A Formidable Return to a Deformed Universe
Back in 2022, I reviewed the first game in this series, GRIME: Colors of Rot. I enjoyed it back then, and it seems others did too, as in a move that surprises absolutely no one, there is now a sequel.
With Clover Bite and Kwalee at the helm, the imaginatively named GRIME II is finally here, and while it isn’t a direct sequel, the game is unmistakably set in the GRIME universe. But can the difficult second album come good, or should we be sticking with Colors of Rot instead?
We’ll start with the narrative, as it is, again, a bit of a mystery as we begin. We are brought into being by something (God? A Creator? Who knows!), sent on our way with a mission to thrive and survive. And if we have to eat some of the other inhabitants of the world to do so, well, better them than us, right?
That is about as much as we know to begin with, but GRIME II does a good job of expanding the knowledge of the world almost by osmosis; absorbing knowledge by finding things and talking to other NPCs. Whether you can believe what you told though, well, that’s another matter!
End of Times Chic
Presentation wise, and this is definitely a GRIME game. The world is well drawn and realised, as we’ve come to expect, and the design is very well done. The vibe of the game is pretty end of times chic, and with a vast array of half formed and deformed creatures to give a good kicking to, the scene is set. From there, the enemies range from little crawling things (my powers of description fail me when it comes to these creatures I’m afraid) through shambling beasts and right up to the bosses that we have to persuade to stop being bosses. And best of all, the animation of these creatures is very good and makes the game come alive.
Sound is another area where a lot of attention has been paid, with quality ambient effects and music noodling away in the background. Quite often when fighting, the enemies do have audio cues to certain moves that they are about to perform, and sometimes these can be hidden in the background ambience. Just something to be aware of, but otherwise the presentation is all good.
2D Souls-Like Action
Now, the gameplay, the meat in this particular gaming sandwich. How is it, I hear you ask? Well, as in the first game, imagine a 2D platforming Dark Souls, and you’re about there. There is a definite metroidvania feel to GRIME II, with new abilities to find, and the ability to warp back to previous areas when resting at what appear to be cocoons, the equivalent of a Dark Souls bonfire.
It is to these points that you will return when you inevitably die, and so the very first thing you should do when entering a new area is to find one: they are usually near the entrance to a new land. Having to respawn all the way back and then try to not only remember how you got to where you were, but also beat all the enemies over again, gets pretty old, fast.
Absorbing Enemy Forms
There is a new twist this time around, with the ability to steal the forms of enemies and use them as a weapon. Certain foes, as you fight them, will have a point on their health bar where they become stunned: dash into them when they are stunned and you can begin to learn their Mold, as they are called.
GRIME II is very good at telling you where you are on your Mold learning journey too, as dashing into a stunned foe will tell you “4/6” for instance, meaning we need to stun a total of six of these particular foes to learn their form. And once understood (and the more powerful the Mold, the more times we need to beast it to learn), we can equip them as special attacks, almost, helping out with tougher battles. Molds can be mapped to directional buttons, and as each Mold has its own abilities and attacks, it can be a good learning experience to try and figure out what works best for your playstyle.
Intuitive Combat:
The same goes for weapons, as there are a wide variety of different ones to try out. Small and fast, but not very damaging, through to massive clubs that are slow to swing, but anything you hit will fell it, the choice is yours. Typically for me, I went middle of the road, with a speedy axe that does a decent amount of damage. And each weapon has a particular affinity with an aspect of our growth, much like in Dark Souls again. My axe scales with strength, as an example, but others ramp up with dexterity and other traits, and putting points into these skills can pay off.
The skill tree isn’t massively complicated, to be honest, and doesn’t reward much in terms of experimentation, but if you want to respec your character, it does cost some resources, and things to pick up in this game seem pretty thin on the ground. The same goes for enhancing the weapons, and so you will want to try and find your preferred weapon early if you can.
The combat is very good to take part in, and you’ll soon be dashing, parrying and battering your way to victory. The controls are intuitive and easy to pick up, and you will never be in any doubt as to what you are meant to be doing. Achieving it can be another matter, with treacherous terrain to navigate (the terrain can also hurt the enemy, so a bit of planning can pay dividends) and many enemies to beast.
A Combat-Heavy Improvement
All in all, GRIME II is an improvement on the original game, and you’ll definitely enjoy your time with it. Enemies in secret rooms attacking out of nowhere do annoy, especially when you are barely holding on, but learning is a wonderful thing, and rarely will you be fooled twice in GRIME II. It means that if you are looking for a combat heavy metroidvania to play, then you may just have found it.
Important Links
GRIME II Emerges On Xbox, PlayStation And PC – Absorb, Shape, Survive – https://www.thexboxhub.com/grime-ii-emerges-on-xbox-playstation-and-pc-absorb-shape-survive/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/GRIME-II/9N1HCMVBCV3S
