When developer Spiders released Greedfall, they introduced players to a medieval fantasy setting where they were leading an expedition to the new world. Now, Greedfall II: The Dying World, published by Nacon Games, aims to shift the perspective in more ways than one to deliver a memorable open-world RPG experience. After some hands-on time with the game, these changes left me excited for the future of the series.
The game opened with a character creator, where players can select one of six paths, with two paths dedicated to defense, offense, and support each. Players can also pick a weapon and a starting talent, like diplomacy, which can provide the player with more persuasive options in conversations, or alchemy, which allows players to turn herbs into potions and salves. All these options provide the player with a starting set of skills. Finally, players must distribute points into their stats, all of which can provide passive bonuses or increased weapon damage.
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In the first game, players took the role of a noble named De Sardet, traveling to the new world known as Teer Fradee. This time, in Greedfall II: The Dying World, they’re playing as a native known as Vriden Gerr, an affectionate moniker meaning Rootless. Their initial goal is to become a sage, someone who connects with nature and acts as a guardian of their home.
Aside from the obvious differences in background and motives, the sage role lends itself to the broader perspective in Greedfall II: The Dying World. Whereas in the first game, players controlled De Sardet in action-based combat, the sequel places the focus not just on Vriden Gerr but on their companions as well.
The first Greedfall contained many RPG elements, but ultimately, the combat emphasized action. Greedfall II: The Dying World is making big changes to that aspect as well. Combat can still be played out in real-time from an over-the-shoulder perspective, but players also have the ability to pause combat and zoom out, giving them a larger view of the battlefield. This tactical pause allows players to maintain a watchful eye over the party, switch to different characters, and queue up actions for each of them before letting their decisions play out.
While Vriden Gerr can be molded to play whatever role the player desires, their companions fill more specific archetypes. Their starting companions can deal heavy damage and knock opponents down or throw out some poison vials and support spells, but these are just two examples. These abilities can also target allies if they’re within the range of the attack, but developer Spiders intends to offer the ability to turn off friendly fire. It’s their hope that this and other planned accessibility features in Greedfall II will allow players to tailor the experience to their needs so everyone can enjoy what the game has to offer.
Greedfall II: The Dying World is meant to offer seven different companions, of which you can form a party of four. This gives the player more options about how they build their own character since their party can complement any of their shortcomings. While I didn’t see this feature in-depth, your decisions when dealing with situations can affect your companions’ opinions of you, with the eventual goal of allowing romance to bloom in some cases.
The protagonist, Vreiden Gerr, and one of their companions, Nilan, are trying to become sages, but part of their trial is to discover the source of a mysterious illness and to prevent the colonizers from killing off all the animals in the region. In my time with Greedfall II: The Dying World, this is where the game shined strongest. These quests each had various paths that could be taken, based on your skills, luck, and even simple curiosity.
For instance, I found a camp that belonged to some hunters, and I had the opportunity to eavesdrop on them to potentially learn something that would get them to stop indiscriminately killing wildlife. I failed the stealth roll but was able to talk to the hunters instead of resorting to combat, a decision one of my companions was unhappy with. While I could have chosen to engage them in combat and force them to stop their actions, I continued to explore until I found a larger settlement. I spoke to the officer in charge, and he simply ordered the hunters to find a new hunting ground.
Despite the path I took, there were still other ways to resolve the quest, and many of them would affect my home and my options in future quests. None of the choices I made felt like a binary decision; the game never told me to “kill them or talk to them,” and so I explored until I found a solution I was happy with. The other quests that came up during the preview had similar structures, allowing me to be creative when it came to tackling them. If the game is able to maintain that freedom when applied to problem-solving, then Greedfall II: The Dying World has a lot of potential to be great.
Eventually, Vriden Gerr finds themselves taken to Gacane, the continent that the invading colonists hail from. Greedfall II: The Dying World starts a few years before the events of the first game, but with a few time-consuming trips across the ocean, it’s likely that the two narratives will collide. It’s still unknown whether the series protagonists will meet or what will happen if they do, but it’s a good opportunity to revise any perceived shortcomings from the first game.
Greedfall II: The Dying World starts very strong and shows a lot of potential for creative problem-solving in an open world. The greater focus on companions also provides opportunities for fun party dynamics. It remains to be seen whether Spiders can keep that momentum throughout the whole game, but the hours I spent so far make me want to see for myself.
Greedfall II: The Dying World releases Summer 2024 to Early Access on PC.
