GRIME

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 68 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 68
  3. Negative: 5 out of 68

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  1. JumboJenkins
    Nov 12, 2021
    9
    Was extremely impressed with GRIME. Expected to play it for an hour or 2 and then forget about it. Ended up being one of my favourite surprises of the year. It's a Metroidvania with all the best parts of Dark Souls. The story and setting are surrealist and sombre, with great atmosphere. The game is challenging but did not once feel unfair. The bosses, in particular, are all fantastic --Was extremely impressed with GRIME. Expected to play it for an hour or 2 and then forget about it. Ended up being one of my favourite surprises of the year. It's a Metroidvania with all the best parts of Dark Souls. The story and setting are surrealist and sombre, with great atmosphere. The game is challenging but did not once feel unfair. The bosses, in particular, are all fantastic -- they all provide a test of your skill, but not so much so veins are going to be popping out of your forehead from stress. The story is vague (like Dark Souls) but is not so obtuse that you won't even care what's going on. Importantly, unlike Dark Souls, the NPCs talk to you normally and not like their dialogue was written by an 18th-century poet who ends every sentence in crazed laughter -- which added a lot to the world for me.

    I will say, however, that the game isn't the greatest looking. Some animations can look pretty janky and you can see the seems in geometry in some places -- but I never had any crashes so I won't complain too much. It only took 9 hours to beat which was a really pleasant length but by the time I got to the end I had already pretty much explored every nook and cranny of the map, and there was so many upgrades left that I couldn't touch I felt like I was missing something.

    Overall -- a fantastic indie game that I hope gets more content/a sequel. The world is very interesting, the mechanics are endlessly satisfying, and I've started up a second playthrough to try a different build already! I wish the studio the greatest success with this game, they deserve it.    … Expand
  2. Dr4amLord
    Aug 5, 2021
    10
    Fantastic metroidvania game with soulslike elements and surreal graphics.

    10/10
  3. Drools79
    Aug 5, 2021
    10
    Ok, this game has completely blown me away so far I’m about 8 hours into it. If you are looking for casual gameplay this is not it, this game is brutal in a way similar to how the souls games are. If you’ve ever played Blasphemous, think of it similar to that but in my opinion this is way more polished.
  4. Hroft_Den
    Aug 13, 2021
    9
    It was cool! Only positive emotions. An interesting hero, weapons, monsters, locations.
  5. Equiixxx
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    A Metroidvania with a "souls like" combat style and narrative. It has an astonished art style, with a beautiful OST. The level desing is stunning, wanting to explore the world of GRIME and seeing their inhabitants and the piece of the cake are the boss fights in the game, really amazing.
  6. RealNova
    Aug 27, 2022
    8
    I want to give the game 8.5 but I can't.
    The game is great in everything, FINALLY a metroidvania that keeps the challenge alive even after hours of play.
    Man if I loved the bosses. The world is so artistic and original. Its unfortunate for the abstract lore narrated plot that makes it very hard to understand or for the absence of memorable characters that makes you attached to the    I want to give the game 8.5 but I can't.
    The game is great in everything, FINALLY a metroidvania that keeps the challenge alive even after hours of play.
    Man if I loved the bosses.
    The world is so artistic and original.
    Its unfortunate for the abstract lore narrated plot that makes it very hard to understand or for the absence of memorable characters that makes you attached to the world but for everything else PLAY THIS GAME, it gets better at every new area.    … Expand
  7. pillowmantis
    Aug 24, 2021
    9
    After playing the frankly disappointing Ender Lilies, I didn't have high hopes for this title. But, having now finished it after around 20 hours, I can safely say that this game is a quality product.

    First, the music. It's alright, not the greatest but definitely serviceable. Though most of the music is fairly generic, there are a few standout boss themes that are still stuck in my head    After playing the frankly disappointing Ender Lilies, I didn't have high hopes for this title. But, having now finished it after around 20 hours, I can safely say that this game is a quality product.

    First, the music. It's alright, not the greatest but definitely serviceable. Though most of the music is fairly generic, there are a few standout boss themes that are still stuck in my head and have found their way onto my playlists.

    The sound design is superb, with clear audio cues that help a player get a grasp of where they stand, where an enemy might be up ahead off screen, if a projectile they need to parry is coming.

    World Design is interesting. They did a good job with interconnected zones and making sure that there are a lot of shortcuts to unlock. While the lack of convenient fast travel will be an issue for most, I often found that the available methods saved more than enough time to make backtracking feasible. As for the often mentioned checkpoint starvation, I do agree there aren't very many. However, the world is full of shortcuts you can open that make a given checkpoint end up close to a route further ahead. Things like activating an elevator that goes to a prior checkpoint. The actual map design is pretty cool, with a lot of random empty crevices that make it feel more like an actual place rather than a game world where every inch has a specific purpose. Though that's a downside for many, it's an element I appreciate.

