Legend of Grimrock

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 723 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 567 out of 723
  2. Mixed: 103 out of 723
  3. Negative: 53 out of 723

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  1. bigsilverhotdog
    Jul 13, 2012
    3
    No. Just no. I played Dungeon Master plenty, Secret of the Silver Blades/Pools/etc old TSR D&D PC fare, and I am a huge fan of the much maligned Wizards & Warriors, so I should be overjoyed to be playing a resurrected high res romp into The Oldschool memories of yesteryore... but tis not to be, as this game just plain sucks. It's not that it's hard, as I play every game I own on theNo. Just no. I played Dungeon Master plenty, Secret of the Silver Blades/Pools/etc old TSR D&D PC fare, and I am a huge fan of the much maligned Wizards & Warriors, so I should be overjoyed to be playing a resurrected high res romp into The Oldschool memories of yesteryore... but tis not to be, as this game just plain sucks. It's not that it's hard, as I play every game I own on the hardest mode available because I love challenging, thinking games, and I don't consider this game inherently hard as it's far too simple to be difficult. No, it's the maddening design flaws that marked those older dungeon crawler titles have been resurrected too, and in some cases they're even worse because this is 2012 and such poor design is unacceptable. Pixel hunts? Come now, this is 2012. Nobody wants to scan low res wall texture after low res floor texture (repeated 100 quadrillion times throughout the course of this bore) looking for a slightly different looking piece of rock that the developers want you to click on to continue.

    How about the utterly dull story, lack of characterization, lack of NPCs, lack of dialogue, lack of character customization, terrible art design, incredibly dull and repetitive dungeons, lack of ability to see your characters or their equipment, and not even a 2D paperdoll? What about the lack of essential hotkeys? I'm sure everyone loves clicking 600 times a minute for a game that, had it been released in 1990, would not have had mouse support. Click to pick up the sandals, click to drop sandals on a character, press 1 or click on char face for inventory, click to pick up key, click to place key on character, click key on character to pick key back up, click key on keyhole to unlock door, click door to open. Why no hotkey for auto loot? Why not even allow doubleclicking an item to pick it up? Why make the interface excessively difficult and cumbersome? A staff of 4 isn't an excuse -- it only takes 1 person to design a workable interface, and you failed.

    How about pushing the user into dead ends that require a reload to continue, and entirely without warning? What about the player who saves after passing a dead end "point of no return" as I did twice within the first 30 minutes of the game, necessitating a total restart both times as the autosave was all the way back at the beginning of the level? Appallingly bad, frustrating, and stupid design.

    I was an idiot for not testing this game before I paid money for it. I bought it on the strength of metacritic user aggregate, the fact that I am a massive fan of oldschool strategic/puzzle dungeon crawlers, and the positive word of mouth, but I should have tried it for myself first. It's bland, frustrating, uninspired, full of design flaws, and desperately dull. At least it was cheap and easily forgotten.    … Expand
  2. goodterling
    Apr 13, 2012
    4
    I suspect a lot of people throwing out these 10s haven't made it past the half way mark of the game when the need for constant reloading arises. Grimrock has a great idea, but a flawed execution. The worst of all is the painful way you're forced to spell cast by manually clicking on runes every time EVEN when you're just repeating the same spell. This badly needs to get patched. It'sI suspect a lot of people throwing out these 10s haven't made it past the half way mark of the game when the need for constant reloading arises. Grimrock has a great idea, but a flawed execution. The worst of all is the painful way you're forced to spell cast by manually clicking on runes every time EVEN when you're just repeating the same spell. This badly needs to get patched. It's like a mini game testing your mouse dexterity and it will kill you over and over. Also the game difficulty goes right off the charts by the time you're halfway through. I'm all for a challenge, but Grimrock's "Normal" difficulty would be "Nightmare" by the standards of any game I've ever played, and there's no way to lower the difficulty without starting over. Also, in the later half of the game, dodging becomes crucial, but the game's odd, chess-board like grid movement system makes this a frustrating crap shoot of random death. The game makes a fantastic first impression, but eventually turns into a frustrating reload-a-thon only the most OCD gamers will put up with.… Expand
  3. skanile
    Sep 8, 2013
    2
    game design, balance and ui all feel half baked in grimrock which isnt surprising considering the team who made this consists of 4 artists. the real time combat feels clunky and most of the time you're looking over at your portraits instead of what's in front of you. strategy is also thrown out the window due to the real time decision; 90% of combat will involve you moving left/rightgame design, balance and ui all feel half baked in grimrock which isnt surprising considering the team who made this consists of 4 artists. the real time combat feels clunky and most of the time you're looking over at your portraits instead of what's in front of you. strategy is also thrown out the window due to the real time decision; 90% of combat will involve you moving left/right while clicking on your portraits. content is also very sparse considering the type of game this is.

    dont waste your time on this and pick up etrian odyssey/dredmor instead if you're itching for a dungeon crawler.    … Expand
  4. Ronner
    Aug 28, 2013
    4
    When you try a few times to play the game and still have not been able to get into the story, graphics, control of the game and over all feel, it means the game is no good.

