The next RPG Greedfall exploration has my attention

When I was asked to preview Greedfall, an upcoming RPG by Spiders, I did not really know what to expect. Its vast world, full of ruins and border towns, captivated a sense of discovery but also aroused a strange apprehension in me. Greedfall bursting with potential and intelligent ideas, but even after playing it, I can not say whether it will be a powerful recreation of the BioWare-esque narrative or a half-measured romance of the overly violent Age of Exploration.

In Greedfallyou play De Sardet, citizen of the old continent. Overcrowding has allowed the rapid spread of a plague called Malichor. You are sent as a diplomat to an island on the other side of the ocean called Teer Fradee, where a treatment against the plague could be found. In searching, you act as a kind of diplomat to the various trade factions and indigenous peoples of the island. In the seventeenth century, the atmosphere reigns: tricorne hats, armored soldiers, vibrant heraldry and solitary outposts. Teer Fradee turns out to be a mysterious place, even magical, with strange creatures who feel drawn from games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunting. In fact, play Greedfall any time frame clearly indicates that it is time to fill the void created in the absence of games like The witcher and Dragon Age. That's what I learned when I recently met the creative producer of Focus Home Interactive, Tom Butler, for a hands-on demonstration.

Greedfall it turned out immediately beautiful to watch. Butler began the demonstration in a small swamp, where beams of light crossed gnarled branches. The distant trees of the forests held sage-colored leaves dotted with faded hues. Teer Fradee was real, as if I could tell what angle my foot would take to walk on a rock. By the time Butler gave a brief overview of the area, he mentioned that the director of the game, Jeanne Rousseau, CEO of Spider, was inspired by Baroque art and Flemish paintings. It is also inspired by the historical accounts of various explorers and naturalists. GreedfallGlobal design has a specific philosophy: to create wonder and wonder. What I saw, however limited, touched those feelings. It was a place I wanted to explore and whose nooks were promising.

"We absolutely did not want to be strictly historical," said Rousseau in a YouTube video about world design. "On the contrary, he had to remain a source of inspiration. We invite players to dream, explore and discover a whole new world. "

The world is divided into small subsections with quests to undertake and a point of interest to locate, reminding Dragon Age. When I started playing, I found myself in the camp with various characters, such as the rider but secret sailor, or the curious Siora. Traveling with companions not only confers benefits in combat, but also affects the way you could handle situations. For example, Siora can play a translator role when interacting with the different peoples of Teer Fradee, opening new dialogue options or helping to solve situations. Each of these characters had personal quests and stories to pursue. Butler warned that ignoring them long enough in the main game might cause party members to leave the group out of frustration.

The camp also had a workbench where I could make armor and weapons. Each article was customizable; I could decide what kind of half-cloak I wanted to drape over my armor or dress up as I pleased. For normal difficulty levels, this amount of customization seemed useless, but I was assured that higher level players would find it useful to minimize or maximize each armor item in order to obtain statistics. high. For my part, I imagined how much I could give my character an amazing appearance, wondering if I could possibly opt for something more. Transported by blood and less conquistador.

I decided to continue the main quest for the area I was in, working with members of the Mercantile Bridge Alliance to find a lost food search team and their main botanist. Leaving the camp, I was almost immediately pushed into battle with wild boars. It was there Greedfall started to grab me. Players can choose from three initial disciplines at the beginning of the game: warrior, technique and magic. It was essentially the division between the fighter, the thief and the mage, although the players could depart from their original path. For this demo, I was a mage. It meant casting magic spells ranging from simple "magic missiles" to huge spells that exploded with energy around me. If I wanted to, I could also switch to my sword or even take out a match gun.

The fighting was going well and he quickly became intuitive to flee enemies and cast spells or wait until the Fury counter was filled so I could trigger a more powerful attack. (You can look above to see an excerpt of the tree management skills and a fight against a dangerous monster.) It was similar to the battle at the Lock-on's sword. The witcher, but there was a welcome twist: at any time, I could pause the action and play as a turn-based RPG. If the situation was hectic, a simple push of a button froze everything and filled my screen with various attacks and spells to queue. Although it was hardly necessary for my battle with wild boars, I imagine it is a valuable tool in boss battles.

My quest led me through ruined camps and a detective sequence where I followed a trail of blood. Finding a corpse led to a discussion of the situation between my companions. My protagonist seemed appalled that the man was killed.

"It was only a scholar, a sage, not a warrior on the battlefield," they said.

Siora's response was swift: "Do you think my people see a difference when men on the bridge steal our people from their beds? All clans hide their children. "

A game about crossing the ocean to "explore" a new magical world contains many unpleasant implications. It was at least an acknowledgment that Greedfall was not going to ignore them completely, the characters would have different opinions about what it meant to explore and what it meant when new groups of people interacted. Butler summarized the interaction in one question:

"How do you explore the notion of expanding a person at the expense of others?"

I mentioned that I was happy to see the moment, but I was still worried. How much would Greedfall recognize the destructive effects of colonization? How much would it allow the player to navigate and negotiate a different path, even if he carried the outward signs of the Age of Discovery?

Finally, I came across two native Teer Fradee in a clearing and approached them. I was greeted with a welcome skepticism. Who the hell is this settler and what do they want? Are they also here to cause problems? For the purposes of the demo, I had a high charisma statistic that had led to a fruitful discussion, but I also had the opportunity to involve Siora. It was later said that I could have snuck in to hear the conversation.

We discovered the only survivor of the Bridge Investigation Team, a fearless alchemist named Aphra. She went down from a tree and ambushed my party, a memorable introduction that clearly indicated that she would be a company character. The companions clashed. Siora and Aphra have clearly not been reconcilable to the deeper incursions of Bridge Alliance in Teer Fradee. Mercenary Kurt noted that if Aphra attacked the party again, he would kill it himself. I wondered how these companions would play against each other throughout the match.

The rest of my time with Greedfall has been devoted to the exploration of a few major cities and to the search for the creator of the character. There was a neat framing device – a portrait session in which the main character sits at the beginning of the game. It also gave me the opportunity to better understand the various skills you may have, such as crafts or science. These could affect the dialogue but also give some options in the world of the game. For example, a person with great scientific competence could make bombs to create improvised entrances in restricted areas such as warehouses.

I moved away from Greedfall extremely curious. This may be the kind of RPG I want. Associated characters, statistics influencing the dialogue, rich and interesting parameter. Here you have the promise of using a familiar video game framework to explore interesting ideas and characters, provided these ideas are treated with care. Whatever happens, I will not be long in seeing the end result. Greedfall will be released in September for PC, Xbox One and Playstation 4.