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- Verified Buyer
Greed.Chaos can reign supreme all because of Greed.I completed this open world western RPG on Playstation 5. It took me 48 hours to beat this game.I ended up loving this game.I would like to strongly stress that I did NOT experience any glitches while playing this game.My save file did NOT corrupt, my game did NOT freeze, NO glitches whatsoever during my 48 hours of gaming.If you are worried about glitches, make sure to update your game when you get it (the game has received a few updates since the Playstation 5 version launched).Also, I included fourteen images with my review to give an extra glimpse of what this game has to offer (this game has some really cool stuff in it).This game started slow... VERY slow.Then... something really absurd happens about halfway through the game…Then the game (which is rated M for mature, this is NOT a game meant for children) explodes into a magnificence of madness, chaos, destruction, beauty, brutality, violence, calmness, blood, horror, action, murder, and… GREED…..The final 15 minutes of this game was a pure grand moment of excitement mixed with heart aching sad moments mixed with a pure brilliance… with a final boss that is pure nightmare fuel…. with a final moment which was simply insanity as you are faced with the choices of horrifying madness… YOU have to make a choice… how the game ends will be up to the choices YOU make…. And you better think VERY carefully about which choices you decide on.This game is a slow burn. If you enjoy open world western action RPGs, get this… but keep playing as it’s best and most memorable moments are in the later 50% of the game. It’s first 50% is okay, but a bit boring at times. But it’s second 50% it’s pure brilliance (and actually uses all the build up from the first half of the game and creates something with it which was greatness. The world building and character building from the first half of the game truly paid off in the greatest way possible).From what I saw on the trophy statistics, only 5% of people playing bothered to play the second half of the game. That's a shame since this game was pure greatness during it's second half and will very much have a huge impact upon you (especially the final mission of the game. You'll know when you reach it when the game tells you that you have reached the point of no return).I guess what I am trying to say is: PLAY THIS GAME. The overall experience was incredibly good and it’s a game I want to replay again since this game offers multiple paths based on the decisions you make (your choices matter in this game. It's an RPG similar to old school Bioware RPGs, You will be presented multiple choices during the game and the decisions you make will strongly have an impact upon what happens next. If something goes wrong in this game it's because of a decision YOU have made earlier in the game or something you should have done but decided not to). I strongly suggest you choose carefully because one wrong choice could lead into a domino effect of chaos or peace and the game also has a few different endings. In other words, there is a lot of replay value here due to the multiple choices you are allowed to make while playing the game and talking to other characters.The game also comes with an AWESOME DLC called “The De Vespe Conspiracy”, featuring the villainous Aurielia De Vespe… hands down the most evil character in this game. I strongly recommend playing the DLC during the halfway point of the game once it becomes available. While the main base game is entirely on the disc, the DLC is on a voucher. Make sure to redeem the voucher immediately so the DLC is ready when you reach the halfway point of the game.HUGE EDIT: (review updated at the end of June 2022 with an IMPORTANT edit): On my copy of the DLC voucher it says that the voucher expires at the end of June 2022. In the event you receive a voucher with this expiration date (double check your voucher's expiration date... it's might be a little later), try to redeem it anyway. I've had experiences with other games where even if it says that the voucher is expired, the code on the voucher still works and you can still get the DLC for free. Give it a try!In the event that does NOT work, I've noticed that the base game has had a HUGE price drop down to below $20. If you get it for a cheap price of $20 or lower and the code on the voucher won't let you redeem the DLC, you can get the DLC for only $7 on the Playstation store which can be accessed on your Playstation 5 console (but sometimes it goes for a lot less than $7 when the Playstation store is having a sale, about $3 to $5 depending on the sale). I would STRONGLY recommend getting the DLC. The DLC content is unbelievably great and adds a lot to the base game (it adds a brand new large area / level to the game with a very unique story and with some new characters and new enemies and new locations). It's best to play it when you are 50% through the game (when you get the DLC, a certain character in the game will notify you when it's time to start the DLC conspiracy with an in-game letter / telegram mailed to your character at his / her residence).Greedfall part 2 was announced last month for a 2024 release date. I have a very strong feeling that the DLC (The De Vespe Conspiracy) will strongly tie into Greedfall part 2. I strongly recommend buying the DLC, especially if you get the base game for less than $20. Anyway, back to the original review.The base game (which is on the disc), WITH the De Vespe Conspiracy DLC, takes up a little over 20 GB on my Playstation 5. This is a GOOD thing since the SSD space on the Playstation 5 is limited and having a game that’s not that large in GB size is a good thing.Also, the Playstation 5 version runs at a MUCH higher frame rate than the PS4 version. After you start the game on Playstation 5, play around a little to see how the game runs… then just go to the option menu in the game and pick “Performance mode” (which will greatly increase your frame rate) and you will see a HUGE difference in frame rate after performance mode is turned on. There is another mode which gives you better resolution, but lower frame rate. I strongly suggest going with the highest frame rate (pick Performance mode) as it is a lot more noticeable and the game runs so much better and the game looks better overall with the highest frame rate on.The Playstation 5 version also utilizes the adaptive triggers feature of the Playstation 5 dualsense controller. In the game, when you press the L2 trigger on your controller during combat, you can use your special fury attack (provided your fury meter is filled up) where the weapon