Grimrock

1)

2)Just need to look for the riddle to enter the "Vault of Orb".
3)See 1
4)Level 14
5)I would rate the game 9/10 although i was slightly disappointed in the end sequence. A few explaining lines like "... and if they didn't die the are still living today." wouldn't had hurt.

Longbow wrote: 5)I would rate the game 9/10 although i was slightly disappointed in the end sequence. A few explaining lines like "... and if they didn't die the are still living today." wouldn't had hurt.

About that...

1) Around 16 hours according to the statistics, but probably 20+ real time.

2) I didn't use any outside help whatsoever.

3) 63/71 secrets at first, but then I loaded a previous save file and got them all, which only took another hour of game time (probably 2-3 hours real time), probably because all my missed secrets were at level 1-6 and I searched starting from level 1.

4 ) All of my characters were level 13.

5) Probably 7.5/10 as it is right now. I think it's a great game, but after beating it once I already know what to expect if I decide to play through again (which I plan to do). A game mode with randomly generated dungeons could remedy this I guess, but implementing puzzles into a game mode like that would be harder, so it would probably be more focused on combat.

Once user-created content and/or DLC starts showing up I guess I could give it 8~9/10 depending on how it turns out.

Here are my stats:


I got help about 4 times, but I don't recall the exact puzzles.

Characters were level 13.

I thought the puzzles were well done, but the combat was dull. Combat amounted to an exercise in strafing, without requiring any real strategy or tactics. I loved the still art during the intro. I decided not to give numeric scores to games anymore since gaming review sites don't use the 1-10 scale correctly. A 5 should be an average game, making anything above 5 better than average. So, I score this game a B- (good), despite the poor (in my opinion) combat.

First run:


Add about 20% more time to account for reloads.
One char on 14, the rest on 13.
Used internet information to look for secrets which I had missed after finishing some levels. Turned out I had missed quite a few. Also for the 4-item puzzle (I thought it would be too hard to figure out the correct items but later found out that you get a sound effect when you place them. Oh well.)
I rate this game as awesome.

Also for fun: my fastest run (it was a solo run)


Huh, I thought I had 7/7 treasures...

16 hrs according to game
but I'm guessing at least 30 real time. (47 according to Steam but I restarted on level 6 an made a new party so...)
Characters were lvl 13
I needed help 2 times (once to get into the fighters challenge and once cause I was stuck).
Found 6 treasures
Opened all Iron doors
Didn't play old school

On a scale of 0 to EOB (when I was 10) this is a 7.

1) 17 hours on easy with automap. I wanted to focus on puzzle solving not combat, there's a kazillion other games with combat.
2) 3 times
3) Around 45-50 secrets, 2 treasures. I didn't use a guide to spoil those.
4) 13
5) 9/10! The -1 is just for length and the ending. I want to know more about the world Grimrock lives in, what our crimes were, what we do after escaping, etc. It could've been a more epic ending for sure.

Baroque wrote:I want to know more about the world Grimrock lives in, what our crimes were, what we do after escaping, etc. It could've been a more epic ending for sure.

Well at least there's plenty of scope for a sequel. Let's be honest here - we're the most hardened bunch of ex-criminals the land has ever faced, who's just been given a second chance. The King would be foolish to just let us loose - would be better to keep them close and in his pocket. Who better to be the frontline in any other scenarios of danger the King might need to deal with?

Hotcakes wrote:

Baroque wrote:I want to know more about the world Grimrock lives in, what our crimes were, what we do after escaping, etc. It could've been a more epic ending for sure.

Well at least there's plenty of scope for a sequel. Let's be honest here - we're the most hardened bunch of ex-criminals the land has ever faced, who's just been given a second chance. The King would be foolish to just let us loose - would be better to keep them close and in his pocket. Who better to be the frontline in any other scenarios of danger the King might need to deal with?

Well I've chimed in on my point of view about the ending. But if you check the manual you can gleam a bit more infomation about he world. And I would love something more to flesh out Grimrockian lore. Like just what whole story is with the boss.

1. 18:32:08. Maybe 5 mins before I beat the game. Normal difficulty, automap.

2. I did need help a half dozen of times. Mostly because my English isn't that great... so the four 'random' items I needed help. The other one was with in the pillar room with the 5 switches. And the boss in the end, where to put the items.
In total, I think I needed help around 5-7 times maybe... most of them problems understanding the language / problem.

3. 65/71 secrets found. Not too bad... but I spent so much time looking for those damn switches... I wonder where I missed those 6. Probably in the earlier levels. Found all treasures, skulls and notes. Opened 10 iron doors.
Saved 2 gold keys in hopes of super loot in the late game, but all the last three choices were pure crap.
I found both the light and heavy armor sets. Both were pretty good.

4. Tank level 13, Fighter level 13, Rogue level 13, Mage level 14 (got him the XP amulet & BoWs too, since he sucked the most). Only person with a skill maxed was the Rogue (Missile Weapons). That rogue kicked ass... 3 other characters were really close to level 14, though.
Also... I usually loaded my game, if my party didn't get max XP on the 500+ XP monsters. Just too much XP to leave behind.

5. 8.5. Really liked the game, but a few issues and frustrating puzzles take it down a notch. 8.5 isn't bad, though! I'm not one of those 1 or 10 people...