    I did try to get into it about 8 times on different occasions, but not a game I like.

    I am from old school, but this one is just doesn't cut it.
  5. CoolDadTx
    Aug 5, 2012
    4
    Advertises itself as an old school RPG but the only thing old school is the layout and movement control. Evidently the devs didn't pay any attention as to why turn based combat was used in these old games as the devs decided to make it real time. As a result you will get 2 attacks for every 1-2 attacks of the monsters, and you have 4 characters. It is not possible to have all your charsAdvertises itself as an old school RPG but the only thing old school is the layout and movement control. Evidently the devs didn't pay any attention as to why turn based combat was used in these old games as the devs decided to make it real time. As a result you will get 2 attacks for every 1-2 attacks of the monsters, and you have 4 characters. It is not possible to have all your chars attack before a monster gets multiple attacks. Even worse is that your spellcasters have to hit stupid rune keys to cast spells making them about useless in combat. Compounding this, your range chars will run out of ammo in the middle of a battle and will be dead before you can open the inventory to select new ammo. Game devs - there's a reason why turn based combat was used. A single person can't control 4 (supposedly independent) characters at once when combat is real-time.

    This game has some of the sorriest combat I've ever dealt with in an RPG. It really ruined the experience. Most of the game you're getting mobbed so you have to do the stupid - attack, backup, attack, backup routine which is neither heroic nor fun. How could the devs have possibly thought this would be fun???? Even worse is that the devs often liked to release mobs that surround you before you could do anything so it is a nightmare at best.

    Having to eat food is both annoying and useless. Were they trying to go for realism? If so then ditch the magic. There is a reason why most games didn't have it. It isn't fund. Fortunately we also weren't saddled with having to drink, go to the bathroom and sleep. At least an option to turn it off would have been nice.

    The inventory system is clunky (especially in combat) and the chars can't carry enough to be useful so you micro manage the entire game as well. Most of the stuff you pick up is useless or unusable, at least when you get it.

    The puzzles, an advertised feature, were nothing but timed plate pressing. It got really old by mid game. The "solutions" didn't even make sense. Trial and error was the only approach. Unfortunately the devs went back to the timed puzzles every chance they got. The heroes never felt powerful. They were always outgunned even against a single enemy because the enemies could hit faster and stronger. Spellcasters were horribly underpowered because: a) they had to get to a certain level before they could cast spells, b) they had to find the spells on scrolls, c) they had to wait after each spell, d) they had to have enough energy and e) they had to enter the correct rune codes. The skills available to all the chars were weak and took too long to build up. Why couldn't warriors wear heavy armor to begin with? Isn't that what they do?

