I first encountered GreedFall in April 2022, on the tail end of the pandemic. I had just received word that, after nearly a two-year 'exile' of sorts, I was finally able to return to Montreal, QC; my island, my city. In some ways, the saga of de Sardet -- the confident, fearless, yet personally rootless legate whose role we assume -- inaugurated the next stage of my life. In other ways, it revealed and accentuated what was already there, and what I was already passionate about. Naturally, I could write an entire novel about my love for the game, but this is neither the time nor the place for a retrospective. This will be a 'proper' review, as the reception of my impromptu piece about GreedFall II changed something within me. Most of my review will be me waxing poetic at a fever pitch, so I will try to get the 'important' stuff out of the way first, just for the discerning gamers.


Probably.

I 100% recommend GreedFall. I cannot recommend it enough, actually. It was created on a budget with a skeleton crew, and the gameplay and mechanics can be a bit janky and exploitable, but it is beyond worth it for the story alone. A tech de Sardet with a well-crafted gun can breeze through the game and delete just about every enemy -- which is ridiculously fun -- but if you're more into swordplay, then there's more to pay attention to. The parries are very satisfying! All of this said, though, if you're looking for a very refined gameplay experience, then I'm not too sure you'd enjoy the game as much as I did, but if you want a magical and politically volatile story that presents an unflinching and scathing pronouncement on the folly of man, as well as the consumptive nature of greed and its destructive trappings, then you have met your match.

PROS
+ The characters -- absolute standouts. Every single one of them, from de Sardet themself, Constantin, the companions, the various native leaders...
+ The story itself and the constantly grey morals of everyone involved, including de Sardet...!
+ CHOICES MATTER
+ Gorgeous landscapes and sound design
+ Cape physics. I've spent a lot of time in the game just spinning de Sardet around to watch her cape flutter.
+ The game encourages exploration and forces you to figure things out for yourself -- your hand isn't held past the combat tutorial
+ Chockful of early modern historical references, and plenty of Shakespeare!
+ You're free to be a horrible person, but you have to live with your choices (and you'll feel guilty about it, too)
+ In-depth and interactive crafting system

CONS
- The combat can be exploited quite easily
- Textures often clip and there are shading issues
- Animations in dialogues are sometimes choppy, but ones that we see in cutscenes are very fluidly done
- Companions can get stuck on invisible hitboxes and teleport off the map...
- Burrowing nadaigs can likewise throw companions into the fourth dimension
- The cities of the different colonial powers feel rather samey, especially the palaces

In short, most of the hang ups and reservations that I can share about the game have to do with the shoestring budget they had for the first game. I recall reading somewhere that it was only $5mil. If you can forgive that, it's an unforgettable game, and I really can't say enough good things about it.

It's a shame that Steam reviews have a rather paltry word limit, as I could sing the praises of this game incessantly. I'll do what I can to keep it succinct and relevant, though; maybe one day I'll have a whole retrospective series in my group/cult. But very, very briefly, the three highlights I'd like to visit here:

The story
I don't want to spoil a thing about the story, so I'll share a very brief rundown. You assume the role of de Sardet, a member of the nobility in Serene, the capital of the Merchant Congregation. As the legate of the Merchant Congregation, you are to accompany your whimsical cousin, Constantin d'Orsay, to his new position as governor on the faraway isle of Tir Fradi, in hopes of finding a cure for the malichor, an insidious plague that is rotting the old world, and to cement the standing of the Congregation on the colonial stage. Yet, this new world was, of course, not new to its natives...

Political machinations await de Sardet and company at every turn on Tir Fradi. Every choice is meaningful, and they all culminate in a dramatic, morally challenging conclusion that will leave you to wonder 'what if I did this differently...'

