The Gates of Grimrock Swing Open

[Andy Chalk]

The Gates of Grimrock Swing Open

​

The old-school dungeon crawler Legend of Grimrock is now on sale, and at a sale price, too.

If you've somehow managed to miss out on it [which is pretty much an impossibility if you're a regular reader], Legend of Grimrock is an old-time dungeon crawl in the vein of classics like Stonekeep [http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Master-II-Legend-Skullkeep-Pc/dp/B000EUNABW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1334178759&sr=8-3]. It's an unapologetic throwback to the glorious days of old and yet it's also incredibly good, and I can say so with some authority because yes, I have in fact played it. And now, so can you!

Legend of Grimrock went on sale today and while the pre-order deal is no longer valid, you can still pick it up at a bit of a discount. Until April 18, Almost Human is offering the game at ten percent off the already ridiculously cheap regular price, making it an even more ridiculous $13.49.

You should probably be aware, if you're not familiar with the genre, that Legend of Grimrock is not a particularly easy or forgiving game. While more modern RPGs like Skyrim [http://www.amazon.com/Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Xbox-360/dp/B004HYK956/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1334178887&sr=1-1] want you to be the hero, Legend of Grimrock wants you to die and does its very best to make it happen. You will need to scour walls for hidden buttons, you will need to find and eat food if you don't want to starve to death and, if you turn on "Oldschool Mode" [which can't be turned off, by the way] you will have to take up pencil and paper to draw your own maps or risk being lost in the halls of Mount Grimrock forever. It's just that kind of game.

Legend of Grimrock is available now from grimrock.net [http://www.gog.com/gamecard/legend_of_grimrock].


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[Waaghpowa]

Already bought it. I hadn't seen any gameplay of it till today and bought it afterwards. Damn my slow download speed...

I would also like to urge people to get it from either their site or GOG, no DRM baby!

 

[therandombear]

It's on sale on Steam as well, I think it's cheaper there then on their website though. xD

I was expecting to play more of it today, but the pre-order version from their website using the steam code must've "derped" a bit, as it didn't unlock until later this evening.

So I only played a bit of it, what I can say though, is that the music is pure awesome.

 

[therandombear]

Already bought it. I hadn't seen any gameplay of it till today and bought it afterwards. Damn my slow download speed...

I would also like to urge people to get it from GOG, no DRM baby!

If you buy it from their site you get both link to download it DRM free and a steam code. So it's not only GoG.

 

[gigastar]

And as of a minuite before my posting of this message my copy of this game is downloading from Steam.

Never tried one of theese games before, lets see how ill measure up [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FamousLastWords].

 

[Waaghpowa]

Already bought it. I hadn't seen any gameplay of it till today and bought it afterwards. Damn my slow download speed...

I would also like to urge people to get it from GOG, no DRM baby!

If you buy it from their site you get both link to download it DRM free and a steam code. So it's not only GoG.

The dev cost of the game is the same as GoG, though admittedly slightly more money goes to the devs through their site.

 

[Mabster]

So I only played a bit of it, what I can say though, is that the music is pure awesome.

The only music you'll get is in main menu though, so I wouldn't really get the game for that reason.

Do check out the composer, Stakula [http://www.stakula.com/], he is pretty awesome. His band has a couple of videos on Youtube too.

I only just started out with the game, but so far it's delivering on every single nugget of hype. Getting horribly murdered hasn't been this much fun in years!

 

[tmande2nd]

So yet another game with poorly done and antiquated systems that tries to sell itself on being classic?

PASS.

 

[teh_gunslinger]

Already bought it. I hadn't seen any gameplay of it till today and bought it afterwards. Damn my slow download speed...

I would also like to urge people to get it from either their site or GOG, no DRM baby!

Plus, if you swing that way, you get a Steam key when purchasing directly from the developer. Best of both worlds if you have a need for Steam and cheevos.

 

[Cyfu]

So yet another game with poorly done and antiquated systems that tries to sell itself on being classic?

PASS.

Do not say that. I have never played a game like this before so the nostalgia is none existent and i found this game to be very enjoyable. The controls aren't that bad at all. It adds to the experience.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Downloading now. This was the first game I pre-ordered in quite a while, but after seeing Total Biscuit playing it, I decided I basically had no other option.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

We are talking serious old-school chops here. As someone who couldn't get enough of this sort of thing on the likes of the SNES, I may just pick this up.

 

[teh_gunslinger]

Just cleared the first floor. I'll say this: best game I've bought since getting Serious Sam 3 for cheaps last week. Which says little, I guess. So let me say it this way: I am having fun!

 

[Andy Chalk]

I'm hopeful that we'll see more Grimrock music released in the future. The main theme is fine but there's some really nice atmospheric background in the mix too. I'd love to be able to listen to it outside of the game.

 

[Therumancer]

I'm playing it right now, just got down to dungeon level 3 (but need to take a break for a while). Pretty good to be honest, sadly not many people even try and develop games in this vein anymore.

Perhaps if Grimrock does well we'll see a more advanced version along the lines of say "Wizardry" released.

I will say that one design element that doesn't sit well, and this was true with "Dungeon Master" and similar games as well, is the use of food and limited light sources to create a sense of urgency. I tend to find that annoying, especially in a game that encourages a lot of exploration and problem solving, since your liable to spend a lot of time backtracking looking for keys and buttons and such.

 

[OldRat]

Got it, started playing immediately, level 4. Goddamn spiders. So far very pleased. Just realized I totally missed a secret on level 3. Just realized I could have gotten past that one thing so much easier. Feeling really content with the whole thing. Considering switching to old school mode.

So yeah, Grimrock's pretty great. It pushes all the right buttons in my brains and makes me just want more Grimrock. Hasn't disappointed in any way yet. Looks gorgeous.

 

[tacotrainwreck]

Unapologetic throwback!? I LOVE unapologetic throwbacks! Time to go spend some money.

 

[Kahunaburger]

On level 2 on hard, really enjoying it. Haven't hit any real puzzles yet, but the tools I'm being introduced to look really interesting. Atmosphere is spot-on and appropriately desperate. Combat is amazing - really gets you to plan out fights in terms of the level, it's features, and your party. Got roflstomped by a mini-mushroom a few times, worked out a strategy, and won handily, which in my mind is the mark of a really good combat system. If you like this sort of dungeon crawl and you're not playing this, you should be.