    Overall LoG did make me long for the Gold Box games. But LoG wasn't a shinying example of the power of them. If the devs had used turn-based combat rather than a Diablo-like system then the game would have been far more tolerable, at least until the 20th timed puzzle.    … Expand
  6. Crimson
    Oct 9, 2012
    4
    Could've been good but... combat was attrocious. In general the puzzles were kinda 'meh', the classes unispiring, and the techinques required to win being borderline exploits (you spend 90% of the game either running backwards in circles in combat, or 'sleeping' waiting for hp to regen). In the end it just got very boring very fast.
  7. dryerlaw
    May 3, 2012
    3
    Let's get this straight. Some features that improve simplicity in the newer generation games are necessary and they are a very welcome improvement over the past. I know we want to be nostalgic, but gaming has improved so much over the years. This game is therefore rendered outdated.
  8. Scritty
    Sep 26, 2013
    2
    A real shame. After all the turn based movement it turns out that the combat is "twitch". For me that's enough of a killer to begin with, but allied to some pretty ordinary design decisions (too many pixel hunt puzzles.. literally DOZENS of them by the time you get 1/2 way through the game) and a very average user interface that turns the whole process into a "click fest". You end upA real shame. After all the turn based movement it turns out that the combat is "twitch". For me that's enough of a killer to begin with, but allied to some pretty ordinary design decisions (too many pixel hunt puzzles.. literally DOZENS of them by the time you get 1/2 way through the game) and a very average user interface that turns the whole process into a "click fest". You end up clicking in this game more per minute than say Diablo 3. Maybe this is something people like. I don't… Expand
  9. mrrgl
    Jan 7, 2013
    3
    The attention that this game has been receiving is due more to the gaping hole in the gaming market for good-natured dungeon hack -and-slashes than it is due to this being a good game. Playing this game, yes, reminds me of playing Eye of the Beholder as a kid, but it lacks one crucial thing that all the little complaints point to; it is NOT FUN. The classes are shallow, the enemies areThe attention that this game has been receiving is due more to the gaping hole in the gaming market for good-natured dungeon hack -and-slashes than it is due to this being a good game. Playing this game, yes, reminds me of playing Eye of the Beholder as a kid, but it lacks one crucial thing that all the little complaints point to; it is NOT FUN. The classes are shallow, the enemies are drab, the dungeon has no soul or logic, the interface, dear god the interface. There is a reason that we now have hotbars, keyboard shortcuts, and such. Yes I would absolutely LOVE to see a well-designed indie dungeon crawler hit the market, but this is very sadly not it.… Expand
  10. Mies
    Jan 21, 2014
    2
    This game brings back a lot of memories, however it can not match it's predecessors, not even a bit. The game just lacks depth (few classes, no npc's, no classdepth, etc.) and modern controls (like the terrible spellcasting system). It looks like the game was made in 1990 or just for the iPad. The only positive point I can mention is that I like the idea of a remake of the old classic,This game brings back a lot of memories, however it can not match it's predecessors, not even a bit. The game just lacks depth (few classes, no npc's, no classdepth, etc.) and modern controls (like the terrible spellcasting system). It looks like the game was made in 1990 or just for the iPad. The only positive point I can mention is that I like the idea of a remake of the old classic, but this has been a huge disappointment.
    Also, I really don't understand why so many people rate this game so high, maybe they did it after seeing it and playing it for a few minutes, because I was siked too. After an hour I realized this was all the game had too offer and it is very little.    … Expand
  11. Zahrada
    Feb 24, 2014
    4
    I had quite high expectations from this game. Wich turned out to be a fault. It isn't really bad game, but it also isn't exactly what I thought it would be. Many of the old school dungeon crawlers had quite a story attached to them. Not this game though. The atmosphere is there. To some extent. The old school feeling too. The difficulty curve is too steep for my taste. Something feels aI had quite high expectations from this game. Wich turned out to be a fault. It isn't really bad game, but it also isn't exactly what I thought it would be. Many of the old school dungeon crawlers had quite a story attached to them. Not this game though. The atmosphere is there. To some extent. The old school feeling too. The difficulty curve is too steep for my taste. Something feels a bit off about this game too, not sure if it is the characters or the general style of graphics. The game kept me entertained for about 6 or seven hours after which I concluded that this isn't exactly my cup of tea. However I do applaud to making old-school styled games in the modern setting. The new games can learn a lot in the history of gaming industry. Thumbs up for the overall concept.… Expand
  12. Dozer
    Apr 18, 2012
    0
    This is just some sort of a puzzle game with 1 billion switch plate all over the levels.You got to go back and forth activating devices left and right,and deal with a large numbers of teleports and also got to stare at all walls in the dungeon to make sure you don't miss any secret switch....yah staring at walls,fun fun fun lol.

    There is an extremely limited numbers of type of mobs(you    This is just some sort of a puzzle game with 1 billion switch plate all over the levels.You got to go back and forth activating devices left and right,and deal with a large numbers of teleports and also got to stare at all walls in the dungeon to make sure you don't miss any secret switch....yah staring at walls,fun fun fun lol.

    There is an extremely limited numbers of type of mobs(you keep seeing the same stuff over and over) and very boring scenery, the exact same walls all over for several levels.

    Honestly i had high hopes for this (was hoping for something of the same caliber of the old wizardry 8) ,but it's just a boring game.    … Expand
  13. vistachiri
    Jan 7, 2013
    0
    I bought this because it was highly recommended by more quite a few people. I cannot see why. Here are the reasons why I hated this game, and recommend avoiding it entirely.
    1) 3 classes, garden variety, not much in the way of useful customization. 2) Real time in an RPG trying to be old-school
    3) Terrible controls 4) Blocky movement (part of 3) 5) Reflex based puzzles (see 3 and 4 for    I bought this because it was highly recommended by more quite a few people. I cannot see why. Here are the reasons why I hated this game, and recommend avoiding it entirely.
    1) 3 classes, garden variety, not much in the way of useful customization. 2) Real time in an RPG trying to be old-school
    3) Terrible controls
    4) Blocky movement (part of 3)
    5) Reflex based puzzles (see 3 and 4 for part of the reason these are terrible)
    6) Almost entirely reflex based combat
    7) Absolutely terrible magic system, you are better off just filling your party with 2 of the 3 classes.
    8) Uninspired and quite frankly boring storyline.

