Much like Cyanide, Spiders is an ambitious developer which usually bites off more than it can chew. With GreedFall, however, Spiders finally delivered. A cocktail between BioWare games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and the Risen series, this action-RPG instantly captured my attention for its neat setting, inspired by 17th century colonialism.
After a prologue/tutorial, the young protagonist (customizable in gender and appearance) leaves his baroque city to explore an exotic island colonized by his countrymen and other factions, seeking for the cure to a deadly plague.
The game is a bit rough around the edges but there many things to like: solid writing, serviceable gameplay, a semi-open world with some pretty locations, interesting and likable party members, factions conflicting with each other, a character system with different skills and talents (magic, firearms, crafting...), quests with multiple solutions (combat, stealth, disguise, diplomacy...) and moral choices.
There are flaws. While acting is fine, lip-syncing is off. Colonies are often populated by scores of identical NPCs who are invulnerable and don't react to attacks. There isn't a theft system, so you can take everything you find without repercussions. The three main colonies look nice and distinctive but there isn't a lot to do in them apart from a few places of interest; ironically, wilderness maps are more eventful. Combat is competent but unbalanced in favor of ranged attacks (magic and guns), while melee is much harder. It is entirely possible to create hybrid classes though.
Overall, this was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed the characters and the setting and appreciated that quests often have a narrative twist to make them more interesting and unpredictable.
After a prologue/tutorial, the young protagonist (customizable in gender and appearance) leaves his baroque city to explore an exotic island colonized by his countrymen and other factions, seeking for the cure to a deadly plague.
The game is a bit rough around the edges but there many things to like: solid writing, serviceable gameplay, a semi-open world with some pretty locations, interesting and likable party members, factions conflicting with each other, a character system with different skills and talents (magic, firearms, crafting...), quests with multiple solutions (combat, stealth, disguise, diplomacy...) and moral choices.
There are flaws. While acting is fine, lip-syncing is off. Colonies are often populated by scores of identical NPCs who are invulnerable and don't react to attacks. There isn't a theft system, so you can take everything you find without repercussions. The three main colonies look nice and distinctive but there isn't a lot to do in them apart from a few places of interest; ironically, wilderness maps are more eventful. Combat is competent but unbalanced in favor of ranged attacks (magic and guns), while melee is much harder. It is entirely possible to create hybrid classes though.
Overall, this was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed the characters and the setting and appreciated that quests often have a narrative twist to make them more interesting and unpredictable.