Greedfall - First Reviews and Impressions

*sigh* so after that giant digression back to Greedfall. After 30 hours I'm starting to feel there's something missing (which incidentally was a "something" that wasn't missing from many of these highly rated older games). It's a nebulous thing and hard to describe but I refer to it as "heart" - that spark of magic that REALLY pulls you in and KEEPS you there. There's something about the bulk of the filler quests that becomes tiresome after a while - as if you are just ticking the boxes to say done that one done that one….

This is something that didn't become apparent until well into the game and I can't put my finger on exactly why I feel this way. It could be that I ceased to care about things in the game so much or even something as simple as the quest tracker being intrusive. Or perhaps it is that your main protagonist doesn't seem to be all that invested in anything because his diplomatic status requires a degree of impartiality? It's all becoming a bit clinical as if the devs ran out of steam somewhere along the way.
 
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Neither Baldur's Gate game does anything for me but I have specific tastes that nullifies what makes them enjoyable to others. I strongly prefer single character games and open world environments. It's why I play survival games now. They're mostly single-character and open world. I also read hundreds of books every year and reading game dialog, including Torment, is just painful. It's like reading something on RoyalRoadl. Most of it is written as if English was a secondary or tertiary language.

Outside of that I play several of the party-based games and can enjoy them for a while. I'll probably pick up Greedfall too. If nothing else, just so I can get the references people will make in future posts :)

BG1, made it to the title city before getting bored.
BG2, made it just out of the prison before uninstalling. I don't like contingencies and counter spells.
 
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Greedfall isn't so much of a party game really. You don't control your party members but you do interact with them (mainly to get extra quests that then produce ability buffs when they like you) and kit them out. The gameplay is more like solo character with pets. So I imagine you could well enjoy it more than many people will. For the most part your party members are just other targets to distract groups of enemies from focussing solely on you.
 
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A lot of so called "rose tinted" games have stood the test of time :) Only time will tell if the newer hyped games will stand the test of time too.
 
*sigh* so after that giant digression back to Greedfall. After 30 hours I'm starting to feel there's something missing (which incidentally was a "something" that wasn't missing from many of these highly rated older games). It's a nebulous thing and hard to describe but I refer to it as "heart" - that spark of magic that REALLY pulls you in and KEEPS you there. There's something about the bulk of the filler quests that becomes tiresome after a while - as if you are just ticking the boxes to say done that one done that one….

This is something that didn't become apparent until well into the game and I can't put my finger on exactly why I feel this way. It could be that I ceased to care about things in the game so much or even something as simple as the quest tracker being intrusive. Or perhaps it is that your main protagonist doesn't seem to be all that invested in anything because his diplomatic status requires a degree of impartiality? It's all becoming a bit clinical as if the devs ran out of steam somewhere along the way.

I know what you're saying. I'm still enjoying it, and might even play through it twice to try out some different abilities and choices, but certain aspects feel a bit "deflated". I noticed something specific yesterday:

It's pointless to explore most cities, villages etc beyond the obvious quest markers. If a house is relevant, it will be part of a quest at some point. Until that happens, you might as well just skip it, because it'll be empty until then. This goes for a lot of the exploration. Feel like exploring that mine? Good for you, but you'll eventually get to a mechanic that can only be fixed once you get a quest to do so. Feel like exploring a native village? Sure, but nobody will say anything until there's a quest to do so.

The list goes on and on. A few chests here and there are worth finding due to legendary/orange items etc, but you can usually just wait until you get a quest to go somewhere.
In short: They are quite clearly better at doing story/quest driven content than content based around exploration, unlike CDPR, Bethesda and PB.
 
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A lot of so called "rose tinted" games have stood the test of time :) Only time will tell if the newer hyped games will stand the test of time too.

People usually push the rose tinted glasses theory in an attempt to bolster their opinion, but that's ok. For people like that, no amount of discussion is going to change their mind about X game because not everyone values the same qualities. They'll just continue to rationalize that it's only nostalgia. :)

In short: They are quite clearly better at doing story/quest driven content than content based around exploration, unlike CDPR, Bethesda and PB.

