Grim Quest - Old School RPG

This was a tough choice between a thumbs "up" or "down". I was dissatisified with some issues, but have completed the main story line, so it cannot be that bad. This is an updated review after finishing the main story line. Further down this wall of text there is my older preview after a few hours of play. Pros: - Very good story and very good atmosphere. - Excellent artwork adorning the major story events. - Interesting leveling system that keeps the player wanting to always go the next mile. - Broad selection of skills and spells that probably make for many different playstyles / adventuring experiences (and with probably less impact, many different character backgrounds and companion animals). I cannot say for sure, though, I played only one playthrough and do not see me coming back for another. - Immediate, helpful response from the programmer (-s?) after publishing a critical review (see further below). Cons: - UI is from programmer's perspective, not from users': for several steps that take place quite often, one has to go from one screen / submenu to another and go back, e. g.: picking up a quest, turning quest in, going back to pick up another quest - information is not p…

I played the demo of Grim Quest a couple of years ago but found it didn't grab me. Then, earlier this year, I impulsively picked up the second game, a prequel by the name of Grim Tides, and really enjoyed it. That was enough to prompt me to give Grim Quest another go. Like the prequel, Grim Quest is essentially a 2D dungeon crawler, with interludes back in the local town allowing you to improve your abilities and restock on stuff you need. You can definitely see how the second game improved on what was established here, though. Where Grim Quest has a sporadic minigame where you have to defend the town by blindly guessing which type of enemy is attacking (arbitrary guesswork is neither engaging nor satisfying), Grim Tides replaced it with an arena and ship-to-ship combat. Where Grim Quest (appropriately for its title) has a gloomy, oppressive, almost Dark Souls-ish doomed fantasy setting, Grim Tides opted to move the action to a tropical archipelago. Grim Tides, then, is definitely the better game. The differences are relatively minor, though. They do make a difference, but not enough to make or break a game. The core gameplay is consistent across both titles, and while Tides is b…

Grim Quest is a minimalist RPG game with deep lore. As you journey accross the continent, you gradually uncover the disastrous consequences of the Tear, a dark cataclysm that gives shape to man's deepest horrors. To achieve your goals, you will need to gear up and manage the city's defenses as the forces of darkness slowly grow stronger.

GOATED

I REALLY WANT to like this game. I'm trying, F-ing trying. Even playing on mobile. This game has no chill, it will continue to get harder even if you're struggling to advance your character. There is no option to grind, or to level up before progressing. I was doing the same dungeon level, without exiting (which progresses the dungeon's level), in an attempt to fortify my character. Surprise, the dungeon (same level) got harder and just started killing me anyway (as did an adjacent dungeon I was not even leveling). F this F-ing game, give me a way to grind or advance. A game that feels like being shoved off a cliff in slow motion is not fun.

I used to play this game on mobile back when I was doing my military service (because it's free on mobile and it's good for a mobile game). I really liked it back then so I decided to reward the creator with 5 bucks on the Steam version. Turns out it wasn't just "good for a mobile game", it's actually good - I sank a few hours on PC too! It's a very good game, especially considering it was an effort by 1 guy.