My goal in writing this post is to communicate with the developers in the hopes that, should they be fortunate enough to be able to create a sequel, they can make an even better game next time.

I'm not going to comment much on the story, because I'm only 20 hours in and haven't experienced much of it yet. I appreciate the various factions, and the fact that none of them are obviously "the good guys" or "the bad guys". A little nuance goes a long way, and GreedFall has plenty of that in their factions.

Exploration

This is the part of the game that disappointed me the most. I don't need an open world, and was fine with the zone-based design (this works well for other games, like DA:I). However, there are two glaring issues here:

  1. The zones feel like corridors. There are invisible walls everywhere, and you're directed down specific paths. There are plenty of places where it looks like you should be able to walk, but you're prevented because the designers decided not to make that area accessible. The areas aren't entirely linear, which is good, but they still feel very static. It feels less like you're exploring an untamed island wilderness and more like you're wandering around a painting.

  2. There's very little interesting stuff out there. Mostly, it's just enemies and loot. I expected to come across interesting people in the wilderness, or someone who would give me a quest. Unless you're directed to a specific area by a quest objective, you can expect mostly some trash mob fights and a few crafting materials. The bosses are a welcome reprieve from this, and they're possibly the most interesting thing out there, along with the skill altars. Ultimately, this is where the game falls flattest when compared to its contemporaries like Skyrim and Witcher 3.

Combat

Mostly OK, not exceptional, but adequate. I am playing as blunt 2H melee. From my limited experience, it seems like ranged might have an easier time of it (especially guns). I enjoy the dodging in and out of melee range, using my heavy and light attacks as time allows. The biggest complaint I have about combat is that some knockbacks/stuns don't have an animation, which catches you off guard sometimes, or their range is bigger than the animation suggests it should be.

Voice Acting

Surprisingly good. One of the best aspects of the game. The only complaint I have here is that the NPCs don't have enough "starting combat" lines. You get tired of hearing "Things are about to get dicey" for the 200th time.

Character Interaction

Mostly good, with two downsides:

  1. Companions hardly ever talk to each other. Other games, like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, do a better job of having companion dialogue during exploration. I expected that here and was disappointed when it was mostly lacking.

  2. There are so few interesting NPCs in cities. Pretty soon you just stop talking to the filler NPCs because they offer nothing interesting.

Overall

I'm enjoying GreedFall. It was a worthwhile purchase and I don't regret spending $50 on it at all.