I don't own Grimrock I, but I bought Grimrock II because most of the environments are places that you'd like to be. I think that beautiful environments and nice sounds add a lot to an adventure game. I did not expect several moments of awe. Game was better than I expected it to be. Game does have traps and switches, and some of the puzzles are so hard that, like me, you may end up looking them up. There is no hard level cap but there is a soft level cap -- each level costs roughly twice the XP of the previous level, so you reach a point beyond which you are unlikely to level up. A very good game with interesting character options and real replayability.
This is a game that you can understand and master. You can drop a game and pick it up. You can understand the rules and learn what does what. It's a dark theme -- becoming the chief crimelord -- but the game mechanics (build / research / fight) are nicely balanced. AI options let you choose between builder (I play on Criminal level) or, as the screen shot says, Homicidal Maniac (a level I have not beaten)).