I agree. I could tell almost immediately that exploration wasn't going to be a strong point. I probably should have expected that based on their past games, but for some reason I was thinking Greedfall might be different.
 
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A lot of so called "rose tinted" games have stood the test of time :) Only time will tell if the newer hyped games will stand the test of time too.

1. It is not the games that are rose tinted but your view of and affection for them.
2. Whether or not they still stand the test of time is a matter of perspective. They are playable and enjoyable but put them next to a GOOD example of a modern game in the same vein (such as Kingmaker) and if you are honest about it you will see that they are simplistic by comparison in terms of writing, character development, and gameplay mechanics. And that is even if you agree with ignoring the fact that their sound and graphics are dog turds by comparison.
3. No one here is hyping any new game. The only things being "hyped" are the old ones.
4. I'm sure that the games of today will NOT remain good for as long as many older, less graphic reliant, games have. One thing I have noticed many times is that certain games praised for their graphics age badly far more than those for which graphics were never a selling point to start with.
 
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I agree. I could tell almost immediately that exploration wasn't going to be a strong point. I probably should have expected that based on their past games, but for some reason I was thinking Greedfall might be different.

I never played any of their games before but I am also finding that exploration is certainly not on par with piranha bytes games after about 16 hours in now. However, loot
is still interesting and upgrades do seem to matter.
 
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Case in point that someone who makes 26,000 posts actually has very little to say other than to jump on the troll bandwagon.
 
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Case in point that someone who makes 26,000 posts actually has very little to say other than to jump on the troll bandwagon.

Ah.. so now everyone who doesn't agree with you is a troll. Cool. :)

You've parroted the same thing for 5 or 6 posts now. Maybe it's time to take the agenda somewhere else? You're welcome to create a separate thread to discuss the perceived quality of older titles, because I'm pretty sure I speak for more than just myself when I say it's getting old here.
 
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Thanks, I hope so too!! I feel like I am the only one missing out on massive fun :'(

Streamers love it. Long cinematic sequences, no brainer scenario, low gameplay. Fits the bill.

Dan from Dan's gaming praised it high, good writing, good voice over, takes time to take off but once it is done, it kicks, engaging missions and stuff.
 
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Finished the game (everything possible done except the scrolls finder sidequest, didn't catch all the pokemon) after 48 hours.

Exhausted completely, can't read through the thread now, will write something tomorrow, in the meantime, please, peek at first 20ish secs of this vid with speakers turned on (or watch it fully if you want, but the intro music is crucial):

 
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Mental note not to sell a piece of clothing from other factions ever again. Just had to re-buy the Sailor's Coat (after selling it) to pass as a Naut for a mission... 140 coins to waste.

Enviado do meu SM-N960F através do Tapatalk
 
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Some really nice landscapes in this game. Just took a little break to load some saves where I liked the scenery to do a few shots.





EDIT: Still tweaking the lift gamma levels, a bit too dark right now, and most were taken at night time (trying to get nights to feel more like a dark night). But a WIP.
 
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Okay lemme comment some. :D

No open world as I predicted:
" Assets are re-used constantly. The game isn’t open-world and instead uses zones à la older BioWare titles. These zones can be quite large, but they’re cobbled together from a small pool of assets. I hope you like forests in autumn, as that’s almost all of what you’ll be seeing."
What on earth are you talking about.
It's a segmented openworld. You can go into any zone then exit it on another point to reach another zone. It's not Gothic type of openworld without loadscreens.
On maps there are a few parts blocked with a fallen tree, a boulder, a guard that doesn't let you in or something that prevent your access before you take an appropriate sidequest.

About reused assets in a game, any game, I can only comment: LOL. It's like saying all books look the same ignoring their content.

