12/31/2023 0 Comments Greedfall backgrounds![]() There is even a journal and markers on your HUD, making it easy to track where you need to go next, which isn’t the usual for something Soulsy. It’s all tied together so well, you’d almost forget you were in a Soulslike if not for the backbreaking combat interactions. No spoilers here, but Aegis herself even gets some moments to shine, with her background being fully realized at the end of the game in a beautiful reveal. Although they certainly don’t add to the prettiness of the game with their weird looking character models and questionable facial animations. That being said, it’s completely worth it, with each one I’ve managed to help adding a lot to the story through corresponding side missions. Liberating these humans isn’t easy, given the echoes (personal effects they’ve dropped) you must find to set them free after the main boss fights can be hidden, and backtracking to find them can be a pain. Shockingly, you even get a lot of character development through freeing several side characters during your main mission. There are even plenty of cutscenes and side missions that lead to decisions you’ll make that influence the ending. In Steelrising, everything follows a more traditional action/adventure game structure, with main missions you follow. There are many who enjoy that, and some who prefer it, but it’s not really for me. The Dark Souls games have never been known for the narrative, sacrificing a traditional story in favor of hunting for lore. The story weaves itself into the setting with something much larger than you generally get in Soulslikes. You can even miss what’s in front of you due to the lack of lighting. Not to mention, some of the colors are so drab that they can make it easy for a hidden enemy to smack you in the back of the head. They’re still pretty cool to look at and fun to traverse, but without a map to go by, you tend to get stuck at some places. The only areas I wasn’t thrilled with were the darker/night ones. Spiders is certainly punching above their weight here. Most of the game is stunning, with some great places to explore (especially Versailles) that can make you forget this is a AA game. You’ll get to enjoy at least one big landmark by going through sections of the Louvre, the famous art museum. That would be because it wasn’t constructed until 1887. Paris is a beautiful city, but unfortunately there won’t be any fighting at the Eiffel Tower. I’ve thrown out “it feels alive” in several recent reviews, and Steelrising meets that assessment, which is funny given its subject matter. It’s so different in so many ways than its predecessor, yet possesses the same soul that Greedfall does. Where Greedfall was a journey into the new world, adventuring through forests and fields, Steelrising takes you down bloody cobblestone streets, strewn with broken bodies and cracked machinery. This is where Steelrising is at its strongest, with Spiders again hitting on a phenomenal setting. Being the loyal bodyguard you are, it’s right into the fray for you, heading into an alternate history take of French Revolution Paris. She tells you to find your creator, the creator of all the automats, Monsieur de Vaucanson, and convince him to undo what he has done for the king. That comes into play almost right away, with Her Majesty fearing what the king has planned (by his deadly automat army) in the middle of a revolution. Aegis does have one overriding directive though: obey whatever the queen commands. For some reason you’re protecting her, and for some reason you can also speak and sense, along with having a bit of free will. You play as Aegis, a dancer automat (steampunk robot), in the queen’s court. We’ll get there in a moment, but let’s start from the beginning. Could I possibly connect with this one given my low enthusiasm for Soulslikes? When trying out Steelrising in a closed test, I was somewhat taken aback to find out it was a Soulslike game, punishing your missteps and rewarding your patient observations. The team has yet again outdone themselves in finding an original setting and premise, but I was surprised by my first experience with the game. Now we come to the latest game from Spiders, Steelrising. Sure, there was plenty of what the kids call “euro-jank” to it, and some of the repetition (especially the same throne room in each leader location) could get old, but it was fun to play with a riveting narrative and environment. The reason it grabbed me? A captivating and original setting, taking a colonial world and injecting some intriguing fantasy and astonishing creatures into it. That was one of my most underrated titles in 2019, and it’s still one I can go back to after the PS5 upgrade. While it took a moment for them to do so, developer Spiders finally captured my attention when they released Greedfall.
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