Legend of Grimrock

Fantastic modern rendition of classic dungeon crawlers from the 90s. If “Stonekeep” (one of my teenage favorites, along with the Realms of Arkania series) could be remade today, it would be called “Grimrock”. There is no epic storyline to contend with; it is a straight forward, grid based, atmospheric, dungeon exploration and action RPG game with little puzzles here and there to figure out. It is a great game for old school casual gamers to jump into to kill 10-15 minutes, or turn the lights off and delve into it for an hour or more. Though, I don’t need a Mass Effect epic story to enjoy a game, I do think that at least some interaction with NPCs (which there aren’t any) with some B+ standard voice acting (which there is none either) would draw players in more. “Stonekeep”, which “Grimrock” borrows heavily from, did at least introduce a more structured story with some memorable characters (which I remember to this day – nearly 20 years later). Getting old. :(

I just finished my first playthrough, here is what I think: Graphics: The graphics are a bit repetitive, large parts of the world look very similar and due to the tile-nature of the game, structures are repeated a lot. The graphics also can make you feel a bit dizzy, when you walk around the room looking at the wall searching for clues (which you will do a lot). However, they are very rich and detailed and they add a lot to the atmosphere of the game. All in all, I think it’s brillantly made. Sound: Background sound is very minimalistic, which sometimes feels a bit strange, but it fits well into the setting (or do you expect an orchestra inside a prison dungeon?). Additionally, it is really nice (and frightening) to suddenly hear the clicking sound of a large insect walking in the distance, which would not be possible with heavy background music. The sound effects are well done (even if female characters cry out with a male voice when they die). Story (no spoilers): While not extraordinary, the story is certainly well enough for a dungeon crawler game and doubtlessly thrilling; it will probably surprise you at least a few times. Controls: The controls take a bit getting used to, but that’s what the first level is for. The combination of realtime combat and tile based movement is sometimes marvellous, sometimes annoying. Fighting several enemies at once is very hard and not easily feasible because you will quickly become surrounded and trapped, but it is delightful to be alone in a large room with an ogre and dancing around it, evading it, striking out every now and then, until it is defeated. Inventory control is not very good. In combat, you can easily misclick and open the inventory, which will disturb your view on enemies and thus your combat decisions and reaction. Dragging a potion from one character to another one who should then drink it is also neither easy nor fun. Atmosphere: The atmosphere is dark and moody, as it is supposed to. The game is so convincing and immersive it will make you become claustrophobic and paranoid. Every time a spider jumped at me I got a little heart attack. Every time I heard the sound of a dangerous enemy roaming around, I broke down a little. And every time I was successful in a fight, I exhaled in relief. The atmosphere is simply superb. You should also look at the screenshots and admire the amazing work to get an idea. Magic System: I love the principle of the magic system. There are nine runes which are combined to cast spells. To cast a spell, you need to know its runic representation and meet its level requirement. To learn spells, you can either look for scrolls explaining them or just combine some runes to see if it works. The nice thing is that you do not have to try out runes randomly; if you already learned a few spells from scrolls and are a little observant, you may spot a pattern and discover new spells more easily. However, the implementation of this principle is not as great. Each time you want to cast a spell, you will have to select the correct runes (there is no possibility to have a default spell which is preset for combat or similar). To do that, you need to click on the mage’s hand/wand, then on the correct runes, then on the „cast“-button. Even for a simple one-rune spell, that’s already three clicks, which is too much in comparison to fighters or rogues, where one click is enough to attack. This can make combat pretty hard (and not in a good, challenging way, but in a rather annoying and needless way). Potion System: The potion system is very minimalistic (there are flasks, five or so ingredients and mortar and pestle to combine them), but that’s okay, you will have a lot of stuff that is not making potions to do. What’s also nice is that both complete and fragmentary receipts, as well as some other hints, which can be starting point for experimentation, can be found in the dungeon. Puzzles: I cannot say a lot about the puzzles. They’re well made, challenging, not too hard, not too easy. There are puzzles of varied difficulty. Most puzzles are even optional, but they always reward you in some way. There are some hard and very hard puzzles, but you only have to do them if you want the most epic loot (which you do, of course; good luck!). Other comments: If you are a hardcore gamer, you can make use of the menu options to disable automapping, damage text and item property descriptions and figure out everything by yourself. Advice: Don’t add rogues to your party. They’re useless and weak. Unfortunately, it is not possible to quicksave/quickload. The puzzles, loot, and enemies in the game are arranged pretty densely. You will rarely have to walk a long distance to find something new or to go on, deeper into the dungeon. In addition, you will very frequently have the opportunity to get loot, if you look closely for hidden buttons. tl;dr Summary: Some annoying flaws; very immersive; great game; would buy again.

