When my friends all played Diablo 2 I played Unreal Tournament. Looter games didn't seem interesting to me. Destiny changed that. I decided to try Diablo 3 and it seemed fun enough, so I bought it on PS4 and PC. As I played, I kept reading rave reviews about Grim Dawn, so I decided to try it and it just sucked me right in. Every review here paints the picture, so I won't repeat it. All I will say is that you should not skip reading the lore you pick up along the way. I just read the Trip Down South journal entries and...so disturbing. Whoever wrote that is in a really dark place.
This game is painfully slow and boring. It does what it set out to do, which is why I gave it 3 stars, but dear lord is it dull. If you have a long flight and nothing better to do, it is a decent enough time sink, but it is definitely not a game you will feel a need to play. Even if I got it free I would only play it if it happened to already be installed.
I have never played a card game like this before and this is my first game in the Witcher universe so I am 100% unbaised. The card game is fun, the crafting and other RPG elements are well done, the story is good and the music and voice acting are excellent. All in all, this is a solid game. I would give it a 4.5 stars but I chose 5 to counteract all the non-sensical reviews from long time Gwent players who feel cheated somehow by a free game. Apparently the beta was very different from the final product. I hope to see more games like this that use a fun enough card game and mix it with a Tell Tale style novel and Fallout (1&2) style top down RPG navigation.
In a year of fantastic 2d platformers and metroidvania masterpieces that have leaned heavy on the dificulty and retro nostalgia, it is nice to play a game that you can just get lost in. Lost in its beauty, in its ambiance, and in its music yet it doesn't compromise on the gameplay.
