Lately, open world games have been picking up a lot of traction leading to an explosion of new offering in the genre with a new game seemingly dropping every week. Most of these games are fun in their own right, but we are starting to reach a point where many of these new releases start to feel like the same game. However, that is far from the case for GreedFall, developed by Spiders Studio in partnership with Focus Home Interactive. Over the course of my time playing, I was taken on a swashbuckling adventure that spanned huge areas and felt so unique compared to its counterparts.
It’s no surprise that an open world game has a big map, but the detail throughout every environment really impressed. The environment itself is beautiful and really captures the adventurous tone of the game. The amount of interaction was my favorite part about the environments. Throughout all my hours of playing this game, I didn’t come across a single character that I couldn’t interact with in some way. More impressively, the interactions were varied and felt authentic for the area of the city my character was in. Not many of the buildings that weren’t directly involved in the storyline or side missions were traversable, but I could interact with all the street vendors (some of these even turned into side missions) and crafting tables that lined the streets.
The customization of your character’s appearance and equipment was a fantastic feature of the game. When you begin, you customize the appearance of your characters face while an artist in painting their portrait. This is also where you can select the class of your character which determines the skills you will have in the beginning of the game. However, you can progress the skills of your player and add abilities where you can blur the lines between the classes from the beginning of the game. In addition to customizing skills, you can also customize the clothing and weapons through purchasing items at street side merchants or by crafting them at crafting tables spread through the maps. As you progress, you are able to construct and improve every available weapon and all armor to tailor your character in every way.
My only issue was that the fighting mechanics felt a bit cumbersome. The controls were very hard to pick up at first and switching between weapons, attacks, and defenses became quite a task when you were in battle. The tactical pause feature helps make up for some of the downsides of the other controls by allowing you to pause during a battle to queue moves, change your quick access options for attacks, and switch weapons. This feature comes in very handy during scenarios where you are taking on multiple enemies at once. The team you choose to travel with also supports you during fights with other characters, but your character is still undoubtedly doing most of the work.
My favorite part of GreedFall has to be how adventurous the game feels when you play it. The combination of a huge map with the mythology of pirates, magic, trade wars, and royalty really makes it feel like your character is going on an adventure. As a whole, the game feels very free as you can explore the map and take on a huge number of side missions that vary greatly in tasks and difficulty.
Overall, GreedFall was an awesome game to play. The immersion of the story and customization combined with a very swashbuckling feel made for a great adventure that was an absolute blast. It’s tough to stand out in a crowded genre like open world games, but GreedFall does it fantastically.
8.5/10
Check Out the GreedFall Trailer:
GreedFall is available for $49.99 digitally and at major retailers on consoles, as well as via Steam for PC. This game is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB. For more information about GreedFall, visit http://greedfall.com.
Xbox One Review
My first console was the original Playstation and I would play Twisted Metal every now and then but games didn't hook me until I played the original Halo at my friend's house. As soon as I picked up that controller, I knew I needed an Xbox and I had to have that game. Since those early Halo days, I've branched out and played any game I could find with a great story and memorable characters but Master Chief is still my favorite. @thenotoriousTGT on Twitter
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