Developer Spiders' upcoming GreedFall 2: The Dying World is the sequel to the 2019 original that contains many artistic, narrative, and mechanical designs quite reminiscent of earlier generation BioWare and related RPG titles. GreedFall captured the attention of RPG fans and audiences beyond, standing out due to its mix of historical realism with a solid helping of more fantasy/supernatural aspects to create a blend that felt well-realized and unique among other contemporaries. The followup, GreedFall 2: The Dying World, will be a prequel to the story of the first entry and will further explore many of its characters, locales, and themes, along with likely expanding their scope.
Spiders' previous outing, SteelRising, was grounded in a heavily steampunk-styled version of the French Revolution, a historical/alternate fiction framework that has been seen in a variety of other titles. It can be tricky in cases for developers to incorporate sobering real-world events and issues into a game that then may contain more fantastical inclusions in its presentation and lore. Such a design, while appealing to some fans, may risk alienating those audiences who might be off-put by portions of this content in games, as might be the case with GreedFall 2.
GreedFall 2's World is Built on Some Sensitive Real Life Subjects
GreedFall and GreedFall 2's Frameworks
Utilizing an Age of Exploration-inspired era and setting, GreedFall focuses in large part on the aggressive colonization that defined the period, as new routes were discovered to previously unknown lands that were in many cases being forcibly 'claimed' from their native residents by various foreign political and corporate interests. In addition, there is a devastating illness affecting the populations in GreedFall's story, and its effects, both physical and psychological, are taking their toll on many characters; a clear parallel to both past and recent world pandemic events. Within all these are also elements like magic, various religions, supernatural/fantasy creatures, and advanced technology.
While Greedfall's story and world can make for a thoughtful reflection on some of these themes, it can also be a lot to take in, and understandably, may not be every player's cup of tea. In the original, gamers took on the role of a powerful elite, sent to a freshly 'found' island nation in search of wealth and answers to hidden mysteries. GreedFall 2 will mirror this by putting fans in the place of an indigenous person brought unwillingly to the 'civilized' mainland of GreedFall's fictional Continent, three years prior to the first game. These are certainly important subjects, and must be treated and handled with appropriate knowledge, respect, and care. This isn't to say that Spiders hasn't done so in the past and isn't planning to again in The Dying World, but the general point remains applicable.
GreedFall 2 is Walking a Fine Line With its Serious Historical Elements
GreedFall was praised by some for its decision to explore and present colonialism from various viewpoints, which was a risk for the studio at the time, should it turn out to be poorly received or not taken as intended. In various fans and critics' eyes, it did manage to tread this ground well, telling a complex tale of engaging characters who are wrestling with the situation in their own ways, while giving players the opportunity to roleplay by making difficult decisions with their interpretation of the protagonist, De Sardet.
Spiders was generally thought to have done a solid job of integrating these facets into its engaging gameplay and design, which is an encouraging sign that will hopefully be the case in the followup, especially given its stated narrative angle. For now, gamers will need to wait until GreedFall 2 releases later this year to experience how these themes and more may play out.