GRIME is an excruciating game to play for so many reasons. i do not think it's a bad game, and it's a cautious recommendation, but god is this game exhausting to play for its entire runtime.

The combat : Parry, counter, absorb, dodge. Very simple, but made difficult by the slower regeneration which makes just doing nothing (even when you have one of the rare windows of opportunity available to you) the best option, which is absolutely infuriating to deal with on so many levels. Were it only on the bosses too, it would be a bit less exhausting but no, that's something you have to deal with the entire game, which, in turns, makes traversal also incredibly exhausting. which leads me to...

The map : I have played a lot of 2d games. A decent amount. And boy is traversal in this game tiring. Not only that, you're just allowed to wander into areas you absolutely do not belong in yet purely by accident. Which is infuriating because traversal isn't the greatest until much much much later, which means a lot of walking and dealing with very exhausting combat. I think, on paper, it's cool that you can just wander. In reality? Kind of infuriating to get your teeth kicked in because you have no idea of where you need to go, past a handful of markers the game will hand to you, eventually.

It's also very easy to just, get lost? You can get past bosses and checkpoints if you don't pay attention, which would be fine for a handful, but this is true for a decent bunch of them.

The bosses : They just do not settle down. They absolutely have a pattern you can learn. It does reward you by letting you eventually win, but it is incredibly exhausting because they. do not. ever stop. You do get windows (especially with more abilities later on) but it's very easy to overcommit and get terribly punished for it.

Overall is GRIME worth it? Like I said, I don't think it's a bad game. I don't super regret beating it. But boy do I find it a hard recommend because of how demanding the game can be throughout its entire runtime. If you like harder and more punishing games this will be up your alley, but if you want a more casual time, this is absolutely not for you.

GRIME is an excruciating game to play for so many reasons. i do not think it's a bad game, and it's a cautious recommendation, but god is this game exhausting to play for its entire runtime. The combat : Parry, counter, absorb, dodge. Very simple, but made difficult by the slower regeneration which makes just doing nothing (even when you have one of the rare windows of opportunity available to you) the best option, which is absolutely infuriating to deal with on so many levels. Were it only on the bosses too, it would be a bit less exhausting but no, that's something you have to deal with the entire game, which, in turns, makes traversal also incredibly exhausting. which leads me to... The map : I have played a lot of 2d games. A decent amount. And boy is traversal in this game tiring. Not only that, you're just allowed to wander into areas you absolutely do not belong in yet purely by accident. Which is infuriating because traversal isn't the greatest until much much much later, which means a lot of walking and dealing with very exhausting combat. I think, on paper, it's cool that you can just wander. In reality? Kind of infuriating to get your teeth kicked in because you have no idea of where you need to go, past a handful of markers the game will hand to you, eventually. It's also very easy to just, get lost? You can get past bosses and checkpoints if you don't pay attention, which would be fine for a handful, but this is true for a decent bunch of them. The bosses : They just do not settle down. They absolutely have a pattern you can learn. It does reward you by letting you eventually win, but it is incredibly exhausting because they. do not. ever stop. You do get windows (especially with more abilities later on) but it's very easy to overcommit and get terribly punished for it. Overall is GRIME worth it? Like I said, I don't think it's a bad game. I don't super regret beating it. But boy do I find it a hard recommend because of how demanding the game can be throughout its entire runtime. If you like harder and more punishing games this will be up your alley, but if you want a more casual time, this is absolutely not for you.