you are swinging will cause more damage and can even hit more multiple targets (depending on the weapon you have in your character's hands). If you are able to use your fury attacks, that's when your L2 trigger on your controller starts using the adaptive trigger feature of your Playstation 5 controller. The L2 trigger will have some special PS5 dualsense resistance to it when pressing down on it. Sounds weird, but I like it since it feels interesting as you are pressing down on the L2 trigger doing your fury attacks (it kind of feels like pressing down on a brake or gas pedal in some cars, to a certain degree). When your fury meter runs out and you can't do anymore fury attacks, the special PS5 dualsense resistance from the L2 trigger stops and the L2 trigger on your controller returns to feeling normal. When you fully fill your fury meter again (it slowly fills up as you are attacking enemies with normal attacks) the adaptive trigger feature of the Playstation 5 controller kicks in and you start feeling the special PS5 dualsense resistance of the L2 trigger again (which does feel pretty interesting. I personally like it).Overall, I do recommend this game if you enjoy western style RPGs where your choices matter.The action is good as this game is an action RPG where you can run around and hack and slash and blast enemies with various weapons and skills (I stuck to using long swords, but the game does offer various weapons, even guns. However, I only used guns on bosses and harder enemies since ammo is limited), the level up system is good (you can build various types of characters. I preferred building a character with high charisma and intuition but with a focus on long swords for combat. However, you can have your character focus on something else, like heavy weapons like large hammers and many more with an emphasis on lock picking and science skills).The game does allow you to use magic. There aren't many magical tricks, but the few you have are pretty cool, especially when you can start shooting out magical projectiles at enemies from your hands. I didn't use magic much in this game (I stuck primarily to using swords while using guns / rifles for extra assistance) but there were two times where I did use offensive magic like shooting out magical projectiles from my hands when I got into serious trouble from enemies that were coming close to beating me. While I'm personally more of a hack and slash type of player (just give my character a nice sword and I'm happy), learning a little magic is still a good idea if you decide to play the game in the higher difficulty settings. However, depending on how you want to play, you can choose to prioritize the use of magic over anything else (just make sure you have lots of magic potions with you to replenish your magic when it starts to run out). The choice is yours. While I didn't use healing magic (I stuck to using traditional healing items) I did have a companion named Siora who occasionally uses healing magic on my character, so I tried to keep her with me during combat whenever it was possible. However, just a warning, I strongly suggest you bring as many traditional healing items with you as possible when you go into the final mission to face the final boss.The controls are very easy to use. On the Playstation 5 controller you simply use the face buttons (circle, triangle, square and X) to use your various weapons, run and dodge (as you level up your character, you can turn your simple dodge into a roll, which is strongly recommended when facing more powerful enemies later in the game. Especially the final boss who will blast you into oblivion if you don't get out of the way during the final boss's super attack blast). The L2 trigger, as already mentioned, is your fury attack, and you can enter stealth mode by pressing down on the left stick. While it's fun to run around attacking everything like crazy, sometimes using stealth can be much more effective in some cases. But the choice is up to you. There is A LOT more to the controls (especially when it comes to menus you have to scroll through for your items, maps, the level up sub-menus where you pick what specifically you want to level up in regards to your character, etc), but those are the basic controls and they work well.The create a character mode is cool (you can create a character of any race, gender, etc. It's your choice), and the game has multiple difficulty choices (extremely easy, easy, normal, hard, and nightmare difficulty. In other words, anyone of any skill level can play this game).Also, you get to pick TWO companions to come with you who have their own weapons and skills they can use to help you. You can leave your other companions at your residence if you like. However, it’s recommended that you use different companions in different settings for various reasons (EX: you do NOT want to bring a companion into a town where the people there hate them and want them dead… unless you want chaos… hee, hee, hee). You can also get into romantic relationships with some of your companions... IF you get along with them (what you say to them throughout the game will have an impact on this. Your companions might end up loving you, but if you make the wrong choices, they will end up hating you. So be careful what you say and what you do).Also, some of the best swords and armor sets can be found in other places aside from stores, so be sure to search around. You can also craft in this game. I focused on crafting my armor to make it tougher. I also upgraded the rifle I had in the game by adding something to it. When exploring, make sure to loot as much as you can, and especially get materials of all types.Finally, what is this game about?This game takes place around the 1600’s on our world (however, due to the alternate history of the game, it’s century is the 1200’s.. But an alternate version that is close to our 1600’s).Your job is to be a diplomat.... OR you can cause chaos. The choice is yours.There are seven different factions in the game with three huge cities and various small villages all on one very unique large island.You will encounter humans and nightmarish creatures alike.You will encounter several plot twists later in the game which will challenge your opinions on whether you want to remain diplomatic or you want to unleash chaos towards everything around you.Will you choose to bring peace and good health among all of the different factions?OR will you choose to cause chaos among all of them?OR will you let greed reign supreme as you make the greediest choice of them all?The choice belongs to you and this game let's you make your own decisions to what happens to the characters and world in this game.
