The shift allows Grimrock 2 to maintain an energetic pace. As before, the hacking and slashing itself takes place in real time, in stark contrast to the turn-based combat other recent dungeon crawlers created in the vein of 1991's Eye of the Beholder. That's rarely a problem, though keep the munching coming, and the adventuresome aggie hacks and slashes as well as the more predictable barbarians and knights. Grimrock 2 further shakes up the expectations of traditional fantasy with its new Farmer class, who earns his XP not by swatting wolves or mushroom creatures but rather by munching on food. I found the new ratling race particularly useful, both for its helpful innate immunity to Grimrock 2's many diseases and because his penchant for hoarding meant he could carry more than his companions. There's a satisfying crop of character portraits to choose from this time around, for one, and the new ratling race makes a good addition to Grimrock's decidedly non-standard race roster of insectoids, lizardman, minotaurs, and the like.
Such visual diversity extends to the adventurers themselves. But much as in this year's drabber Might & Magic X: Legacy, it's not an insurmountable transition, and finding your feet reveals a land crammed with forests, beaches, and yes, even several old-style dungeons. Even having played the original Grimrock two years ago, learning to move this way again felt a little like finding my land legs after a long voyage – holding down A or D for too long sometimes found me careening into traps I might otherwise have avoided. It feels slightly out of place in these handsome surroundings, which seem like they’d be better paired with a free-roaming movement system.
It's a wobbly transition at first, true, not least because developer Almost Human chose to stick with a rigidly grid-based, four-direction movement system. This is the series moving out into the world and finding itself, although it wisely continues the tradition of letting us discover its rules for ourselves rather than force-feeding them with tutorials. It was a liberating moment, both for my characters and for me. It's perhaps better appreciated as a lightweight metaphor for Grimrock 2’s stylistic shift: the four warriors break out of the boxy cage that confined them on the shore in the opening scene and step into the open air and beauty of the island of Nex, immediately contrasting against the first, entirely underground game. You and three companions shipwreck on the island of Nex and slaughter the menagerie of monsters who call it home, all the while trying to find out who keeps leaving you smug little letters on stone altars and in rotting crates. Despite what the title might lead you to believe, Grimrock 2’s story isn't exactly the stuff of legend.
0 kommentar(er)
