Grim Dawn Review (NO FILE)
What Diablo 3 should have looked like
I remember when I bought this game while it was still "Early Access". It was nice, but there was always something missing. I didn't bother playing it and forgot about it fast. Years later this game just appeared again on my recommendation tab. "Should I install it?" - Yes.... yes I should. My expectation was not that high at this time. I played "Titan Quest" before and I really didn't want to dive into another game of the same genre. Than I found out that you can play as a Necromancer (DLC) and I was like "HELL YEAH"
It ended in a game session with no limits. I even neglected my daily life, just to level and loot. Here is what made me play this game which nearly ruined my exams:
Story:
To be fair... There are not many games of this type that give you a good story. They can be engaging or interesting, but it is never the focus. In "Grim Dawn" it might be the same, but I have to say that the rare times, in between slaughtering hordes of monsters, where the story progressed were exciting. The game starts with you, being dead... Close to be dead. Shadowy figures terrorize the land and possess dead bodies. You were able to fight it off and people think you might be special. You lost your memories and now your goal is to find out why you were able to resist, who you are and what happend to the world.
Atmosphere:
One of its kind. There are a lot of post apocalyptic games within the "Grim Dark" themed games. Warhammer Fantasy is a good example. But this one remains more medieval as most others. There is magic, but it isn't as common as in other games. Think of Diablo 3, but way more gory, brutal and dark. If you want to play a game that is the embodiment of "Dark Fantasy", this is your game! From dark swamps to forgotten ruins over to cursed cities ... it is all here!
Gameplay:
It is and Action-RPG - Choose a Mastery (Class) and lets go!
The classes are:
Soldier
Demolitionist
Occultist
Nightblade
Arcanist
Shaman
Inquisitor
Necromancer
What I really loved about this game is that you can mix two classes. If you want to be a Soldier and a Necromancer... You can do it! But experimenting is the key. Some classes even benefit from eachother. Conjured creatures of the Necromancer tree also benefit from the Shaman tree. I can't list everything here, but there is a whole community sharing builds. Pretty amazing! You also don't have to do this and you can also only concentrate on one tree. But this is a missed opportunity!
The rest is just leveling, looting and building your character! Slashing mobs all day and be the hero!
The sidemissions are also great and there is even a faction system to discover! Decisions you made also influence some outcomes of the side- and mainmissions!
Graphics:
If you played "Pillars of Eternity" I would say it looks the same. Maybe a bit better. The effects are stunning. If you do a BIG BOOM as a mage... It will be a BIG BOOM! It still looks maybe a bit dated, but it also doesn't need to hide itself from other Action-RPGs that came out lately!
Soundtrack:
Dark and Gloomy! It just fits perfectly!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLXBBfDDsro
Conclusion:
Totally worth it and so much fun! I highly recommend the "Ashes of Malmouth"-DLC, which also continues and ends the mainstory (And it comes with the Necromancer!)!