GreedFall's new gameplay trailer shows off stealth, skills, and romance

(Image credit: Focus Home Interactive, Spiders)

GreedFall, a pseudo-historical action RPG coming on September 10th, has a new gameplay overview trailer out today. And it is quite the overview, giving a mention to everything from character creation, to classes, action and stealth, and (oh yes) romance with party members.

It's an ambitious list that, as some of the comments below the trailer on YouTube have pointed out, gives off some serious Dragon Age: Inquisition vibes. Not just for the smooching, either. The trailer starts off with the character creation screen, giving us a look at all the pomp, circumstance, and brass buttons of the fantasy island.

GreedFall's combat system involves magic, melee, and a "tactical pause option" that puts the breaks on the fight and allows you to choose a target and ability. Hopefully that points to some good RPG fundamentals at play giving you the ability to micromanage the rest of your party during difficult fights.

The trailer continues with a laundry list of other features including dialogue that can affect how encounters play out, skill trees that allow you to approach quests in different ways (like using lockpicking or crafted bombs), and customizable weapons and armor. It's a combination that will be impressive if pulled off, though I do wonder if it will manage to balance stealth action and RPG-style combat in a way that makes both feel like equally viable and rewarding options.

Companions seem to play an equally important role. The trailer shows what appear to be some quest cutscenes where the protagonist is able to choose dialogue to encourage or stay the hand of their party members. You'll be able to pursue romances with them as well but if they don't care for your leadership style you may wind up enemies instead.

We pointed out previously that Spiders has a decidedly mixed track record, with The Technomancer and Bound By Flame falling solidly in the "fine" range, while Mars: War Logs was more successful. That concern remains, though today's trailer does show much more gameplay than previous videos which were more cinematic.

We'll find out on September 10th if GreedFall can put its systems where its mouth is in this tale of fantasy colonialism.

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She joined the PCG staff in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.