    I've played great old school rpgs, grew up on them in fact. This is not one of them.    … Expand
  14. frast
    May 13, 2012
    2
    I like interesting ideas that might remind me of old games. But the games that do not carry out an anything new and 100% refer to the older games are just weak. The game can keep us in an interesting climate, can we draw, but the authors could sit with her a little longer to refine it, improve technology, so as to look like for our times. Yet for those who do not have memories of theseI like interesting ideas that might remind me of old games. But the games that do not carry out an anything new and 100% refer to the older games are just weak. The game can keep us in an interesting climate, can we draw, but the authors could sit with her a little longer to refine it, improve technology, so as to look like for our times. Yet for those who do not have memories of these games, weakly - My rating -2/10… Expand
  15. enjoy1188
    May 31, 2012
    3
    I don't understand why this game is so overrated. I had to uninstall it after half an hour of gameplay. And it's not that I don't like RPGs: I do like them a lot, I've played many RPGs. But this one is just plainly boring. The fact that you walk on squares just feels weird. The fact that you walk "alone" on squares while you actually bring 4 people with you in those narrow passages is evenI don't understand why this game is so overrated. I had to uninstall it after half an hour of gameplay. And it's not that I don't like RPGs: I do like them a lot, I've played many RPGs. But this one is just plainly boring. The fact that you walk on squares just feels weird. The fact that you walk "alone" on squares while you actually bring 4 people with you in those narrow passages is even more weird. The dungeons are all the same and the environment gets quickly claustrophobic and ripetitive. Mobs have just one "robotic" attack, and your attacks must be made by clicking little squares in the right corner, while you see slashes on the screen and other poor effects. I perfectly understand that graphics isn't everything in a game, but here there is no enjoyable graphics or gameplay. I just couldn't stand it, it's a 3 for me.… Expand
  16. binmaze
    Oct 5, 2014
    3
    NO, this is -NOT- RPG. This is a super-repeating-to-death-pixel-hunting puzzle game. Stay away from this if you want to play an RPG.

    This is not Bard's Tale, Wizardry or Might and Magic, like it claims to be. It is just a poor pathfinding puzzle game. Its stat/skill system and combat mechanics are broken and just don't work as they are supposed to be.    NO, this is -NOT- RPG. This is a super-repeating-to-death-pixel-hunting puzzle game. Stay away from this if you want to play an RPG.

    This is not Bard's Tale, Wizardry or Might and Magic, like it claims to be.
    It is just a poor pathfinding puzzle game.

    Its stat/skill system and combat mechanics are broken and just don't work as they are supposed to be.

    All you do is strafing and kiting the enemies by tile, then mindlessly walking back and forth pressing stupid plates and torturing your eyes to find random switches on the ever-same-looking walls, all the way through the day and night.

    And am I supposed to have fun doing that crap? HELL NO.

    If I wanted an action adventure, I would play a real one like BioShock, not this boring pseudo-action game riddled with god-awful puzzles.    … Expand
  17. Thilus
    Nov 12, 2014
    4
    I really wanted to give this game a shot. I managed to beat a few levels, and then I realized this game didn't really give me any satisfaction. It's basically a tedious venture through a linear dungeon filled with uninteresting monsters, mediocre puzzles and no backstory. Don't get me wrong now, I really love a good dungeon crawler. Sevral months back I finished M&MX which I foundI really wanted to give this game a shot. I managed to beat a few levels, and then I realized this game didn't really give me any satisfaction. It's basically a tedious venture through a linear dungeon filled with uninteresting monsters, mediocre puzzles and no backstory. Don't get me wrong now, I really love a good dungeon crawler. Sevral months back I finished M&MX which I found incredibly addicting, but here... The small things I found annoying the most. Things like real-time combat which was made to be turn-based. Like potion making - very unintuitive. Like using spells, where you have to create a rune combo each time you want to cast a damn fireball. All-in-all, it turned out to be a game for a real die-hard Eye of the Beholder, Black Crypt and Lands of Lore fans.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Best PC Game of 2012
37
#37 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
77
#77 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 51 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 51
  3. Negative: 0 out of 51
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Jun 13, 2012
    80
    A relic of the RPG's golden era, revived and refined for the modern age. [July 2012, p.71]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    May 30, 2012
    90
    Classic dungeon-crawling brought back to life. [June 2012, p.52]
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    May 28, 2012
    88
    A delightfully nostalgic, but harsh, RPG treat, oozing old school charm. [July 2012, p.90]
See all critic reviews »