Legend of Grimrock

🎮 Steam ⏳ 30 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Classic Dungeon Revival #

The first Legend of Grimrock entry is a first-person dungeon crawler that pays homage to classic grid-based RPGs like Dungeon Master. Developed by an indie studio, the game combines real-time combat, exploration, and intricate puzzles within a 3D dungeon environment. Its design emphasizes strategic thinking and careful navigation, creating a tense and immersive atmosphere. This was the first game of this genre that I’ve ever played, and I immediately became a fan. Though I don’t consider this something I would use to decide if I would like to play the RPG or not, in my opinion, anybody that likes party RPGs, to any extent, will also enjoy this game.

Clever Sensory Puzzles #

The puzzles are clever and varied, requiring observation, logic, and experimentation, especially because they use your senses a lot, things like visual details on walls (similar to Doom secrets) and audio queues, will definitely make a difference, so I recommend trying to enhance the immersion using headphones. You must manage their party’s resources carefully while solving environmental challenges, which adds depth to the gameplay. Especially because you can easily soft-lock yourself if you don’t level up your party properly, or use a party combination with zero synergy, for example.

Atmosphere and Challenge #

The dungeon’s atmospheric design, with detailed visuals and moody lighting, enhances the sense of immersion and danger. While the combat is functional, it can feel repetitive at times, and enemy AI is relatively simple, making some encounters predictable, though this doesn’t mean they are not challenging, quite the opposite, form start to finish you can easily face a game over screen, especially at the very beginning, or at the very end of the game, which it escalates a lot, forcing you to use your party to the max. Despite these minor drawbacks, the game succeeds in capturing the spirit of classic dungeon crawlers, offering a challenging and nostalgic experience for fans of retro party RPGs, it is a must-play for fans of this genre.