    For gameplay, Grime really excels. Every enemy type feels unique, with slightly different approaches and strategies needed to deal with them. The main mechanic of combat, the parry/absorb feels incredibly satisfying to land, and they do a good job of communicating exactly which attacks can be parried. As you unlock added mechanics, combat gets more complex. A "pull" ability that is used for traversal can also be used to grab enemies during parts of their animations, knocking them out of it and opening them up to attack. Red flashing attacks can't be parried, so dodging is the only option. There is a variety of weapons, though I only ended up using a few due to my build. Still, they seem to offer enough differences to appeal to many playstyles.

    Platforming segments can get very challenging, especially mandatory to progression segments. You need to learn how to chain together every mobility option in the game to reach the ending. Having played with a keyboard and mouse, I can't really say how difficult they'd be to someone with a controller. If you don't like tense and sometimes exasperating 2d platforming, don't get the game.

    Bosses are phenomenal. Each boss feels very distinct in terms of attacks and appearance, and provide plenty of exploitable openings for an enterprising player that understands the mechanics. There is always a checkpoint less than a minute away from each boss, so death never feels too punishing.

    It also has a good mechanic to help with grinding, if you're so inclined. By killing enemies, your Ardor meter goes up from 0 until 100. The higher it goes, the more mass (basically Souls from Dark Souls) you acquire from enemies. I didn't need to grind to beat the game, but for those who need a bit more levels I'm sure it will be handy.

    As for story... I don't want to get too detailed. Personally, I liked it. It's got that "modern Metroidvania" style of storytelling, with the overly cryptic lore and item descriptions. While it isn't the best story out there, I still felt emotionally invested. And that's what really matters.    … Expand
  8. Benjelder
    Nov 9, 2021
    9
    This game was a blast, I had the same feeling playing it than I had discovering the world of Hollow Knight ! It is a well-crafted metroidvania, with a lot of hidden passages, shortcuts and items, a good enemy variety, great boss fights, epic soundtracks and, most of all, a jaw-dropping scenery.

    The gameplay is fun, the character can either fight with a traditional weapon, or absorb    This game was a blast, I had the same feeling playing it than I had discovering the world of Hollow Knight ! It is a well-crafted metroidvania, with a lot of hidden passages, shortcuts and items, a good enemy variety, great boss fights, epic soundtracks and, most of all, a jaw-dropping scenery.

    The gameplay is fun, the character can either fight with a traditional weapon, or absorb attacks in a kind of "parry" mechanic. Bosses make a really good use of the fighting mechanics and other abilities learnt throughout the game.
    Exploring is always rewarding, there are several hidden bosses and optional areas. The world map is huge and the progression is satisfying. The areas blend together nicely and each of them has its own mood and good ideas.

    The negative aspects of the game are the fact that its aesthetic gets repetitive (fleshy walls and bones everywhere + too many caverns), but when it tries to introduce a spectacular area, it succeeds. I also had a problem with the pacing, I thought there weren't enough bosses in the second half of the game and too much platforming which did not always blend well with the balanced mix between combat and parkour that defined the game until then. Finally, the runtime between checkpoints was often too long and sometimes, only returning to the place where you died can be a chore.

    Though, these negative aspects did not make me like the game less and I had a great time during my first playthrough, which lasted 15 hours. If you like a challenge, I highly recommend Grime.    … Expand
  9. HolyFoxx
    Jul 30, 2022
    8
    I like this game. I first thought it not hard but i was wrong. The game is challenging journey. But it should have some fast travel to have a better journey. And the Graphic is special, this art style is unique and beautiful. GRIME is worth playing.
  10. Volphied
    Jan 31, 2022
    9
    GRIME es la mezcla perfecta entre un juego de exploración estilo "metroidvania" con combates a lo "souls". Con un diseño visual precioso y una banda sonora espectacular. El universo de GRIME me ha parecido de los más originales entre los indies del género, con esa ambientación surreal lleno de seres esculpidos, desolado, bello, y en general mostrando un magnifico mundo pétreo.
  11. Maxfresh
    Jul 30, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good consistent game. It was a pleasure to finish it, took like 15h. Only cons for it is that it gives you at the end double jump, swap between respawn, and you don't really use them only if you want to 100% the game, this is a bummer.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Hey Poor Player
    Oct 1, 2021
    70
    There’s no arguing that GRIME is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful Metroidvanias ever created, and it’s obvious that a lot of love was put into it. Unfortunately, the attempt to create some kind of compromise between Dark Souls and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow created a product that, while still undoubtedly fun, felt a little too lukewarm at times to truly be considered “great.” I think that if certain things got revamped, GRIME could be a totally killer Metroidvania. But, until then, it’ll just be “good.”
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  2. Finger Guns
    Sep 20, 2021
    80
    GRIME brings nothing new to the Metroidvania tag, but it doesn’t have to. Challenging enough combat, with some RPG-like loadout elements make for engaging gameplay. That it’s gross and its bosses skin-crawling also work in its favour. If you enjoy your challenging platformers, you’ll enjoy this.
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  3. IGN Italia
    Sep 19, 2021
    92
    GRIME is an excellent soulslike metroidvania. Starting from a solid and consistent base layer that takes heavy inspiration from Dark Souls and Hollow Knight, it brings to the table its own ideas and concepts in order to offer an experience with its own rich personality. Inspired bosses, especially in the second half, and an excellent gameplay complete the package. Highly recommended.
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