The characters
There's a reason why I mentioned my absolute love for the cast of characters in GreedFall immediately. They are all fantastically written and designed. Perhaps one of the most unique bits of the character interaction in GreedFall is that they do not begin as trusting or friendly towards de Sardet, but rather suspicious of them; even your bodyguard, the deceptively gruff and stoic Kurt. Think about it: although you trust him, clearly, you've done very little so far to give him any reason to trust you. The native princess ("you are most confusing, but thank you") Siora treats you kindly but ♥♥♥♥♥♥ at first encounter, the renegade botanist Aphra has reason to believe you're out for her head and holds you at gunpoint the very second she lays eyes on you, and poor Captain Vasco is obliged to relinquish his position among the Nauts after he is finished transporting you from Gacane to Tir Fradi. You have to earn your companions' trust, and there are consequences if you fail to do so. This said, the romances are expertly done. Before GreedFall I would go out of my way to avoid romances in games, as I usually find them cringing or saccharine. In this case, however, if you do choose to pursue a relationship with a companion -- and you're under no obligation to do so! -- it is in-line with their own personality, arc, and their perception of de Sardet. The treatment of the companions is realistic, and in giving them their own agency, so to speak, the story becomes much more vivid and immediate.

De Sardet is easily my favourite protagonist in just about any piece of media I've consumed. As a born-and-raised member of the nobility and a skillful diplomat, one would expect for de Sardet to be a distant character, someone to whom the player would struggle to relate. But the swagger and bravado belies a universal experience; de Sardet struggles with duty, allegiance, identity, morality. As de Sardet, you inhabit a living, breathing world that you can impact. Yet, you are never given the impression that you alone are changing the world, but changing alongside the world. Just as with the companions, de Sardet's character arc from start to finish is complete and -- hopefully! -- satisfying.

The choices
There is no "good" ending for GreedFall. There is a horrible ending, a few okay endings, and the best ending, but there is no "good" ending. Your choices immediately begin to shape and construct your own fate. Acting on impulse and emotion, no matter how well-intentioned, can ruin your goals. Failing to parliament with your companions and listen to their complaints or worries can lead to absolute catastrophe or result in minor, yet irritating loses. Choices as seemingly minor as taking the low road instead of the high, or entering a hangar from the backdoor versus the front can have massive repercussions for the resolution. In many ways, you are forced to assume the role of a diplomat, constantly assessing, thinking, considering how your choices can impact and influence those around you.

Overall Rating ★★★★★
Story ★★★★★
Gameplay ★★★★☆
Graphics ★★★★☆
Sound Design ★★★★★
Replay Value ★★★★★
Difficulty ★★★☆☆
Bug free? ★★☆☆☆
PC Requirements ★★★★☆
Game Length ★★★★★

I've finally written a review... one for GF1 will come soon, or whenever. Sorry!

Don't let the playtime fool you -- I'm reviewing this on just one complete EA play-through, which took me approximately 20 hours or so in total. The other 16 or so hours are due to me starting over, testing out different classes, fiddling with the settings, crying inconsolably to the main theme or being blindsided by typical Spiders storytelling (this is a good thing!)...

A fair warning: most of my review has to do with storytelling, rather than gameplay. I have a little list at the end if you're intrigued to hear about the more mechanical bits.

TL;DR?
Probably.

First off: this is going to be a bit meandering, but I don't much care. It's an early access review for something that is beloved for me, so think of it as an experimental art piece. It'll be a little disjointed and a bit chaotic, but well-rounded enough. You'll pull through.

PROS
- I'm already very invested into the world of GreedFall ...
- Gorgeous game with gorgeous character design
- The game encourages exploration
- The characters!
- The lore is expanded upon greatly, including the language Yecht Fradi

CONS
- Buggy and glitchy
- The world is somewhat unoptimized, and very, very heavy in Tir Fradi
- The combat is very new, and can be irritating, especially at first and moreso if you are expecting an experience like the first game
- Animations can lag and tear, and the finer elements of textures can take way too long to load in

BUT... a caveat to all these cons? It's literally EARLY ACCESS. You can either deal with them and report them to the devs, or get upset about an early access game having early access glitches and review bomb it. The very last bit of the review has even more finely tuned observations, if you want to learn more but also skip past my screaming and crying. I won't judge, carants, go ahead.

