When you think of Metroidvanias, the first game that immediately rears its bug head is Hollow Knight, the modern title that defined the genre and against which all others are measured.
However, in 2021 a unique Metroidvania with an engaging art style, challenging combat and excellent music was released, and nobody noticed.
That game was Grime and, as of writing, has a mere 2,210 reviews on Steam compared to the tens of thousands similar titles boast.
Grime is a curious game in many ways. Like Dark Souls (which spawned the Souls-like genre), it features an obscure and strange story with challenging combat.
However, the most striking detail of Grime isn’t its combat or story but its visual design.
The player character (right) comes face to face with one of the unfriendly locals (left).
A surreal world
Everything in Grime, from bosses to weapons to areas, is surreal. The world is a misshapen place of carven stone and fungus-like flesh, inhabited by creatures and people no less strange.
Some are immense with cumbersome limbs and crag-like faces, while others are small, sinuous, and not even remotely humanoid.
The world of Grime feels like a fever-dream, and that’s good. Too often are games made with tried and tested designs or predictable stories, and while these games are often enjoyable experiences in their own right, Grime offers far more than these other games possibly could.
The Player Character among some of the peculiar residents of the world.
Exploring areas, whether they are dusty canyons or caverns of wet stone laced with vine-like flesh, makes one wonder about the world in a way that goes beyond casual interest.
Much like Dark Souls, the story of Grime is told visually rather than verbally; the tale of the player character unfolds through boss battles, item descriptions and exploration and is shrouded in mysteries that are never fully answered.
But this isn’t a movie or series where only visuals and story matter; this is a game, so gameplay matters too.
Playing the game
Grime’s combat is weighty and satisfying; each weapon feels solid to use, while the character movement is relatively fluid and includes dodge-rolls (it’s a souls-like, so this is a prerequisite), jumping and dashes.
But at times, the combat and movement can be frustrating. Sometimes it’ll feel like the controls aren’t responsive enough, or the character tracking for jumps and dashes is unfair and inaccurate, especially during the more challenging platforming sections.
On that note, platforming is Grimes weakest point; a Metroidvania wouldn’t be a Metroidvania without platforming, but at times it feels like Grime has too many platforming sections that go beyond being challenging and instead begin to feel unfair.
The player character dodges and ducks the attacks of one of the game’s warped bosses.
Grime is a game with flaws – it’s not as good as Hollow Knight and likely never will be – but compared to titles like Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights or Ori and the Will of the Wisps, there’s no reason for it to be forgotten.
Between its unique design, hauntingly good music, solid combat and intriguing story, Grime is a title that shouldn’t be missed.
If you still have doubts, you should try its free demo on Steam and watch the cinematic trailer below.
Grime deserves more recognition, and more importantly, more people deserve to experience all that it has to offer.
Loading ...
