GRIME has big ambitions. It combines the exploration and progression systems of a Metroidvania with the RPG and combat elements of a Souls-like. It also adds precision platforming and monster-gathering mechanics like Bloodstained. Finally, it's all topped off with a surreal body-horror aesthetic.
On paper, there are almost too many influences, but GRIME cleverly combines them. The few frustrations it presents are mostly overshadowed by the quality of the main attractions: its boss fights, music, and traversal.
GRIME also avoids some of the mistakes other games like this make, generally focusing on what it does best and letting those elements shine. It's only when he tries to lean on his weaker pieces that he falls incredibly flat, but those places are rare.
GRIME Review: an unhealthy amount of fun
One of GRIME's main attractions is its boss battles. All of them are fantastic – there isn't a single one that I don't like. They are varied in scope, diverse in mechanics, and demanding in different yet exciting and fun ways. They also do a great job of teaching you something new about the game every time, whether it's developing new strategies or using your current abilities in new ways.
It's a design philosophy that starts with the first boss and doesn't stop until the last. More importantly, each boss uses systemic and visual language to tell you exactly how to beat them. There are two types of attacks: white and red. White attacks you can parry, red attacks you can't. If an attack comes out red, you'll need to dodge it, no questions asked.
The bosses also become increasingly complex as the game progresses. The first has maybe three or four attacks, all well telegraphed and easy to counter. Late game encounters have at least two phases, four or five attacks per phase, and completely change the fight.
Some of GRIME's best bosses channel Ornstein and Smough from the first Dark Souls. You'll spend a lot of time learning how to tackle the early part of the fight only to be thrown around like a damp rag once you destroy the boss' health and trigger the phase transition.
Like any good Souls-type, if you know what to look for, a boss won't hit you once, but you'll need to be quick and precise with your commands to make damage-free fights a reality. The pursuit of perfection is paramount in GRIME, as I only encountered one healing buff, giving me two heals before I was alone.
GRIME is demanding in a way that most Souls-like aren't. GRIME gives you a lot of freedom to dodge or deal with attacks, where a Nioh or Dark Souls (or similar games) have you grounded or tethered with limited jump and dodge abilities. The experience is inspired by games like Hollow Knight and Dead Cells.
You'll jump, dodge, and use whatever abilities you have to deal as much damage as possible while minimizing the amount you take. Learning when to jump and when to stand is as important as when to dodge or attack.
Parrying attacks also has its own quirks. GRIME allows you to absorb white color attacks with proper timing. This devours the enemy if their health is bright red, allowing you to apply a trait based on that enemy's type. Against bosses, you can absorb projectiles and, if the boss has them, limbs, dealing great damage and depriving the boss of an appendage, if only temporarily.
The learning curve
One of GRIME's greatest assets is its progression system, both in combat and in traversal. Where most Metroidvania hide their abilities behind the two bosses and the world, here you will only get the big upgrades from boss kills. For example, you won't get an air dash until halfway through the game, which means you need to master mobility on the ground before doing much in the air.
Most enemies in the first area deal little or even no damage, so you can focus on learning the timings without fear of retaliation. Even the first boss doesn't have much going for them in terms of difficulty. You won't find any Asylum or Taurus Demons in GRIME. Instead, you're treated to a relatively sweet prologue before launching into a more punishing first act.
It's a refreshing way to start a game inspired by From's now famous franchise. Even early enemies in Hollow Knight and Dead Cells can blame you for a single mistake, but in GRIME you get a little help from the devs early on. I was a little shocked when I came across the second boss, since GRIME hadn't thrown anything like that at me until now. The challenge escalated, but not to the point of being a roadblock.
I had more trouble with mini-bosses and elite mobs than some of the early pinnacle fights. These lesser enemies followed the rules but were generally faster, harder to see, and had deceptively long health bars.
My learning how to run an encounter was ultimately about banging my head until I found a strategy that worked, then perfecting my execution. Learning level designs took a similar effort, and that's where GRIME takes inspiration from Hollow Knight.
Your map does not update automatically. Instead, you need to find a special station hidden in each level to unlock the region map. Perfecting your mind map is essential. Sometimes the map node is hiding behind a jump puzzle or other traversal challenge, and you have to go there relatively blind.
Mastering the platform is its own challenge, as the controls can be a little wonky from time to time. GRIME creates some full-fledged level boss fight sections, with instant-death walls and a need for precision movement at the level of Ori titles.
Grime's Jank
Where the combat mechanics are fine-tuned, the platforming is not. Jumps feel a little airy and mid-air abilities don't control tightly enough to warrant some of GRIME's precise demands. On the rare occasions when speed and precision are needed, the visual language of where and how to jump is unclear.
In a final game example, I reached the top of a challenge so quickly that the platforms in the next area hadn't appeared on screen yet. I was left wading towards the bonfire in frustration.
Servings of GRIME like these are infrequent, but these are times when the game stops being fun and just becomes tedious. The lack of a more robust mapping feature helps with this as you won't have an easy way back and no idea which way to go if you get lost and die.
That being said, probably GRIME's biggest sin is padding. There are three or four late game sections that don't need to be there. Removing or significantly shortening them doesn't cost the player anything and makes the experience tighter and more enjoyable. Can't there be 15 minutes of jumps after a climactic boss fight? Can we just continue with the story?
A horror landscape you will love
My issues with the platform and challenge design aside, GRIME's world and music are top-notch. Body horror and surreal elements, from platforms made of teeth to elevators built on a spinal cord, feel existence inside something.
The NPCs and inhabitants of the world are equally weird, ranging from men made of rocks and gems to entire sections and entities of the world made of raw nerve fibers. It's a weird and wonderful menagerie that's sometimes gross and always interesting to watch.
Storytelling is typical Souls fare. Item descriptions and vague hints of other characters from the world's past leave a lot to the imagination. GRIME suffers a little from the problem of “proper names because they are mysterious”. There's a lot about a child and a parent and a womb and a will. I expect lore lovers to unpack a lot, but the story lacks characters and is a bit too short-lived for my tastes.
Not that Souls-like stories should be clear cut, but GRIME goes out of its way to be deep and opaque, often when it doesn't need to.
What we all need more is the orchestral score by Alex Roe. Alex has been creating Souls style music and remixing the Souls soundtrack for almost a decade, and he nails the atmosphere with GRIME. For someone who knows his style, it's immediately obvious that he's behind the music here, but my familiarity with his compositions only enhances the experience.
At its best, the music is on par with the main Souls series and is therefore some of Alex's finest work. Check out his YouTube channel for some great tunes.
GRIME Exam – The Result
Benefits
- Some of the best bosses in the Souls genre
- Amazing music and atmosphere
- An engaging and immersive world that manages to amaze and discuss in equal measure
The inconvenients
- Too much precision platforming and less than adequate controls
- A story that tries too hard to be mysterious
- Extra padding for playing fun
GRIME is worth every second of your time, even with the midsection from hell. Its bosses and music alone are worth the price of admission, but you also have an awesome Metroidvania here with RPG and Souls-like elements.
It rewards exploration and finds new ways to challenge players with every turn, and some of its unique mechanics stand side by side with other titans from any of its influences.
[Note: GameSkinny provided the copy of GRIME used for this review.]