A few words...
Firstly, don't go into the game with expectations that it will be a completed product. It's not. It's still a little rough around the edges, replete with bugs and little glitches -- all of which can be reported directly to Spiders and Nacon through the menu -- but as with any Spiders game, the story is sublime, and you can tell how much love and care went into the creation of their characters.


The combat is very, very different from the first game, perhaps even frustratingly so. I did get a little peeved with it at times, but reminded myself that it is still very much a work in progress, and Spiders is a small studio. Giving it that grace made it much more tolerable. And beyond that, if you're active in the Discord, you'd know that the finished product will be quite similar to the combat in Dragon Age: Origins . Just hang in there! It can be off-putting, and I understand that this is a huge reason as to why the game is being review bombed -- that, and I suppose deducing that it is in early access is a Herculean task for some -- but the story is worth it.


The bit where Damsel cries

Now, I need to wax poetic for a moment...

GreedFall I was my first Spiders game, and it remains my absolute favourite game of all time. It checked all the boxes for me: early modern technology, low/dark fantasy, fantastic companions, romances that weren't cringing or saccharine. When I finished it in 2022, I was immediately ready for a second game, be it the continuation of de Sardet's saga, or a completely different experience in the island of Tir Fradi or the continent of Gacane. I've been following the development of GreedFall II: The Dying World since it was announced. On 24 September, I set an alarm for 3:55am, so I could get out of bed, boot up my computer, and grab it the very second it dropped at 4am. And that I did.

We encounter some familiar faces, both at home and abroad. Mev was, as always, a terrifying and beautiful presence.

Returning to Tir Fradi was a treat, and being able to experience it as a native who actually grew up there and was becoming a doneigad was spectacular. Vriden gerr -- literally, rootless in Yecht Fradi -- is an excellent foil to de Sardet, our beloved door-destroying legate from the first opus. Vriden gerr is curious and naive where de Sardet is swaggering and confident. The several callbacks to the first game were well-received and greatly appreciated.

The companions, just like in the first game, all had very distinctive introductory scenes that immediately cemented them into my mind. Although no one's introduction was quite as bombastic as Aphra's -- with her dropping down from the trees in a swamp and shoving a pistol in our faces, only to be taunted with what essentially amounted to "try it! do it! see what happens!" -- they were all foundational and remarkable.

Perhaps my sentimentality colours more of my review than anything, but I hardly think that's a fault. The EA was worth it, and I feel honoured to be able to help Spiders develop the game, in my very minute ways. The best way to experience the EA, in my opinion, is to lean into the narrative bit, and lower your expectations for combat and general handling of the game. Spiders excel at telling stories, and even though we are missing some quests, companions, and locations at this stage in the development, it is still wonderful. At the time of my writing this, the game is barely over a week old, and it is still in early access. Check out the road map on the store page or in the Discord server. It's a work in progress!

More technical bits

If you want a more granular look at my opinion, here it is:
- Gameplay/combat: 3/5 (See above)
- Companions: 5/5 (Love them all, but still love Kurt more)
- Graphics: 4/5 (Gorgeous, gorgeous game, but poorly optimized, at least in this stage of its development)
- Atmosphere: 4/5 (Love the music, but cities, towns, and other settlements could do with some more ambience to make them feel 'lived in')
- Story/worldbuilding: 5/5 (I imagine a newcomer to the series would be very confused, but whatever.)
- Door opening animation: 4/5 (has some gusto, but doesn't have that same aggressive, rip-it-off-the-hinges-and-threaten-people-with-your-bodyguard aura)

(You also can't pull a 'Do you know who I am?!' in conversation, but it's okay.)

This would technically round itself out to about 4.5/5, but my adoration for the world of GreedFall is greater than the restrictions of mere mathematics, so it's a 5/5. If you don't like early access games, or aren't already familiar with the world, then I'd recommend you either wait for the full release, or go have your life ruined by the first game like myself. But if you're already a fan of GreedFall or don't care about EA/want to help a small studio create yet another masterpiece, then I recommend you buy it.