GRIME II

The central gameplay does a great job of keeping the momentum up and the excitement growing, even as it subtly delves into a surprisingly effective story about coming into one’s own. Grime II does the Metroidvania genre proud, with a terrific balance of worldbuilding and game design underscoring it all. While it may not be flawless, this gorgeously rendered adventure is a definite must-play for fans of the classic adventures that codified the Metroidvania genre in the first place.

GRIME II succeeds greatly in expanding gameplay freedom, offering an extremely well-constructed world, and rewarding players who dedicate themselves to exploration and learning combat. The variety of approaches and intelligent level design significantly enhance the experience, but technical problems, such as persistent bugs, and some excesses — mainly in length and dialogue — prevent it from reaching an even higher level. Still, it's an ambitious and memorable sequel within the genre.

GRIME II is a strange-looking game and as you play it, you'll find yourself immersed knee-deep in its alien world filled with unique challenges.

Grime II is a strong sequel, flawed but absolutely worthy of attention. It excels in combat, atmosphere, and art direction, but is less convincing in exploration and narrative construction. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel of the Metroidvania or the Soulslike, but it takes familiar elements and combines them with enough personality to make for an engaging experience. It’s perhaps slightly less strange and unique than the first Grime, and in that sense, it loses something of its uniqueness. Yet it remains a remarkable game, capable of offering memorable battles, a disturbing and fascinating world, and an aesthetic identity that few other titles in the genre can match.

Grime II’s theming is icky but not juvenile—a potent vehicle, in fact, for a tale about the violence inherent to both creation and consumption, of art as well as life.

Even without being a direct sequel to the first title, Grime II continues the theme of creation, consumption and destruction, flavouring it with grotesque art direction and an obsession with hands. It may rely more on rocky caves than I'd like, but the most beautiful areas shine with their fascinating strangeness. The sheer amount of content can be a blessing, especially the excellent cast of mandatory and optional bosses, although it falls to excesses in both gameplay systems and the extension of complex anthills like areas, and with occasional technical problems.

Grime 2 is a very solid Metroidvania, one of the best we’ve seen in 2026. It features exquisite platforming sections, thrilling combat, and very well designed exploration that invites you to lose yourself in its world for hours on end.

Grime II fails to learn enough from its predecessor’s shortcomings, especially its technical ones, but still delivers another stunning Metroidvania packed with thrilling action, challenging platforming puzzles, (art) philosophy, and atmosphere.