Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 51 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 489 Ratings

  • Summary: Legend of Grimrock is a dungeon crawling game inspired by oldschool classics of the genre while still bringing its own twists to the game. The game features survival, combat, magic, puzzles and role-playing elements. The player is a prisoner sentenced to death and exiled to the secluded Mount Grimrock for vile crimes he may or may not have committed. Unbeknownst to his captivators, the mountain is riddled with ancient tunnels and dungeons. The player's mission is to form a team and escape by descending through the mountain, level by level. During the journey the player encounters mysterious puzzles, deadly traps, ancient tombs and horrible monsters left behind by crumbled civilizations long perished now. Find out more at http://www.grimrock.net Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 51
  2. Negative: 0 out of 51
  1. Apr 10, 2012
    95
    The level design, enemy placement, and especially the puzzles are all, by and large, wonderfully crafted. There are a few instances where the "traps" seem more unfair than clever, but that hardly tarnishes what is otherwise a terrific experience. You'll be hard-pressed to find a modern game like Legend of Grimrock any time soon, but with a game of this quality, you won't need one.
  2. Apr 17, 2012
    86
    This is not only a Hack & Slay with atmospheric visuals, it offers clever puzzles, interesting secrets and lethal traps behind every corner. Legend of Grimrock is a well executed homage to dungeon crawlers.
  3. 86
    The focus is on atmosphere and brain-teasers, both of which the game pulls off with absolute aplomb and unbelievably slick production, to the point where one can almost smell the grime and mold on the dungeon's walls.
  4. Apr 4, 2012
    73
    Legend of Grimrock resonates with powerful nostalgic vibes for gamers of my generation, and I don't regret my time with it one bit. Its lazy monster design encourages the worst kind of tedious, mechanically abusive player behavior, though, which is a grave offense in the world of party-based RPGs.

See all 51 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 12 out of 140
  1. Very good game in the style of Might and Magic (a classic PC game). The graphics are outstanding and exploration really fun in those beautifully rendered environments. This is a game I recomment for people who like to explore dungeons and build up a party of interesting characters. Expand
  2. Great return to the old dungeon crawler style of games. Not quite as in depth as games of yore: Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, Bloodwych, etc. but hopefully with expansions and updates it can become the game it deserves to be. Expand
  3. 7
    I'm guessing the poor reviews are from kids that have never heard of Eye of the Beholder or Black Crypt. For those that have this is a sumptuous delve into the past. But it is not as good as it could have been which is an absolute shame. No character generation? Even EotB and BC had that 20 years ago! To cast spells you have to select buttons on a 3x3 grid which wouldn't be so bad if the buttons stayed selected, instead you have to keep re selecting each button..... gameplay suicide. Your ranged character is next to useless if you miss the bow which is in a secret area..... why ffs, then all she can do is throw rocks and a pointy bit of metal. The puzzles are well implemented if a bit nonsensical. If you are under 30 years of age you will probably hate this game but for those of us that spent hours drawing maps on squared paper this is a fun, if short lived, stroll down memory lane. Expand
  4. Legend of Grimrock is a game that seeks to imitate the dungeon-crawlers of old and the player is tasked , after having been sentenced to death, with surviving in a dungeon by choosing a party made out of four members, solving puzzles, finding secret rooms and defeating different types of monsters. You control the game by using the keyboard for movement and by clicking on icons on the screen to initiate attacks or cast spells. In theory, this all sounds great and although it has been proven to work, Legend of Grimrock fails to live up to expectations. The dungeons are, although extremely atmospheric, highly repetitive. The fighting consists of clicking icons and waiting for them to become available again while you dodge enemy attacks by moving backward, forward, left or right. There is no diagonall movement and you make a 90 degree turn, causing the movement and combat to feel awkward, as if though you're in a theme park attraction that never gets up to speed. All combat and inventory management occurs in real-time which means that if you have a mage or a thrower or an archer on your team, you will often find yourself frantically clicking on projectiles and the rune system instead of actually focusing on the combat. Although promising gameplay, the interface to Legend of Grimrock is simply bad to the point where I did not want to continue playing the game. As others have put it, this game is more of a mouse dexterity training than anything else. Expand

See all 140 User Reviews