Summary
GreedFallis a historical fantasy action RPG set in an 18th century-styled world of exploration and colonization with elements of mysticism and the supernatural. The 2019 title felt in many ways like a lost BioWare game, serving to fill the void left in the genre at a time when it and other similar AAA studios seemed to be mostly chasing the live-service trend in lieu of producing single-player focused games. On the heels ofGreedFall’s success, developer Spiders announcedGreedFall 2: The Dying World, set for release sometime later this year, and will be a prequel taking place roughly three years prior toGF1.
Meanwhile, Rockstar’sRed Dead Redemption 2almost needs no introduction. Asprawling open-world Westernwith an epic and emotionally engaging yarn that explores themes of honor, sacrifice, and self-reflection, all in a world packed with incredible detail,RDR2is considered to be a masterpiece in the medium. As a prequel too, it fleshed out many familiar characters and introduced new ones. However, prequels of this nature come with their own narrative risks. As a case in point,RDR2’s main character, Arthur Morgan, is never referenced in the original entry, despite being a huge influence onRDR1protagonist John Marston’s past and present situation. While the reason is obvious, simply being that the character didn’t exist previously, this can sometimes create a dissonance for audiences, andGF2may have to grapple with this as well.
AlthoughGreedFall 2is officially confirmed for 2024, it does not yet have a firm date and may be subject to change.
The Dilemma of Prequels as Sequels
While there isnothing inherently wrong with prequels, they can create some hurdles that a direct sequel or a story set much later than the previous might not. It’s often at least slightly disorienting when an IP retroactively alters something significant or introduces a big aspect that didn’t seem to have any prior setup or hint. When what is supposed to be a personally important character or series of events in the leads' lives is inserted into the story after not having been present previously, and fans are expected to accept it and act as naturally as the characters themselves often seem to about it, it has the possibility of misfiring.
Even if it’s in the service of expanding and improving the tale, it can end up stretching believability and eroding some of the groundwork already laid. For instance, it’s strange in retrospect that Arthur Morgan isn’t mentioned inRDRdespite being so important in its prequel. When handled well, though, a prequel can enrich the story and add interesting dynamics and layers to it.
LikeRed Dead Redemption 2,GreedFall 2will feature a new main character, and presumably theevents ofGreedFall 2’s plotwill have at least some relevance to and bearing on the first. But again, since that story is ostensibly complete, any revelations or crossovers to it will need to avoid unraveling or contradicting anything that has already happened. Given the nature ofGreedFall’s setting and the prequel’s time frame, it would be odd for previous protagonist De Sardet to not be aware of any important discoveries made or major events that might occur duringGF2’s campaign.
It could be the case thatGreedFall 2will take players to a completely different section of the expansive continent of Gacane, allowing it to show off more world-building while not having to incorporateGF1’s story as directly. PerhapsGF2will not mention De Sardet or any of the other major characters from the first, or if so, only in passing, to maintain overall cohesion without distorting the established canon.GreedFall 2’s companionsmight provide a method for reconciling any conflict that might arise, as they could fill in the gaps and connect tangentially toGF1. It remains to be seen exactly howGF2will fit in and interact with the existing plot, but will likely require Spiders to carefully balance elements and viewpoints for a seamless experience.
