“If you have an ARPG itch to scratch, I can’t recommend you look anywhere else right now,” our Alec said in his Wot I Think of Grim Dawn [official site]. It’s an action-RPG in ye olde olde Diablo-y style, with wizards and warriors clicking on monsters until they explode in pleasing showers of rusty swords and golden coins. It’s got pedigree too, as developers Crate Entertainment were founded by some of the remains of Titan Quest devs Iron Lore. Now, following a Kickstarter and several years on Steam Early Access, Grim Dawn is finally properly released.

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Back in 2010, when it was first announced, I was as excited about Grim Dawn [official site] as I was about any other game in production. It’s the work of Crate Entertainment, a studio made up of Iron Lore Entertainment veterans, and Iron Lore were the team behind one of my favourite ARPGs, Titan Quest. When the other kids were slaying demons in Blizzaro-Land, I was carving a path through myth and legend. Despite Grim Dawn’s availability in alpha form for some time now, I still haven’t played. The latest release, which adds a deity Devotion system and the first part of the final act, is awfully tempting though.

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There was a time when I found ARPGs exciting, my buttocks glued to the tiny swivel-stool before the one-armed bandits of Diablo II and Titan Quest, hoping that they would spew shiny loot into my lap. In recent years I’ve managed to shake the habit. I poked at Diablo III for a while but kept my distance and even though I enjoyed Path of Exile in its early days, I haven’t felt compelled to revisit its blighted shore. Grim Dawn tempts me though. My memories of Titan Quest have become rosier than dawn’s fingers and Alec’s impressions of the team’s long-awaited follow-up were pleasing. Act II of the Early Access release is now available, and it introduces choice and consequence.

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Lots of grim, not too much dawn so far. Which is a shame. Dawn’s so pretty. Might lift the spirits after all that zombie-twatting in the gloom. Still, that is what we’ve signed up for: Grim Dawn, an action RPG created by much of the team (and the tech) behind Titan Quest, is here to be our alt-universe Diablo III. No fancy business models (other than Steam Early Access), no unorthodox DRM (other than Steam), no drowning in lore and cinematics, no slickness at the expense of all else: just getting on with the zombie-twatting. Spiders too, naturally. (more…)

Grim Dawn is the model of a modern videogame. Built by the remnants of Iron Lore Entertainment, using the engine and tools from their excellent but overlooked action-RPG Titan Quest. It’s been in development for over three years, it got double its asking amount in a Kickstarter project in 2012, and now it’s available to buy and play via Steam Early Access. (more…)