While I loved Gothic 2, Skyrim is hardly a huge empty world. And while there is some repetition, I didn't find the dungeons, monsters, towns, cities, quests, and even NPCs to be generic.
All Skyrim has is tons of bugs and no story. Greedfall has numerous stories and just a few bugs. Comparing the two is kinda pointless.

Once people have played a while, I'd love a comparison with Risen 3. It gave me those vibes more than anything else.
Risen 3 is a sort of PB's black sheep. It's full of humor. Greedfall has none. So it's more like Risen 1 & 2.

Just read this review and, wow, it's pretty bad:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/09/10/greedfall-review/

I wonder why so many reviewers simply don't bother. For God's sake, they could just hire someone who actually likes RPGs to review games.
That review is worse attempt at trolling than Codex amateurs tend to do. I believe it's ment to serve as a clickbait.

They never should have attempted realistic faces. The faces are hideous in this game. Outlined teeth float around in heads like a grisly string of pebbles. I only played about 40 minutes, but that was my biggest impression so far.
This is true but after seeing the initial horror you'll start ignoring it or could it be that later in the game it's not so bad? Dunno.

Kotaku's reviewer doesn't like it because it's not woke enough and offends SJW sensibilities:

https://kotaku.com/greedfalls-detailed-role-playing-cant-make-up-for-its-u-1837994750
I cannot believe that SJW's site. The game drops sins of everyone's past on you: forcing into religion, colonialism atrocities, capital punishment for nothing (this barbarism is present even today in some countries), racism, experiments on humans, corruption, etc. Did that fool even play the game?

Erm, one thing to note, you can't romance all possible companions at the same time. I don't like it, but it's a subjective matter. Maybe that reviewer has a problem with that? But then it's not something to write an article about.

I played it for about 30mins and asked for a refund. Everything just sort of shakes and was giving me terrible motion sickness.
You're not alone with motion sickness (a few steam forum reports), but I bet the problem is ancient hardware that allows only silly 30 FPS.

It is streamed. Streamers enjoy it.
Streamers are ignorant fools not aware of everything the game offers.

I am also enjoying very much. I'm not seeing any shake but I'm also not sensitive to it. Already seeing consequences of choices! Juicy!
c&c in this game is an absolute marvel. Save the cabin boy? He'll help you during a sidequest later. Don't kill monster in a cave? A NPC from a later sidequest who'll hide in that cave will die later. Ignore your companion's sidequests? Expect seeing a suicide later. Don't spare a certain villain? You'll never learn all the atrocities he commited including ones towards you!
There are tons of it but these mild spoilers are enough.
Streamers… Bah!

Greedfall is a definite improvement over Spiders' last three games but those comparing it to a Bioware game are deluded.

It's very much an RPG lite in terms of its mechanics much as Technomancer was. Character customisation is extremely limited and, aside from chugging potions and setting traps for more difficult fights, combat is a case of block, riposte, rinse and repeat. The lack of depth in combat variety is not, in itself, something that represents a true negative - if it were then 90% of ARPGs and games based on position and timing (as this is) such as the Dark Souls
Stopped reading at mention of Dark Souls. This game is not Dark Souls. If it was, I'd have refunded it.

Chugging pots is needed earlygame for everyone and later only if you won't go healer route. I have no idea what variety you want, but yes, the game doesn't have 7856836583657564835 different skills and spells where you don't remember which one does what.

I almost always dislike crafting in games beyond a very simple level. I can't take the idea of a person carrying huge amounts of iron ore (for example) around very seriously. Collecting ore needs to go away in all games. And I dislike the concept of carrying 38 short swords and 27 shields and sets of leather armor back to town to sell for 2 gold pieces each. It's all very old, unrealistic and kind of tedious. But that's my personal opinion, and it happens in many games.
- Collecting replenishing ingredients (ore, herbs, boxes on streets, etc) is a thing you should do only while passing by, not "clearing" a map and wasting time on that
- There is a trader to sell stuff on area transitions so you don't need backtrack in towns
- Crafting is the best thing in this game as it allows you to improve (not all) equipment, but wait…

I don't like the voice for the PC at all. Quite frankly, he sounds like a little bitch.

