This is a damn fine ARPG that doesn't insult your intelligence.

Every skill, class combination, and item has value. The Devs have so far avoided micromanaging the number of viable builds down to one per class like other ARPGS (looking at you D3). There's no always-online nonsense to deal with so you can actually play the single-player mode of the game you spent legal tender on without connecting to some corporations' server bank. There is no trade restrictions barring certain augments, which can be stripped beforehand to allow that item to be traded again.

Combat isn't too flashy, which is good because the screen isn't filled with so much ♥♥♥♥ you can't see what the enemy is doing so you can avoid it. Skills can still be visually impressive but without the Michael Bay special effects barrage so common to latter-day ARPGs. It fits the artistic and narrative theme of the game while still letting your skills feel impactful but not so overwhelmingly powerful that you can't imagine why anyone would have died to the enemy in the first place. It just FEELS right.

Furthermore, the story presented in Grim Dawn is actually quite compelling especially if you take the time to read through the dialogue and pick up all the scraps of paper left behind out in the world. There is genuine tension in the story as you piece together what happened to Cairn, and how you can help save it. Speaking of which, the world here feels connected and alive, without immersion-breaking nonsense like the copy/paste hero squads with yellow auras just in case you were too stupid to notice them or randomly-generated terrain that looks like someone emptied a jigsaw puzzle onto the table and scrambled the pieces up.

There is even a legit lore reason why you are the only person who can control the teleporters too.



All in all if you like ARPGs this game is worth every single cent of the asking price.

This is a damn fine ARPG that doesn't insult your intelligence. Every skill, class combination, and item has value. The Devs have so far avoided micromanaging the number of viable builds down to one per class like other ARPGS (looking at you D3). There's no always-online nonsense to deal with so you can actually play the single-player mode of the game you spent legal tender on without connecting to some corporations' server bank. There is no trade restrictions barring certain augments, which can be stripped beforehand to allow that item to be traded again. Combat isn't too flashy, which is good because the screen isn't filled with so much shit you can't see what the enemy is doing so you can avoid it. Skills can still be visually impressive but without the Michael Bay special effects barrage so common to latter-day ARPGs. It fits the artistic and narrative theme of the game while still letting your skills feel impactful but not so overwhelmingly powerful that you can't imagine why anyone would have died to the enemy in the first place. It just FEELS right. Furthermore, the story presented in Grim Dawn is actually quite compelling especially if you take the time to read through the dialogue and pick up all the scraps of paper left behind out in the world. There is genuine tension in the story as you piece together what happened to Cairn, and how you can help save it. Speaking of which, the world here feels connected and alive, without immersion-breaking nonsense like the copy/paste hero squads with yellow auras just in case you were too stupid to notice them or randomly-generated terrain that looks like someone emptied a jigsaw puzzle onto the table and scrambled the pieces up. There is even a legit lore reason why you are the only person who can control the teleporters too. All in all if you like ARPGs this game is worth every single cent of the asking price.