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Legend of Grimrock II came out last week, and it is already one of the best dungeon crawler games I've ever played.
Just to give you an idea, the first RPG (Role Playing Game) that I can remember playing was Bard's Tale II and Bards Tale III. Back in those days, there were no automapping. I had to buy gridpapers and drew my own maps. When I graduated to Dungeon and Dragons, Wizardry, Might and Magic III (and its World of Xeen), I was hooked on these games. So, I've always had a great fondness for that type of game, and incredibly delighted to find out that these games are still being developed today.
The original Legend of Grimrock came out in 2012 by Finnish developer Almost Human, and unfortunately I actually had not played (however, after I'm done with Grimrock II, I will play the original). Grimrock II was developed by a small team Wayside Creations with a Kickstarter funding goal of only $100,000.
I don't know if it was intentional, but there is no tutorial, instead it is up to the player to discover the way the game works. Half the fun is actually just trying out stuff. For example, you start the game locked in a cage. There is a branch nearby. I've played these games enough to know that you're supposed to pick up the branch and smash your way out. That's the other thing, since I'm already familiar with these type of games (throwing rocks to weigh down pressure plates, etc), people who don't enjoy RPG games will have a hard time with Grimrock II. In fact, based on the 8 hours I've already sunk into the game, Grimrock II I can tell you that this game was definitely created by RPG gamers for other RPG gamers.
So if you've decided to give the game a try, here are some tips to get you going:
Create a well-rounded team. I usually have the tried-and-true four person team of one fighter, one knight, one healer, and one wizard.
In Grimrock, the healers are alchemist.
Specialization. Each of my team specialized in one or two areas, for example my knight have high light weapon and heavy armor skills, while my fighter is all about heavy weapons and critical, my alchemist is also a firearms expert (max this out so you won't have to deal with weapon "jam"), and my mage is mostly fire, but dabs in all the elements.
Look at all the walls for hidden buttons or switches. Yeah, this is a big annoyance, as sometime you cannot solve a puzzle without discovering the hidden rooms.
It's OK to drop heavy items. I'm a packrat, but in this game there is no need to hang onto those 10 heavy axes.
There are no merchants (as far as I know it), so saving items are useless if you are not utilizing it.
It's okay to retreat. If some characters are too tough at first, try bombs, projectiles, and fireballs, at enemies and run backward as they walk towards you.
Save often. You should save whenever you're about to enter into a dangerous puzzle or powerful enemies.
Can you dig it?. If you see a tombstone, chances are there is something buried near it.
Teach a man to fish. If you run out of food, you can usually grab live fish in the lakes.
Starting over. Sometime it is okay to restart the game with new characters, based on your previous mistakes and with new insights.
So far, I'm having a really good time playing the game.
Although sometime it's frustrating not knowing how to solve a puzzle or fighting a particular difficult monster... it is so rewarding when you do eventually solve your problems.
Just to give you an idea, the first RPG (Role Playing Game) that I can remember playing was Bard's Tale II and Bards Tale III. Back in those days, there were no automapping. I had to buy gridpapers and drew my own maps. When I graduated to Dungeon and Dragons, Wizardry, Might and Magic III (and its World of Xeen), I was hooked on these games. So, I've always had a great fondness for that type of game, and incredibly delighted to find out that these games are still being developed today.
The original Legend of Grimrock came out in 2012 by Finnish developer Almost Human, and unfortunately I actually had not played (however, after I'm done with Grimrock II, I will play the original). Grimrock II was developed by a small team Wayside Creations with a Kickstarter funding goal of only $100,000.
I don't know if it was intentional, but there is no tutorial, instead it is up to the player to discover the way the game works. Half the fun is actually just trying out stuff. For example, you start the game locked in a cage. There is a branch nearby. I've played these games enough to know that you're supposed to pick up the branch and smash your way out. That's the other thing, since I'm already familiar with these type of games (throwing rocks to weigh down pressure plates, etc), people who don't enjoy RPG games will have a hard time with Grimrock II. In fact, based on the 8 hours I've already sunk into the game, Grimrock II I can tell you that this game was definitely created by RPG gamers for other RPG gamers.
So if you've decided to give the game a try, here are some tips to get you going:
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Legend of Grimrock II
image: grimrock.net
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