One of the first games I owned for my old Commodore Amiga was Dungeon Master, so playing Legend of Grimrock has been a tremendous nostalgia trip for me. It also reminds me why I never got very far in Dungeon Master: it is spooky as hell. Everything -- at least as far as I have seen -- occurs in enclosed, claustrophobic spaces. Your torchlight only gives you limited visibility, and the darkness and shadows are thick and menacing. You can hear the monsters all around you, shuffling and chittering as they move about, but you can never tell for sure if they are safely enclosed in another room, perhaps in an adjoining passageway, or maybe right in front of you, just outside the circle of your light, waiting to spring at you the moment you approach. And of course, your field of vision is limited to what is in front of you -- so you need to be constantly turning to check behind you and around every corner make sure some slaving horror isn't about to devour your rear rank. And then there are your resources: precious torches for light (unless you choose to rely on magic), food to keep everybody's energy up, and components for making potions to use during battle, all in limited supply while simultaneously being constantly consumed. You have to constantly press ahead, because if you linger where you are for too long, you will either wind up cast in darkness or starving to death. This is the atmosphere that Legend of Grimrock creates, and it is a nearly pitch-perfect recreation of the atmosphere I remember from Dungeon Master, with the main difference being simply the polish that is made possible because we have better technology now. And that atmosphere is something special: you cannot help but imagine the plight of the prisoners you are guiding, their anxiety over the monsters all waiting to kill them, and their concerns about their ever-dwindling resources -- even though they never say a word. Even the magic system amplifies the sense of immersion, at least for me: trying to select the correct runes for the spell you want while some hell-bird is screaming and lunging out of the screen at you helps you appreciate how difficult it would be for a real mage to recite delicate magical incantations while under fire. In short, I have the utmost respect for the atmosphere of this game, even if it gives me the heebie-jeebies every time I play. All that said, although I am giving the game a top score, I do have a few minor quibbles, mainly because I also have fond memories of Dungeon Master 2, and there were improvements in that game that I missed not having here. For one, I missed having some variety in the environments. It could be because I have not gone deep enough yet, but I yearn for an outdoor area (maybe on the side of the mountain?), or some natural caverns, or even just the odd room or corridor with a tall ceiling so I don't always feel so closed in. I also miss some of the additional spells, like the magic porter, and even a few of the originals, like open door and magic vision. Lastly, I like to be able to linger and explore, so I can feel sure I have not missed any details, but since you need food to stay healthy, and the only way to get food is to explore new territory or kill monsters with edible bits on them, you cannot stick around any one place for too long. These quibbles come down to personal preference more than actual flaws in the game, which is why I am not downgrading my score to four stars instead of five, but they are issues that I hope will be addressed by future content.

I never played these sorts of games back in their heyday (didn't have the computer for it), but I loved this grid-based dungeon crawl. The atmosphere of isolation and mystery is thick from the first moment, and the environment, items and characters feel like something from an old school Dungeons and Dragons session. The combat and puzzles are hard- but usually in a good way. This isn't a game that underestimates your intelligence and dumbs things down. It rewards exploration, diligence and analysis, and there are secrets hidden upon secrets everywhere you look. It's a lot of fun going from literally naked and empty-handed to armed to the teeth and in possession of powerful magic items, knowing that your own ingenuity made it possible. There's also an option to turn the automap off and make your own map with graph paper, if you want the game to be even harder. The difficulty can be a drawback sometimes, though- a few of the puzzles require you to be constantly moving, yet the solutions involve switches that are off to your sides, essentially invisible while you're frantically trying to avoid falling down a pit or getting teleported away. A couple don't give you any clues and seem virtually impossible without a walkthrough (one required me to take things off shelves in three places throughout the level- I found the items, but I couldn't use one so naturally I put it back on the shelf. How was I supposed to figure that one out?) It's also easy to accidentally make a party that just plains sucks by choosing the wrong skills or attributes, and while it may be obvious to veterans of these games, I didn't realize that I was supposed to dance around enemies until almost halfway into the game. A single hint about such an essential maneuver would have been nice. And lastly, the final boss... let's be honest, it's rather an anticlimax. Despite these flaws I enjoyed the game immensely, and I'm excited to try the sequel. Highly recommended!

The game starts with your party being thrown into a dungeon. Your goal is to get your party out of the dungeon. There are a lot of good things in this game along the way. You can create your own party. Make custom characters to fit your play style. There are some real challenges oing through this dungeon. The graphics and the atmosphere are great. There are multiple ways to solve some of the puzzles making the replay vallue a plus. I would higjhly recommend to anyone looking for a challenge and a good dungeon crawler. You will have to use strategy, hand eye coordination, and problem solving. I would also recommend this game if you are looking for something different. Give the game a try. Its well worth the money.