Ever since the official launch of Grim Dawn, I have always meant to properly review the game after my 20+ hour impression in Early Access. With the release of the expansion, Ashes of Malmouth, I now have an excuse to return to Cairn from the very beginning. While it is perhaps not going to usurp the names of the free-to-play Path of Exile and the might of Blizzard’s Diablo, GD more than deserves to be recognized as one of the best ARPG within its genre even when its attempts to push the genre’s boundaries do not always end well.


If you have heard anything about Grim Dawn it is probably the comparison to Diablo 2 as well as the touted line, “This is the REAL Diablo 3.” There are many reasons why this tagline is more than deserving of Diablo’s legacy beyond similar graphical styles, though the colorful touches to Grim Dawn makes it anything but dull, because GD continues what D2 did so phenomenally well with variable classes as well as incorporate what made the developer’s previous series stand out, Titan Quest.

TQ introduced the idea of combining different classes where you level into each one through both masteries with passive stats as well as the skills they possess, thereby creating a unique class of your own. GD largely copies the same idea but further develops its execution by creating six (eight with the DLC) half-classes where their combination can result in your own tailored class. This is distributed evenly amongst elemental types as well as what roles each class occupies like Shaman’s two-handed, large pet and electricity specializations and the Occultists’ hex-based/vampirism attacks and small pets. Even if you were to choose the same specializations, you could make each character stand out in their own way with the addition of a third skill-system, Devotions.

Devotions are rewards for finding shrines throughout the land that unlock additional abilities for every class, which can be modifiers for existing abilities or new ones altogether. Rarely are any of these abilities, class-based or devotions, limited to weapon-sets, so the sense of experimentation with your build is the sublime feeling that makes replaying the game a greater reward than playing long-term for end-game content, which GD has in abundance with rogue-like dungeons, additional difficulties, unique gear and a new level cap of 100. The result is the game never feels repetitive because you are always doing something different and the grind never feels like a slog even past level 50 with how quickly you obtain XP.

However, as what often happens with experimenting with something new, not all attempts to reexamine previous methods will create something better, which highlights less of a problem with Grim Dawn but with ARPGs as a whole.


Action RPGs occupy a weird genre within its namesake. Role-playing is not within the traditional D&D sense of creating stories from player solutions, violent or nonviolent, but rather in the literal creation of the player’s build/role. This has largely stayed the same ever since the days of Diablo 1, and Grim Dawn attempts to add more traditional role-playing to the experience with little to no success.

Now it would be absurd to demand a persuasion skill that would deoptimize builds with story-related stats that would affect the PVE/PVP experience. However, Grim Dawn attempts to introduce more story-related choices within the limited scope of its reputation system.
Reputation occupies two roles in the game; it’s a progression system for enemies to become harder as well as offer greater rewards with the increased number of enemy hero spawns as well as to lower the cost of allied factions for the player to receive greater rewards. Both of these features are great additions that do expand the traditional ARPG experience within its own genre, yet it feels threadbare with how it affects the story. There is only one decision between two factions that impacts future events between the Necromancer Order and the Zealots Order. Later on within Ashes of Malmouth, there is a slightly greater offering of choices within new factions that showcases how the previous acts after Homestead forgot to include these types of decisions towards the journey into the Necropolis.

While it is commendable for Grim Dawn to offer more than other games within its genre, the results are not good enough to make them anything other than a commendable attempt. The choices made within Ashes of Malmouth attempts to offer actual branching results of which towns/factions you can attack within the swamplands, then heads towards the conclusion much like before on one intended path. It’s this otherwise blemish on an amazing experience that makes progression mean something more than grinding as the progression systems reward the player’s time investment.


Now are all the new features for the better? I preferred when the game didn’t have the cinematics to restate the same plot as you had to learn about the world more naturally after waking up after being hanged on a noose through talking with NPCs and scattered notes that further delved into the Lovecraftian conspiracy with beings from another realm. Even with the addition of voice-acting, the game is heavily reliant on reading stats, etc. that it begins to feel like an Excel worksheet. As mentioned before about the late-game issues, there is also a strange difficulty scale between the final areas due to resistances like Aether and in the new expansion Poison that makes the constitution regeneration system worthless when you die in seconds.

In spite of all these minor gripes, Grim Dawn has slowly matured like wine into the sublime, polished experience it was always promised to be from the start, and if Crate Entertainment has proven anything by their Early Access system they can be trusted to create future projects with amazing results. The latest expansion has further cemented everything I enjoy about Grim Dawn as it is its Lord of Bhall equivalent to the Diablo 2 comparison. Of all the praise I could ever give, this game, along with Divinity Original Sin 2, is what Early Access games should strive to become, amazing games from the beginning that only become better with more time to blossom into beautiful eldritch abominations to lure the minds of men into the depths of its enticing chaos to drive men insane with its splendor.

