Grim Dawn

Developer: Crate Entertainment
Steam Release: Feb 2016
Usual Price: £19.99
Hours Played: 76.7
Similar To: Incredible Adventures of V. Helsing / Path of Exile / Titan Quest / Torchlight II
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

Along with Torchlight II and the monster that is Path of Exile, Grim Dawn remains one of the heavyweight action rpgs under the indie banner. Rivaling or even surpassing non-indie games like Gauntlet and Titan Quest, this power-house sweeps aside and crushes most competition with only Diablo III and POE standing in its way. Fans of Titan Quest will know the drill for this is developed by many of the team who gave us that magnificent game. In isometric view of an apocalyptic land consisting of zombies, monsters and abominations, you hack, slash, blast and loot your way ever further into its grim world. In true Diablo-esque style, you'll forever be engaged in inventory management returning to your hub to sell off unwanted items and to equipping the best weapons and armour for the job.
 

BALANCE & PACE

Like Titan Quest before it, Grim Dawn takes place in a fixed setting that stays the same with multiple playthroughs. However, as its spiritual successor, it retains a lot of the gameplay mechanics and still allows you to skill up through the tech-tree of two classes. This time round though complaints of some areas being monotonous that tended to be thrown at TQ are largely unheard of as the player is treated to a more dynamic and varied experience that's much faster paced and a lot more explosive. This is due to many aspects including the locations being a lot tighter, a wider variety of enemies including many mini bosses, a larger selection of skills to try out and more interesting ways to become stronger and powerful. There is also a multiplayer component as well.    
 
   

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

As its title suggests Grim Dawn is grim. Set in a ravaged world of decimated villages and dilapidated towns, along with surrounding areas riddled with danger at every turn, the depressing tone is everywhere. Even your refuge and first hub at Devil's Crossing - a sad and sorry converted prison - is inhabited by troubled and mournful NPcs. Likewise the menus of your inventory, character panel and skill trees are rendered in bleak grey and browns with plenty of clicks being accompanied by the clanks of hammer on anvil. Thankfully, numerous sound-effects are included as you arrange and click on items in your inventory and stash. The game itself runs very smoothly and a special mention also needs to go out to the rag-doll physics of enemies as they succumb to their inevitable death.      
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM

Progress can be measured by how much of the map gets uncovered as you explore and what level you have reached, up to a maximum of 85. The world map shows the world of Cairn with all the key areas, towns, locations and landmarks indicated. As you explore you will stumble upon rifts which essentially act as waypoints (or portals that you can teleport to by way of the game's quick-travel feature). There is also a local map where concealed areas get uncovered as you bound through the fog of war. There are four difficulty settings altogether with normal and veteran unlocked by default and elite and ultimate needing to be unlocked. You have the usual skill and attribute points to allocate to your character as you level up and 50 shrines to find that are also recorded on your map as you find them. 

CONCLUSION

No doubt, Grim Dawn affirms its place among the top places of the Premier League when it comes to action rpgs. As far as isometric action rpgs go, it's really hard to find fault in any areas: movement and enemy animations are fluid; leveling up offers a wide variety of improvements to be made to your character; progression through the world gallops along at the right place; environments and settings are dynamic enough to keep the player absorbed and there are plenty of other features to keep the player busy. Perhaps the only fault lies in the fact that the normal setting doesn't really offer any challenge - but, hey, changing to veteran solves this instantly. Nope, if you want something like Diablo III that isn't Diablo III but just as fun then Grim Dawn could well be your next stop.