Developer: Spiders
Publisher: Nacon
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PC
GreedFall 2: The Dying World – Preview
GreedFall 2: The Dying World by Paris-based developer Spiders was released into Steam Early Access on September 24th, 2024, following the footsteps of its predecessor. The original received a warm reception for its rich storytelling and unique blend of fantasy with themes of colonialism. It was praised for its engaging narrative and intricate world-building, setting high expectations for this sequel. Are you curious if GreedFall 2 lives up to the legacy of its predecessor, or if it falls short in its Early Access launch? Dive into our detailed preview to find out!
Our adventure begins in the tribal village of Vígéshvár in Teer Fradee, where we take the role of Vriden Gerr, also known as Rootless. Similar to the original GreedFall, the opening scene facilitates character creation with our portrait being painted. Shortly after, the game sets the tone for an experience filled with awkward exposition and stilted dialogue. On top of writing that can feel like a travel brochure, many conversations are delivered in Teer Fradeean, which occasionally can sound lifeless and inauthentic. This is not surprising, given that the actors are speaking a constructed language, but it does little to excuse some of the more questionable performances.
During this introductory chapter, the narrative revolves exclusively around the negative impact of the Bridge Alliance’s colony on Teer Fradee, bringing illness to the village and causing distress regarding their food safety. Unfortunately, the story very much harps on the tired “Noble Savage” trope. Continentals are depicted as destroyers of the land and its peaceful people who just want to live in harmony with nature. Apart from very few exceptions, every foreigner is easily and completely summarised as a combination of cruel, greedy, ignorant, and arrogant.
The foreigners of the Bridge Alliance poison the fish near the village
After our initiation, the story takes us to the continent of Gacane, where the previous game started. The narrative remains somewhat predictable but is enriched by several well-acted new characters. Initially planned as a prequel set three years before the original, it seems the developers have abandoned this idea. This leaves the connection between the two stories unclear.
The writing sadly exposes many quite obvious story inconsistencies. For example, a doctor of the foreigners is ignorant about the workings of the sickness caused by them, but is then able to make a remedy for it. Other quests can become extremely confusing if you break the expected sequence of events. More often than not, we stumbled upon some MacGuffin and suddenly had access to dialogue options which didn’t make any sense.
Apart from this, GreedFall 2’s presentation is quite appealing. Albeit looking a bit dated, its art direction and sound design are fairly enjoyable. Environments are detailed and beautiful, making exploration a delight. All clothing is designed with great attention to detail and looks authentic as well as practical. On the other hand, early on, amor choices consist mostly of brown tunics, making it difficult to tell at a glance which item does what.
The imposing city walls of Olima
The gameplay itself is a mixed bag. Our character’s skill progresses along six trees: Paths of Destruction, Paths of Protection, Paths of Charity, Weapons of War, Teer Fradeean Bracelets, and Bows. However, other characters each bring at least one skill tree exclusive to them. At the time of writing, barely a quarter of each skill tree had been implemented, offering very limited build options. But what we could choose made us cautiously optimistic for the finished system.
Most notably, the combat in GreedFall 2 is real-time with pause, in contrast to the original’s purely real-time fights. Most fights don’t pose any challenge and can be won without any input from the player. The combat experience is quite chaotic, and suffers from terrible AI. Companions frequently get stuck or forget their commands, leading to frustrating battles.
Completing the short combat tutorial bombards you with an overwhelming amount of messages about new quests, gained levels, acquired items, and skill points as well as talent points. Exploring the beautiful, detailed environments is enjoyable in its own right, but the clunky controls and constant switching to “Tracking Mode” detract significantly from the experience. Said tracking mode highlights crafting materials and would otherwise be vastly under-utilized. On the other hand, mandatory tracking sequences force you to walk around in a highly unappealing grey world. GreedFall 2’s stealth mechanics are rudimentary, featuring the usual vision cones, crouching in high grass, and enemies that slowly transition from suspicious to alarmed.
Only a small portion of all the skill trees is available in Early Access
The game also features quite a lot of talking and exhausting dialogue options for either quest progress or stilted, long-winded exposition. We found hints at romancing options, but so far these are not well-developed. One nice touch was being able to pick our gender for conversations separately from our body type, but it did little to improve the overall experience.
Unfortunately, save scumming could be described as a key strategy, as many talents have checks associated with them. Failing said checks can easily be avoided by reloading saves until you succeed. In several situations, we found ourselves still doing the skill check for the additional experience points, although we already had found other means of progressing. This is enabled even more by the game providing a convenient number of auto saves and quick saves. Then again, loading a save takes just a bit too long for comfort and renaming saves wasn’t yet implemented.
One of the game’s major flaws is its technical issues. The game crashed about once every hour, which is unacceptable even for an Early Access game. Turning on DLSS led to blurry and flickering rendering in the character screen. There is no FPS lock, which led to inconsistent performance. Particularly shameful are the uncanny and dated facial animations while walking animations often felt clunky and annoying. The pathfinding algorithm frequently stops doing its job, leading to many a stuck companion.
The village Vígéshvár is an example of GreedFall 2’s stellar art design
Conclusion
In conclusion, GreedFall 2: The Dying World is an Early Access release with potential that falls short due to its predictable story, technical issues, and overall lack of content as well as polish. Remarkable production values including the epic theme song and fully voiced characters add some charm, but the overall experience is marred by unconvincing dialogues, finicky controls, and a dated combat system. At the same time, the game promises to build on its predecessor with a mix of new and familiar elements. Telling us the other side of this intriguing world’s story is a highly compelling idea. Fans of the original GreedFall might enjoy the game for this alone. But for many players, it will likely be a disappointing journey at this point in time. If it ultimately succeeds in delivering a satisfying experience remains to be seen.
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