Combat is a mixed bag. I find the animations for human enemies to be a bit off. They move side to side so quickly it looks like they're on roller skates. Also, who thought it would be a good idea to bind sprint and dodge to the same key?

I like that there's some challenge though. I chose Hard difficulty, and I got my ass handed to me multiple times in the short amount of time I played. Hopefully the difficulty curve doesn't decline too quickly.

I wish we were given more than just 1 skill point to start the game. It would also be neat if companions could use non-combat skills, but that doesn't seem to be the case. What's the point of Kurt having armor that gives him +1 to lockpicking? (Other than stealing it from him and giving it to the PC)

How long does it take to advance a few levels? Also, can you return to Selene once you leave?
Can't agree on the bitch voice.

Shift+wasd is horrible idea which makes stasis spell a musthave on every character type.

Again playing a brand new game in insane difficulty? I really don't see a point, normal is challenging enough.

Crafting! Improve it asap, and add +1 lockpicking (or other talents) on your equipment. Or pay the blacksmith to do it. Note that friendship with your companions will improve a talent +1, the one they're responsible for while in your party, but they can't improve your lockpicking.

You'll never return to Serene. So your first talent point should be invested into lockpicking.

(I wonder where joxer is, was hoping to get his impression on Greedfall as well)
Sorry I was so drawn into it I didn't do anything past few days buy playing the game till I drop asleep from exhaustion. ;)

bg and nwn, erm, offtopic
Dafuq?

Greedfall isn't so much of a party game really. You don't control your party members but you do interact with them (mainly to get extra quests that then produce ability buffs when they like you) and kit them out. The gameplay is more like solo character with pets. So I imagine you could well enjoy it more than many people will. For the most part your party members are just other targets to distract groups of enemies from focussing solely on you.
There is so much more to companions. I've spoiled already that you can lose at least one companion for good by fastrunning. Depending on your party setup, it is you who will be the target all the time. When you lead two girls a miniboss will concentrate on you the whole time for example. And your companions are not just no_damage a makeup as in ME4. Here they do some serious damage - if you equip better stuff instead of leaving their default crap on them. Past the first boss you can freely play as a healer and never damage anything yourself till the final boss.
Finally, during conversations, sometimes they can help negotitations more than you could ever do yourself.

Case in point that someone who makes 26,000 posts actually has very little to say other than to jump on the troll bandwagon.
26K? I'm still an amateur… You just wait! :evilgrin:

Streamers love it.
Again?
My head hurts, my feet stink and I don't love Jes… I don't love streamers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twJYU8MgEpY

Mental note not to sell a piece of clothing from other factions ever again. Just had to re-buy the Sailor's Coat (after selling it) to pass as a Naut for a mission… 140 coins to waste.
We need a hints thread. You need to keep only one spare Naut "armor" during the whole game (any, it's just important to have naut's mark on it so sell junk shirt when you find a better one), other necessary stuff in a sidequest(s) you'll have to buy anyway or you can simply sneak around (sneaking won't help in some Nauts' areas).
 
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Do you have to wear the goofy-ass hats? How much of the game is pirate-themed, all of it? I'm pirated out. Other than that WGD's shots look pretty decent. Not sure if I want a tiny rpg though. 48 hours is really small for a supposedly open-world game, should call it open-county. However, I typically explore every nook and cranny and I know Joxer doesn't. It must hit a big sale too. Only because it's not my type. If I was a party-based rpg player, I'd own this already.

Do you control the other party members or do they do their own thing? If I don't have to control them, then I may very well get this now. It looks pretty decent. Oops, is there magic or just alchemy? Nvm on magic, I just missed the vid on it. Quite a little bit of magic, so I'm gonna buy it even though I hate pirate talking, ships, ship combat, and the whole clothing armor style of the game.
 
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