Ever since the official launch of Grim Dawn, I have always meant to properly review the game after my 20+ hour impression in Early Access. With the release of the expansion, Ashes of Malmouth, I now have an excuse to return to Cairn from the very beginning. While it is perhaps not going to usurp the names of the free-to-play Path of Exile and the might of Blizzard’s Diablo, GD more than deserves to be recognized as one of the best ARPG within its genre even when its attempts to push the genre’s boundaries do not always end well. [h1]Forget About the Classes, Enjoy the Experiment [/h1] If you have heard anything about Grim Dawn it is probably the comparison to Diablo 2 as well as the touted line, “This is the REAL Diablo 3.” There are many reasons why this tagline is more than deserving of Diablo’s legacy beyond similar graphical styles, though the colorful touches to Grim Dawn makes it anything but dull, because GD continues what D2 did so phenomenally well with variable classes as well as incorporate what made the developer’s previous series stand out, Titan Quest. TQ introduced the idea of combining different classes where you level into each one through both masteries with passive stats as well as the skills they possess, thereby creating a unique class of your own. GD largely copies the same idea but further develops its execution by creating six (eight with the DLC) half-classes where their combination can result in your own tailored class. This is distributed evenly amongst elemental types as well as what roles each class occupies like Shaman’s two-handed, large pet and electricity specializations and the Occultists’ hex-based/vampirism attacks and small pets. Even if you were to choose the same specializations, you could make each character stand out in their own way with the addition of a third skill-system, Devotions. Devotions are rewards for finding shrines throughout the land that unlock additional abilities for every class, which can be modifiers for existing abilities or new ones altogether. Rarely are any of these abilities, class-based or devotions, limited to weapon-sets, so the sense of experimentation with your build is the sublime feeling that makes replaying the game a greater reward than playing long-term for end-game content, which GD has in abundance with rogue-like dungeons, additional difficulties, unique gear and a new level cap of 100. The result is the game never feels repetitive because you are always doing something different and the grind never feels like a slog even past level 50 with how quickly you obtain XP. However, as what often happens with experimenting with something new, not all attempts to reexamine previous methods will create something better, which highlights less of a problem with Grim Dawn but with ARPGs as a whole. [h1]ARPGs Dilemma: Roles to Play vs. Role-Playing[/h1] Action RPGs occupy a weird genre within its namesake. Role-playing is not within the traditional D&D sense of creating stories from player solutions, violent or nonviolent, but rather in the literal creation of the player’s build/role. This has largely stayed the same ever since the days of Diablo 1, and Grim Dawn attempts to add more traditional role-playing to the experience with little to no success. Now it would be absurd to demand a persuasion skill that would deoptimize builds with story-related stats that would affect the PVE/PVP experience. However, Grim Dawn attempts to introduce more story-related choices within the limited scope of its reputation system. Reputation occupies two roles in the game; it’s a progression system for enemies to become harder as well as offer greater rewards with the increased number of enemy hero spawns as well as to lower the cost of allied factions for the player to receive greater rewards. Both of these features are great additions that do expand the traditional ARPG experience within its own genre, yet it feels threadbare with how it affects the story. There is only one decision between two factions that impacts future events between the Necromancer Order and the Zealots Order. Later on within Ashes of Malmouth, there is a slightly greater offering of choices within new factions that showcases how the previous acts after Homestead forgot to include these types of decisions towards the journey into the Necropolis. While it is commendable for Grim Dawn to offer more than other games within its genre, the results are not good enough to make them anything other than a commendable attempt. The choices made within Ashes of Malmouth attempts to offer actual branching results of which towns/factions you can attack within the swamplands, then heads towards the conclusion much like before on one intended path. It’s this otherwise blemish on an amazing experience that makes progression mean something more than grinding as the progression systems reward the player’s time investment. [h1]Quality So Good to Bring Men to the Brink of Madness[/h1] Now are all the new features for the better? I preferred when the game didn’t have the cinematics to restate the same plot as you had to learn about the world more naturally after waking up after being hanged on a noose through talking with NPCs and scattered notes that further delved into the Lovecraftian conspiracy with beings from another realm. Even with the addition of voice-acting, the game is heavily reliant on reading stats, etc. that it begins to feel like an Excel worksheet. As mentioned before about the late-game issues, there is also a strange difficulty scale between the final areas due to resistances like Aether and in the new expansion Poison that makes the constitution regeneration system worthless when you die in seconds. In spite of all these minor gripes, Grim Dawn has slowly matured like wine into the sublime, polished experience it was always promised to be from the start, and if Crate Entertainment has proven anything by their Early Access system they can be trusted to create future projects with amazing results. The latest expansion has further cemented everything I enjoy about Grim Dawn as it is its Lord of Bhall equivalent to the Diablo 2 comparison. Of all the praise I could ever give, this game, along with Divinity Original Sin 2, is what Early Access games should strive to become, amazing games from the beginning that only become better with more time to blossom into beautiful eldritch abominations to lure the minds of men into the depths of its enticing chaos to drive men insane with its splendor.