- Grim Dawn
Game is simply amazing. Probably the best ARPG on GOG. This game was always on the back of my mind before but I never played it. I could not understand all the praise to it as a ARPG until I decided to watch a gameplay and finally get it here on GOG. Its the best ARPG I've played and its devs still active on the community to this day; and the best: They do not treat us GOG users as second class citizens. So yay to that :P !
Be warned though that the game feels incomplete without the DLCs as some players have pointed out in the other store. Unfortunately I only learned about this after buying the normal version... Haven't finished it yet, but I enjoyed what I've seen. So if you want everything, buy the Definitive Edition or buy the normal version and if you like it, get it all.
What I really like in Grim Dawn about gameplay mechanics is that the difficulty is really well balanced imo. You can play it in higher difficulties and suffer or play on easier ones and just "enjoy the world"... Well, if you can say "enjoy" in this case because...
[ Possible spoilers below, continue reading at your will and spoiler sensitivity ]
...World building is really interesting, tense and scary. Normally in games you're trying to save the world from being destroyed.
In Grim Dawn though, the 'grim dawn' already happened and the world already has gone through the worst of it.
Basically, the evil already won, and you're a random man/woman trying to understand how everything happened, who you're, trying to rebuild the world, simply survive and maybe restore humanity to something like it was before it all happened.
- The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
Play the first, then the second, then the third if you will. The Final Cut version, which is one big game containing the three games story in one, breaks the story progression imo. You can get the Final Cut version because it will contain "4 games" and their complete packs. Game is huge, but fun if you enjoy hack'n'slash / arpgs.
What I really like in this game is the interaction between Van Helsing and Lady Katarina. After a while you really start to create a bound with her as a player and learn to use the game mechanics on how to create builds that focus on the synergy for both. A world full of monsters, albeit more lighthearted with a simple story (still good enough for an ARPG imo) which is good enough to have fun while it lasts.
Comparing it with Grim Dawn, its a simpler game that adds other mechanics later in the story, that is, a tower defense mini game to advance the story - but its nothing that annoying if you hate it, you can get through it easily. As explained though, the gameplay shines when you learn how to create this synergy with Lady Katarina to gain that extra advantage in battle against crowds or powerful foes. (Not necessary, as the game is not that hard). So if you don't like this aspect of the game, be warned the most of the game surrounds around this interaction.
Post edited March 27, 2024 by .Keys