At E3 2018 we got a behind closed doors preview of Paris based developer Spiders’ upcoming 17th century Baroque inspired action RPG, Greedfall.
In Greedfall, a group of mercenaries and treasure hunters have become settlers on a previously unexplored island due to their original home being ruined by pollution and a particular disease. This unexplored island is revealed to be exuding magic and is filled with plenty of treasure and secrets.
As the adventure continues, the player finds themselves caught in in a war between the settlers and the island’s natives, who are protected by supernatural beings which have manifested from the island’s magic.
The player character can be customized to your liking, but seemingly always has a strange marking on their face and neck due to the previously mentioned disease.
The leader of one faction then will send you on a mission which may have you dealing with another. In our demo, we were told to go to another faction to make a deal with them — due to one of our companion character’s being the daughter of the queen of that faction, and from there we were sent to help her sister in fight against an invading faction.
There are five companion characters in total, one for each faction, and two of them will always be by your side. Because each companion character is tied to a different faction, having different ones come along with you will improve your otherwise tense relationship with their respective factions.
Even with less than ideal relations, all factions are after the searching for the same thing: a cure for the disease which has afflicted their people. Although each companion will usually work together with you, they may also betray you depending on the choices you make, so you have to choose wisely if you don’t want to lose an ally. All of your choices will also affect the main story in different ways, but not much detail was provided.
Each area had an open feel to it, but it didn’t seem like a truly open world, as you could travel from one area to the next without having to travel in between — due to a campfire fast travel system — and it’s unclear whether this was specific to the demo.
Because the island is teeming with magic, the creatures are less typical than what you might expect, with some only being seen during the day and some only at night. In our demo, we encountered some large and aggressive sloth bear boar hybrids that had to be taken down. Combat consists of a mixture of melee and magic, and the skill tree contains different weapon specializations and magic with over 14 different weapon classes to master — including swords, which we saw in the demo.
Although Greedfall may not be as well known as other upcoming titles, and didn’t seem to stand out as much as it could, its setting and intriguing choice and companion mechanics make it an action RPG to look out for.
Greedfall will launch for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2019.
