Legend of Grimrock

..with RPGs when he was a kid? Grimrock is a really good modern example. You could call it "Baby's First Dungeon Crawler". You'll learn how to appreciate the automap and the fact that you can make your own notes. Keep in mind that some of us had to use graph paper in the old days!* Combat is confusing for the beginner if you don't know the following: 1) Place a weapon in your character's hand and right-click on it to use it. 2) You have 4 characters; 2 in the front, 2 in the back. The two in the back can't attack unless they either have the skills or appropriate weapons (like a spear). I haven't finished the game yet but I've only run into one puzzle that threw me so far. Give it a try. *In fact, you can play the "old-school" way and turn the automap off. That's a nice touch.

What LOG is: an old fashioned dungeon crawler, the kind thats been common in the 90s. You get thrown in a dungeon and need to escape. Movement is grid-based. Combat is mostly about moving to a strategically advantageous tile in time. The focus of the game is about exploring the dungeon and solving its challenges and puzzles (and getting hopelessly lost in it if you play it in old-school mode and don't care about manual mapping). What LOG is not: a modern AAA-grade RPG. There are no dialogues. There are no epic quests to solve. There is no real story being told. There is no epic combat movement and no world you get to save from your own den in front of the computer. The game makes no secret out of the fact that it's aimed at old-school gamers and retro enthusiasts. It excels at what it does, delivering a gaming experience that was common in the early 90s. If you're not into that, this might not be the game for you, but if you are then you're in luck because you've come across a true gem of its kind.

After reading the patwater review, I couldn't help myself and had to write a review of the game. Reviewers like patwater just fail to be in the moment and enjoy the game. Instead, the reviewer over-analyzes and picks at game aspects that don't warrant that much attention. The game is an old-school dungeon crawler at heart. If you remember playing games like EOB and Dungeon Master and liked them, you will enjoy LoG. LoG incorporates the play mechanics of the old dungeon crawlers and refines that play with modern sensibilities and lessons learned. On top of that, the game looks really good. My only complaint might be that some of the puzzle solutions aren't intuitive, but nothing ever discouraged me from continuing or pursuing a solution. This is my simple rule of thumb for rating a game: 1 star - so bad I couldn't finish 25% of the game 2 star - not too good; maybe I didn't even finish the game for a number of reasons 3 star - okay game, but when I've finished, maybe I regret putting so much time into it. 4 star - a fun experience; no regrets; might even recommend it. 5 star - wow! this game had me spellbound! I rated the game a 4 star. The developers know what they want to produce, they seem focused on their plans, they obviously work hard to provide a quality product and they develop a game for their target market. I respect that and plan on buying LoG 2 when it comes out. If they continue like this, each game iteration will only get better.

I've become leery of all the 5 star reviews in gog having found most old games are reviewed with those rose colored lenses of past thrills and not based on current date playstyle for the uninitiated, but for this game they are spot on. Never played this before and am totally loving it. I like the slow accrual of spells, gear and levels. I like the different party members and build your team the way you want. I like the crafting and very much enjoy the spell weaving, which at first seemed clumsy. Now I love crafting the spells each hit and not just spamming a spell button. I love the treasure hunts, and puzzle solving tho HATE the timed platformer like puzzles. I admit to having played with a walk thru on hand as its HARD. A few puzzles made me scream and throw my mouse. Good times eh. pros: interesting animations for spells, treasure hunting games and hidden rooms with rewards. Class differentiation makes for replayability. jump scares as beasties surprise you from behind or you fall thru traps. Mind bending puzzles, an engaging back story, in depth spell crafting and unique game mechanic to casting. Great sound ambiance let you know/dread whats around the corner, you get hungry and torches go out leaving you in utter darkness until you learn a spell to cast light. and so on cons: kinda dated graphics, enemies are strangely underpowered the higher levels, many a time I was cast into a dungeon with numerous enemies and still survived despite being cornered. The spell weaving can be cumbersome (ended up being my fav thing but at first was annoying) , timed platformer like puzzles are almost unbeatable leads to major frustration still...a great entertaining game, tempted to play thru again to try out diff group makeup.

The world feels lifeless. There's nobody to talk to. When you swing a weapon, there is just a generic "swoosh" graphic, irrespective of the weapon. You might just as easily be swinging a sword or a mace or a fist - they feel identical, abstract. There was a liveliness to games like Ultima Underworld, even though their technical limitations were so much greater. Grimrock feels sterile.