Grim Dawn

I sunk many hours into this game both on steam and the gog version. It's great mechanically, bringing it's own unique systems and doing away with some of the more dated mechanics of the genre to bring an experience that both feels old school and yet up to modern standards. It uses a dual class mechanic to allow a lot of build customisation. This game rewards exploration, with a lot of side quests hidden away in corners, shrines to purify to become stronger via a PoE-like talent system, prenty of lairs, some of which are unmarked, spots to dynamite to uncover entirely new zones, hidden chests...even more so with the DLCs adding optional elite monster totems for extra loot. Itemisation is pretty deep, helped by a pretty extensive loot filter, and allows you to have stronger spells beyond what you can get by maxing out skill points, gain entirely new ones, proc spells on certain conditions...and most items can also be further enhanced by applying an augment which can add many properties to the item, like more resistances, granting a spell, or converting it's damage type,etc... the setting also sets the game apart from a diablo or torchlight since it's pretty much "industrial revolution but with magic, a bit of lovecraft, and it's also the post-apocalypse" You can finish the game only having the most bare-bones understanding of the story, because a lot of the worldbuilding is told through very well written notes that are essentially like collectible short stories, but sadly you have to go out of your way to read them. Quests can have choices, some of which matter a lot. The game has factions you can be friendly or hostile to, depending on your choices during quests, and the more friendly/hostile you become through accomplishing quests and slaying monsters, the more unique rewards you can get from their stores. You'll even get new quests. I recommend getting the difinitive edition, the expansions add a lot of everything to the game, including more endgame.

...and it's on steroids. Probably the most bombastic top down ARPG I've ever played. It has a multiclass system, similar to Titan Quest, where you start with one class, and can choose another class skilltree at level 10 or so. Then it has an optional Devotion tree system, which is kind of like Path of Exile's massive spheregrid looking skilltree system, except it's kind of like the constellations looking perk tree from Skyrim, except this is just an extra thing, and you can aquire devotion points from restoring shrines found throughout the land, by either offering it an item, or destroying a bunch of baddies the shrine summons. This game also has goofy ragdolls, just like Titan Quest. And also a massive, upgradeable inventory, again, just like TQ. This game is just pure, chaotic fun. I liked it more than I thought I would, gonna grab the expansions later. The game is a bit on the easy side by default, never died once, came close several times. But that's completely fine, I prefer it to some of D2's shenanigans at times. There's always harder difficulties you can choose from, that will most likely end up pulverizing you at some point. And the Blitz ability doesn't even glitch out, like the Paladin's charge does in D2! AND IT DESTROYS. EVERYTHING.

It does what it does better than anything else and is a FAR superior game! The 1st thing you notice is how intuitive the UI is, the 2nd thing you notice is how pretty the game is. Zoom in and you'll see a whole lot of details that make the game world seem to breathe with life, also the easy camera rotation, totally not necessary yet fun to have and sometimes very handy. The game is the absolute king for depth of mechanics and customization as you can tweak your toon a hundred different ways with a plethora of stats. Gear being usable by any class is awesome, as are components that give additional stats and even abilities. Managing your skill trees and devotion and how easily you can rework them all at any time encourages you to play around and makes it fun and free of regret or frustration. Seeing your vanquished foes sent flying through the air from your final blow is gloriously satisfying, and sometimes downright hilarious. Using the terrain to your advantage, kiting, crowd-control, managing agro, it all works seamlessly. Thematically the game is like "The Walking Dead" in the world of "Game of Thrones" with a hint of steampunk aesthetic and wild west/spaghetti western lawlessness and revenge for good measure. The choices you make literally lead to life-or-death outcomes, and since you can't save and reload to see how different choices turn out, you really get a sense of the stakes and weigh your options much more carefully than in other games that present similar mechanics. It's full of beauty, fun and total satisfaction. A word of warning: it IS an ultra-violent, adult game. The story and gore and the visuals are very....well, grim. Some may find that depressing, but personally I find it very realistic and true to the more unfortunate aspects of human nature. In other words; if real people found themselves in this situation, they would behave in this exact way. I can't help but think that some of the folks who made this game are big fans of Nietzsche.

Love this game. My whole family loved D2, we even played together in multiplayer on occasion. We waited and waited for D3 and it was- meh. Grim Dawn is definitely the spiritual successor to D2. Perhaps more than that, as some of the exact same enemies show up. The atmosphere and storyline are great. No big-budget animated cutscenes, but those have zero effect on play. Gameplay is balanced, and the enemies present a real challenge. {Note to the dev who came up with the 'Skeletal Deathbolt Archer'- I hate you. ;-) } My only complaint is the play time required to get through some sections of the game from one riftgate to the next- I need to schedule a large block of time to try to get through the Steps of Torment. That's a bad leftover from D2- you can only save back at "home base" and not out in the wilderness. Love the multiclass system- Battlemage (Soldier + Arcanist) is perfect for both my personality and play style. So, buy this game.

Overall really great game. Review is based on my first play through on veteran mode. The graphics are dark and very nicely done and the 2.5D isometric view works well for this sort of game. The plot is pretty standard fare at this point, but at least they put some thought into it so that the lore is actually fun to read. The world is huge. The areas you get to visit are pretty well varied. Itemization feels fine - not too complex, not too simple, with items that feel good to use. When it starts off this well I guess I hold it to a higher level because the more I play the more I'd like Grim Dawn to be just a bit better. I wish there were some more memorable characters. Look at the original Diablo. Ulgrim is interesting, but he's no Deckard Cain. A couple of interface issues just don't feel good. Pathfinding is obnoxious especially when small corridors and stairs are involved. Finally, a couple of points I'm not sure about yet. Gear doesn't come easily. I started the game with Stupid_Dragon's DK build because it has a nice leveling secton that assumes you're starting from scratch. Good drops are very, very few and far between. Keeping your gear relevant to your level is tough. Second and last point here, the game is tough. You can't beat the game naked with a broken wooden sword. If your bulid isn't optimized and your gear isn't up to date you'll die a lot and it'll be frustrating. Even following a pretty good build with reasonably up to date gear there are many encounters that are just frustratingly unfair. I'm not sure on these last two points whether this is good or bad because on the one hand it's nice to have an end game that remains challenging. On the other hand you have to get to the end game first. TLDR: Not perfect, but pretty awesome. Worth checking out for action RPG fans. Maybe not the ideal first action RPG.