The hero's journey has to start somewhere. Normally though, the least a hero would expect at the start of their odyssey is some basic armor, a sturdy sword, and perhaps a charm or power-giving trinket passed down through the generations. Alas, in Greedventory you'll have to make do with a bucket on your head and a wooden plank in your hand as you stroll off to fight massive bosses, town-terrorising halfling gangs, disgruntled magicians, and power-hungry bureaucrats.
Well, at least there's plenty of loot out there in the world, so with a little luck and grit, you'll be outfitted in straw hats and leather boots in no time.
Freshly released on Steam, Greedventory is a unique RPG concoction that combines the sharp writing and crass humour of 90s adventure games with the challenge of Dark Souls and the procession of like-minded games that came in its wake. So expect gargantuan bosses, stamina management, and consequences for dying… but also expect bands of pissy drunken halflings, colourful conversations with the locals, and the kind of foul-mouthed quirkiness that you just don't find in the generally austere Souls-like genre.
The animations are spectacular. A seemingly innocent talking scarecrow might transform into a tumorous, hulking beast like something you'd see in Dark Souls 3, while undead clowns belch poison balloons in your direction. Look closely at the backgrounds and you'll see cool little details like the distant sea shimmering gently in the moonlight. It may have its tongue firmly in its cheek, but Greedventory is a real looker if you have an appreciation for 16-bit pixel art (and what kind of a troglodyte doesn't?).
It spins a fine yarn too. The gorgeously drawn cutscenes—again harking back to ye olde times of gaming—are fully voiced, adding rich flavour to the story. You'll get various dialogue options as you play, letting you learn more about the world and this tale of greed and deception. Of course, in-game dialogue does that thing where characters just make weird noises as their dialogue pops up on the screen.
In an old school kinda way, you interact with Greedventory using a mouse cursor on the screen. You traverse the world using your keyboard, but engage in the game's unique combat system using the mouse, which converts that Souls-like challenge into a uniquely rhythmic experience. You attack enemies by hovering the mouse over them and clicking. Hold the mouse button to charge up a power attack, and use enchantments to imbue your weapons with special effects like poison and bleeding to inflict that precious damage over time.
But Greedventory is as much about defence as it is about offence, so don't go too crazy in your attacks or you'll puff yourself out; this is not a clicker game… despite all the clicking. Parrying, meanwhile, is performed by clicking in a fast-shrinking circle at the right moment. Time it perfectly, and you may even riposte your enemy, staggering them and leaving them defenceless against the full fury of your heavy attacks.
Think you can handle the heat? Well good news, adventurer, because Greedventory is out now on Steam and GOG, so go out there and grab it! You can get it at a 10% discount in the first week of release, so what are you waiting for?
