Legend of Grimrock

How many hours had i spent in the deep dungeons of Lord Chaos? Dunno. But since those glorious days on my ATARI ST i ever wondered why nobody tried to build a game in the likeness of "Dungeon Master" or "Chaos Strikes Back" for the modern PC or Mac. I've waited till December 14th 2011, when news arrived me that... who? Almost Human? Never heard of them! ... were programming a game called "Legend of Grimrock", which looks like - oh! the wait is over! - "Dungeon Master". For the modern man and his computer, of course. Every week i came back to the site of the studio, hoping to catch some news about the game. I was worried: What, when they don't catch the spirit of DM? What, when "Legend of Grimrock" wasn't a good game at all, full of bugs, plot-holes and other monstrosities? Then i watched GoGs Spring Conference. GoG will sell "Legend of Grimrock"? Good news, indeed, good news. Bought it & loaded it yesterday. Played it. I love it. Thank you Allmost Human, thank you GoG. It is of course not a fancy openworld game like "Skyrim", or a beasty like "Fallout 3". Its just me, the dungeon, those monsters and the way down, deeper and deeper. Its easy to learn. Just like they made it in the old days. But: Much better graphics, nice light effects, great monsters. Not to forget about the puzzles, the sound effects, the feeling of being trapped in an everlasting dungeon with who-knows-what-might-come around the corners. Now i am hoping that somebody makes some DM- and CSB-Dungeons for Grimrock. Maybe Allmost Human can get the licence from FTL for the original cards, sounds, names? And i fully agree with destructoid.com, who gave "Legend of Grimrock" 95% and a raving revue. Surely is "Legend of Grimrock" not perfect. But imho it is as close to perfect for a dungeon crawler game as you can get it nowadays.

I don't know if having played dungeon crawling games like Eye of the Beholder and Dungeon Master as a child influences my review, but I must say that Legend of Grimrock is excellent. Beautiful design, interesting puzzles and secrets, and absolutely wonderful monsters have had me glued to my computer ever since I got this game.

This game is a fun blend of puzzle-solving, combat and role-playing and hearkens back to the Ultima Underworlds and Dungeon Masters of old. The sense of satisfaction at finding the entrance to a secret room after an hour of searching can't be beat. Watching my minotaur deal the death blow to a giant crab brings a huge grin to my face. The grid-based movement and combat seems strange at first after 15 years of playing free-form FPS games, but there is a lot of strategy involved and I have come to love this combat system. The atmosphere is great. Dark, creepy, the sounds you hear through the walls. And when your torch starts going out... and a troll charges you out of the dark... I found it well worth it to have my mage learn "Light" ASAP to avoid such nasty surprises. And there are so many different ways you can play this game. Different character classes and combinations make for great replay. You might be able to solve all the puzzles the second time through but wait until the level editor comes out...

A darn near perfect mix of old school and new school with plenty of love for the PC. As an RPG, this game surprised me with it's depth rather than breadth. The characters, environments, and gameplay are tightly focused in contrast to the nearly limitless sprawl of other RPGs.

Overall Legend of Grimrock is a great game, and an excellent launching point for other new-age dungeon crawlers to build off of. The guys over at Almost Human Ltd are working on putting out a public level editor that will allow people to create and share their own dungeon creations using the Grimrock engine. I really look forward to seeing what all people will be able to come up with. If you like dungeon crawlers, puzzles, or just immersive game experiences, give Legend of Grimrock a shot, you won't be disappointed. Full review here: http://vgmmdi.com/articles-menu/reviews-menu/writtenreviews/863-review-legend-of-grimrock