Grim Dawn may seem at first glance to be nothing more than a Diablo clone – but it’s just unbelievably fun! More on that in our review.
Does the world really need another Diablo clone? I wanted to answer that question for myself and took a look at Grim Dawn – not expecting anything great. But – as clickbait headlines would surely indicate – what happened next was incredible! Because what the developer studio Crate Entertainment has created with the hack’n’slay comes damn close to Diablo 3.
From Hanged Man to Hero
The story of Grim Dawn begins when the hero is hanged. Of course, for good reason, because one is possessed by a so-called Aetherial, a kind of spirit or demon from another dimension. These Aetherials invaded the world and now humanity is in an unrelenting war, trying to protect the last bastions. Because the Aetherials are spreading everywhere, taking possession of humans, raising the dead, and flooding the world with horrific monsters. But while you hang there at the gallows, the Aetherial suddenly leaves its host body.
The commander of the fortress reacts quickly and shoots the rope – thus saving the hero’s life. Of course, no one trusts him at first; after all, he was possessed and wanted to kill everyone. But the commander gives him a chance and the first mission. And thus begins the exciting adventure in the action RPG Grim Dawn!
What a Slaughter Fest!
From the isometric perspective like in Diablo, you set out to explore the richly detailed and beautifully dark game world, which is also accompanied by fantastic music. What, no character creation? Yes. At the beginning, you simply decide whether you want to be a man or a woman and which starting path you want to take. Here, options include Soldier, Shaman, Occultist, Nightblade, and Demolitionist. Accordingly, you are a melee fighter, ranged fighter, or spellcaster. However, during the adventures, there is the possibility to also distribute skill points to one of the other classes, so you can use their abilities. By restoring shrines in the game world, you can honor the gods and thus receive special abilities.
The action-packed fights are fun!
As you explore the dark landscapes, hordes of monsters will constantly confront your hero. Just like you know from Diablo. With the mouse button and the selected special abilities, you take care of these creatures. The better your hero is, the more skills he can use, and also depending on the penetration power of the weapon you wield, you create a real massacre in battles. Amidst the explosions, effects, blood, and flying monsters, you will eventually no longer see the screen. And that is a large part of the game’s motivation.
You truly feel more powerful with every level up of the hero and with every point you distribute to a skill. The opponent, who was previously a challenge, suddenly isn’t so strong after leveling up, and the weaker enemies can be taken out with just one sword strike. But that doesn’t mean they no longer pose a danger because mass makes it, and you will attract legions of creatures, for which even Diablo 3 would be amazed. Of course, with the battles, you not only gain EXP, which allows you to level up and gain skill points to improve your abilities or unlock new skills, but you also find tons of loot!
In this regard, Grim Dawn is no less impressive than Diablo 3. The amounts of loot and especially the fact that you can constantly find rare items motivate you to want to keep fighting. The weapons and armor can also be improved by inserting specific objects into them. Then the two-handed axe, for example, receives additional fire damage, or your armor withstands more hits. Therefore, collecting loot in Grim Dawn is almost as enjoyable as in Diablo 3.
Quests and Battles
Grim Dawn is only available in English, but the focus is more on gameplay than on story and quests
You will receive new tasks frequently – however, in English conversations with the NPCs. These include finding missing persons or defeating a boss enemy. Here Grim Dawn falters a bit. Because while there are always challenging boss fights, they feel rather unspectacular compared to regular clashes. There are only a few boss fights that are truly exciting and memorable. Most skirmishes against bosses simply take place like a regular battle; usually, other enemies mix in, so you can’t fully concentrate on the boss. However, a certain tactic is also required in the fights. Enemies that attack from a distance or heal or even resurrect opponents should be eliminated first. You should also use healing potions sparingly.
The boss battles could have been more impressive
It is also important to unlock so-called Riftgates. Because Grim Dawn has no free saving system. While the hero and his progress in the story are saved, the status of the world is not. This means that if you finish the game and restart it, all enemies are back. Therefore, you unlock a Riftgate in each area, to which you can teleport without having to fight your way through the area again. The world also has a small disadvantage compared to Diablo. Because it is not randomly generated. Over time, you will know all the paths. In Diablo 3, on the other hand, each journey through the landscapes is new and unique.
Multiplayer with Pitfalls
In the hack ‘n’ slash Grim Dawn, you’re of course not just on your own. In multiplayer mode, you either play cooperatively with up to three other players to fight against the Aetherials, or you activate PvP mode. Then you can also fight among yourselves. If you have “Free-For-All-Loot” enabled, then fierce battles for the loot can arise. There is also the option that loot is visible only to the one who killed the monster. The developers are currently working on a new mode. Survival is meant to provide an even tougher player experience. By the way, several modes are available, where your character in hardcore mode is permanently dead if he passes away. In the other modes, you only lose EXP. The multiplayer mode of Grim Dawn is currently still affected by quite heavy lags, so you should rather play in single-player mode until an update. But even alone, it is still incredibly fun!
Grim Dawn knows how to motivate the player: a successful hack’n’slay adventure, even though there are still problems with multiplayer.
Conclusion
Andreas says: I have played many Diablo clones. Most of them were okay, but didn’t blow me away. Grim Dawn is one of the few hack ‘n’ slays that can really excite and motivate me to keep playing. The spectacular fights, the many possibilities to improve my hero, and the tons of loot make me want to start Grim Dawn again and sink into the dark world. Sure, there are things I don’t like, such as the rather bland boss fights and the static world, but those are not reasons to not want to play the action RPG.
The developers still need to work on the multiplayer mode because it’s still lagging quite a bit. If you’re looking for a new, exciting, and motivating hack ‘n’ slash, you should definitely give Grim Dawn a chance! At a price of around 25 euros, you can’t go wrong here.
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