundtrack of the game made entirely by a symphony orchestra specialized that has managed to fully grasp the style and atmosphere of the game. The dubbing (in English with Italian subtitles) of both the main and secondary characters that give that Cinematic sense that never hurts. The latter loses some value due to the facial animations of the characters, the only element that reminds us (constantly) of the low budget used. To this there are also some Bug e Glitch vari which, however, did not affect our gaming experience.
GreedFall review: buy it or not?
GreedFall was a pleasant surprise for us lovers of GDR. Spiders has finally been able to combine an idea and an original plot with an effectiveness in realizing it. An impressive result for an indie studio made up of just 20 people. We hope that GreedFall can give new life to a software house full of ideas and originality.
GreedFall is now available on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
GreedFall
For 
- Original and well detailed plot
- Great combat system
- Great variety and longevity
Cons 
- Some animations leave something to be desired
- The skill branch could have been better developed
