Legend of Grimrock review (PC)

Not many modern day gamers would feel their pulse race and their heart skip beats at the mention of Stonekee, Interplay’s legendary 1995 dungeon-crawler. It certainly doesn’t ring a bell in the same way that Baldur’s Gate does. One would be forgiven for thinking this RPG sub-genre extinct.

Strange then that indie video game developer, Almost Human, believed that a puzzle-filled dungeon-crawler RPG still had a market.

Legend of Grimrock starts out quite simply, with four prisoners accused of treason that get chucked down a cavernous hole into Mount Grimrock – which just so happens to be the aforementioned dungeon that sets the scene for our adventure. The goal? Reach the bottom and have your freedom, or die trying.

The four races from which players can assemble their parties are Humans, Lizardmen, Minotaurs and Insectoids. Each has its own racial advantage – Humans are versatile, Insectoids are great spell-casters, Minotaurs, apart from their strength, gain an attack boost for every skull in their inventory and Lizardmen are adept at stealth and dexterity.

The three classes to choose from are the classic archetypes: warrior; mage; and thief.

Players with a penchant for challenges can take on the adventure in Oldschool Mode – a setting available when starting a new game that disables auto-mapping. Like many octogenarians from days gone by who played classic dungeon-crawlers such as 1987’s Dungeon Master, players can cartograph their own journey – a story of hardship and triumph any gamer would be proud to tell their grand kids about one day.

Legend of Grimrock

Combat is often brutal and requires quick reflexes and determination. Large slithering snails begging to be turned into escargot are the first enemies players will engage. Later on, spiders, possessed armour, and ogres will be the least of players’ concerns.

A fun trick is to lure monsters over a trapdoor and then spring it. While a rewarding experience in itself, it’s not half as enjoyable and popping through the trapdoor and killing them by falling on them.

Players are able to save their game at will – something many will no doubt appreciate. There are also blue “save point” crystals to be found every so often that act as auto-saves, fully restore the health and mana of characters, as well as facilitate the resurrection of fallen party members.

Resting is also important and feeding your characters is vital. While characters won’t lose health if they begin to starve, they will no longer slowly regenerate health. Food becomes scarce the further down Mount Grimrock you go. Some players have suggested starving your characters and only feeding them before a fight. But, alas, I’m too empathetic for that.

The level design is nothing short of brilliant. Though it doesn’t take long before the scenery becomes dull and your eyes grow tired of scanning every single wall for hidden switches which open secret chambers. The brilliance, then, is entirely in the design of many puzzles. Some are downright perplexing while others are far more obvious.

For example, a trap door might seem like doom, but in fact what it leads to may well hold the key to a puzzle on the floor above. In some puzzles, after hitting a switch it might be that an obstacle which previously blocked your way disappears, but you only have a limited amount of time to get past before it pops back. Precise movement in that limited time is often needed – something far more complicated than it might seem in a game where players move a tile at a time.

Certain sound effects become annoying after a while. There is almost no variation in the sound made when striking an enemy, or the sound an enemy or group of enemies make when they repeatedly attack you. It’s enough to drive a person mad after a while. However, there’s a tangible feeling of weight when walls move back or steel gates open.

Legend of Grimrock

The Legend of Grimrock is a beautiful game with a world that consists of very detailed textures. While not a graphical masterpiece, it’s difficult not to imagine an idea of the depth and feel of many items, statues and even the walls.

The lighting is also expertly done. Your torch burns brightly at first and slowly begins to fade to black, with shadows dancing against the walls as players move around.

There is no argument: Legend of Grimrock is a beautifully styled, high-quality indie game that pays tribute to a long forgotten classic sub-genre. Almost Human have outdone themselves and hopefully will endeavour to take on similar projects in the future.

The only (personal) criticism I have is that this isn’t a story-heavy RPG, as I’m sure readers have noticed through my omission thereof. I believe it would be unfair to judge what is essentially a puzzle-heavy dungeon-crawler on its lack of engaging narrative. It would be like judging Flight Simulator on its lack of space kittens.

All the same, if you feel like a bit of nostalgia or have really never played a dungeon-crawler before in your life, get this – it’s a high-quality tribute to the classics and is most assuredly worth it.