Legend of Grimrock Switch Review

Grid-based Dungeon Crawlers are a rare breed these days, often overlooked by gamers who set their sights on a more open-world experience. While we have seen somewhat of a small resurgence on Switch with Etrian Oddessys and Mon-yu: I’m not pronouncing the rest of that title, it does appear to be a dying or perhaps dormant genre. Earlier this month, it was announced by indie developer Almost Human, that Legend Of Grimrock was to be released on the Switch, and now it’s here I’m finally getting to see what all the fuss is about. What’s it Like? Grab a pen and paper, dim the lights, and prepare to dungeon dive as we review Legend of Grimrock.

Let’s start off by explaining to the young ones what a grid-based dungeon crawler is as I grab my walking stick and reminisce about Eye of the Beholder…  A grid-based RPG usually consists of your party moving as one, from a first-person perspective, around a map. You usually turn and face the direction you want to go in and move 1 grid forward at a time, solving puzzles and fighting bad guys. These games are also referred to as “blobbers” as your team moves as if they were a single blob… yeah I don’t really like calling it that either. Legend of Grimrock is no exception to this rule, and it honors the old-school approach while providing accessibility to newcomers to the genre. You can choose to have pre-build characters and a map, or you can go back to the 90s and rely on a pen and paper to draw the dungeon maps yourself with custom-created D&D style characters.

You play as 4 prisoners, sent to their doom for unknown crimes they may or may not be guilty of. Instead of being executed on the spot which to me anyway, seems like a much more efficient use of taxpayers’ dollars, you are sent to the infamous Mount Grimrock, to try your luck in the dungeon there. Should you escape, you will have earned your freedom. There is also an overarching narrative that appears in each level when you take a rest, further elaborating on your escape from Grimrock.

The gameplay revolves around exploring a dungeon in the heart of a mountain with the objective of getting to the lower levels to earn your freedom. To do this you will fight hordes of creatures ranging from huge snail creatures to centurion skeletons who can fight by themselves or in a phalanx formation. Combat is handled by holding down the right trigger and pressing the corresponding buttons for each character to strike, await their cooldown, rinse and repeat. Combat can be an exercise in frustration as your characters miss more than they hit. It reminds me of the early stages in Morrowind if you didn’t spec your character correctly, wildly swinging your weapon in the air yet hitting nothing. Spellcasting is also difficult, leaving you to fumble through runes and hope for the best. Once I understood what the runes meant, I was able to better use my sorcerer character, but I do wish there was a way to spam a spell without the runes coming up on screen which took me out of the immersion a little.

There’s not a lot of depth to the actual combat actions, but there is a fair amount of depth to your characters, stat points, and levels that allows you to have a bit of freedom with your party makeup. Positioning is everything here, and you will want your warriors to the front, and casters and ranged to the back, protecting them. You can get flanked too, so you need to be mindful of your positioning when it comes to picking a fight. I had to reload a few saves due to poor party management. Sometimes it’s best to rest, eat, and regroup before exploring further. There are blue crystals on each level of the dungeon that can revive fallen party members as well, so don’t lose hope if someone is downed during combat.

Graphically, Legend of Grimrock looks great, and despite there being some pixelation, it runs at a steady and high framerate ensuring silky smooth exploring. Enemies are varied and the animation (while somewhat repetitive) looks great. It’s a dark and brooding atmospheric game and builds both immersion and tension. It’s almost unnerving creeping through halls to see light up ahead. Is it salvation? Or damnation that awaits. There are some shortfalls like hidden buttons almost being “too hidden” which lead to me running around in circles looking for what to do, but aside from that, puzzles are fairly straightforward for the most part, with some tricky ones thrown in the mix to delay you for a while.

I think my one major complaint is not being able to transfer items directly to other players, meaning you have to drop an item, select that party member, and then pick up said item. There’s also no touchscreen support which is a shame because I think it could have added a lot of immersion by being able to “touch” the buttons or pull chains. It’s not really a dealbreaker, more something I hope to see in the sequel. I did read a developer responding to gamers on a forum that said this port was more an experiment, almost dismissing the project, which is a shame because I think the Legend of Grimrock Series would make a great home here on the Switch.

All in all, Legend of Grimrock isn’t going to be for everyone due to the genre which may seem dated, especially to younger gamers, but those who jump in will have an immersive and fun D&D-like experience. There’s plenty of game here for those who enjoy puzzlers, and at a price point of under $23 dollarydoos, it’s good value for money. Legend of Grimrock is a trip to the past. It’s a game that is atmospheric and engages your brain, encourages exploration, and is hard to put down.

So, What’s it Like? Legend of Grimrock is like a D&D Session, crossed with Etrian Odyssey.