Legend of Grimrock 2

I enjoyed the first game so I figured I'd try out the sequel, so bought it when it was released. I never actually finished this game because It starts to get frustrating and the setting just wasn't interesting enough. This game essentially takes the first game, changes the environment to be outdoors but doesn't improve on any of the issues that the first game had. Positives + The aesthetics are well done and especially the textures look really nice. + The game actually being set outdoors is an improvement over the first game, + The game rewards exploration, and has secrets to discover. Negatives - The game gets frustratingly difficult later on and it seems like you have to have a certain class setup for your party or else you will struggle later on in the game, unless you have played the game already. -The open-endedness seems to be a downfall of the game. This may be a personal opinion but it suffers from an issue of having an open world but not giving you a good enough sense of direction or a good enough idea of where you should be going. Same issue that Dark Souls has, it has the impression of being open-ended but actually expects you to go down a certain path according to your level or else you'll struggle too much. It also doesn't really make the paths clear enough and I found myself swimming down a river at one point for a while only to figure out i was supposed to go somewhere else. - The puzzles are an interesting addition but it feels like the game is a bit too reliant on having you solve the puzzles, and some of them are very cryptic. - May be a personal opinion but the whole story and setting of the game seemed to get less interesting the further you progress through the game. At first it's nice to see the outside world environment and the elements of mystery, but then later on i found myself getting bored of being in the same massive, sprawling dungeon for a long time.

The game is graphically superior, and feels better to play than its predecessor. Yet the enemy behaviours and attack patterns are all grossly more generic and simple, most using no tactic more advanced than walking up to you and repeatedly attacking you. The maps are smaller which means you rarely get a chance to use the movement system beyond going left and right repeatedly. The combat is, as a result, a downgrade in terms of variety and involvement. To compensate enemies react faster and are more aggressive, but because attack animations do not have any wind-up this just means trial-and-error dictates success rather than dynamically engaging with and overcoming your foe. The puzzles are interesting enough, par for the course with this sort of game and while they wont blow the mind of someone familiar with videogame puzzles; are perfectly satisfying to complete with a few twists and turns to keep it from becoming predictable. The game, however, lacks a brightnes option which makes the mandatory night-time a pain to play if you, like me, have a mediocre monitor. Why a simple gamma slider isn't available is anybody's guess. But in the end my real problem comes with the combat being tedious, and this is one of the few games I quickly leant towards an 'Explorer' playthrough of. I did not feel engaged and I just wanted to switch it to Easy and focus on exploring and solving puzzles. The combat simply wasn't interesting enough for me to bother learning, which I consider a huge detriment. However worse is that even on Easy the game really is not. Difficulty is almost entirely based on your ability to predict attack patterns and side-strafe them accordingly; which means in the end there might as well only be one difficulty option as the slider changes little. For me it meant that after several hours of good-hearted attempts of getting into the game and overcoming the tedium I just became frustrated and gave up. I much prefer LoG1 despite the more interesting visuals.

Would have given the first game a 4 stars; this is a huge improvement from the original. Graphics are low-key but solid. Puzzles are challenging but fair, progression feels like a major achievement. Personally had a lot of self fist pumps and cheering when I solved any puzzle that had me scratching my head. The chime when discovering secrets immensely satisfying, like that chime when you solve a puzzle in LoZ. Only gripe is the same as most folks have had; combat is the weakest part of the game by far. One thing I do like about RPGs, particularly when playing as a mage which is my preferred class in most games, is that while you start out puny you eventually become a monster slaying AOE badass. That never really happens in either of these games; same combat tactics you use at the beginning of the game are what are going to work at the end. I'm sure the lack of modern amenities (keyboard shortcuts, quick item slots, etc.) are intentional to preserve the old-school feel, but back in the day those mechanics annoyed me too, I was just less patient and never completed those games.

First off I love that they expanded the game with an outdoor enviroment instead of being exculsivley in a dungeon. The game is darker overall and has some great set pieces that truly induce some panic, like when you get locked in that room with the fungi and it's frenetic dash to wipe them all out before you succumb to the poison. There's forests, lakes , cemetery's , castles, beaches , they really went all out and it shows. So why kind of? well they do overdo it with the puzzles, especially towards the end of the game when they seem to come one after another and they're not easy either. Some of them i had to watch a walkthrough to find out what you had to do, and when i say some i mean at least 4 or 5. Other than that they did a fantastic job and i thoroughly enjoyed it.

I loved the first Grimrock; it was the greatest modern homage to classic dungeon crawlers like Dungeon Master that I'd played. But unlike most sequels which tended to be more of the same with new items and creatures and dungeon layouts, Legend of Grimrock II expands upon pretty much every aspect, bringing both an expansive outdoor area as well as numerous, sometimes large dungeons, more and more varied weapons, armour and magic items, new creatures as well as old, boss fights, loads of new puzzles, and much more varied scenery. Additionally, Almost Human have tweaked the leveling point system in a way that makes more sense. There is a _lot_ to do in Grimrock 2. The overworld area is large and diverse, and each has its own series of puzzles ranging from simple to devious. Likewise, numerous dungeons, both large and small, have their own series of challenges, and some of them can be quite tricky. The first boss fight I encountered in the huge Ruins of Desarune dungeon had me scrambling like mad, using all of my resources, and hoping I could make it through without _everyone_ dying. (Thankfully you may run across the occasional crystal shard -- a chip off the large resurrection/healing crystals you run across periodically that can give you a single-use heal/resurrection for the whole party.) The atmosphere is every bit as good as the original and then some, and the music is excellent. If you liked the original Legend of Grimrock, this sequel is an absolute must-get. It's everything you loved, expanded and tweaked to even greater perfection. But prepare for an even greater challenge -- Grimrock II never lets you off easy. But if you're diligent, quick, and find enough secrets (for there are many), you might just survive the island. But only just.