Legend of Grimrock 2 review

Legend of Grimrock 2 offers that old-school gaming experience that many people who played in the 90s have missed. Engaging puzzles take you through the mysterious island you’ve found yourself trapped on, forcing you to find a way out.

It’s a nostalgic journey, with footage that keeps it quite modern. You won’t see great character designs or action sequences here. That’s not what this game is about. But you will enjoy a puzzle adventure game with combat and exploration unlike anything else on the market these days.

History

You and a handful of prisoners have been locked up in a cage on the lower deck of a ship. While you are at sea, a powerful storm strikes. It is unknown what will happen to the rest of the crew, but when the storm erupts your cage ended up on the beach.

As you and your three companions break out of your prison, start exploring the island. Find out that this is more than just a deserted place in the middle of nowhere. Someone has been here before, someone who has created a labyrinth of secrets. And if you want to survive here, you have to solve them.

Battle features

The goal of the game is simple. Find your way off the island and survive whatever throws at you. This is easier said than done and there are two main tasks you need to complete in order to move forward.

There are some basic features of the battle in the game. You and two of your squadmates are able to fight with weapons drawn. Weapons are basic and limited to sticks and swords. You can also give one of them a ranged weapon so they can attack from behind.

Your formation is limited to a two-by-two grid, so it’s best to have two forwards at a distance behind. Your fourth party member is skilled at magic, so it’s best to keep him there.

Hidden keys

Battle giant turtles, zombies and all sorts of other creatures as you make your way through this place. But the real goal is to find the hidden keys. These allow you to find out which items will unlock sections of the island when placed at specific points. The sparkling blue tiles teleport you to new areas; the keys unlock the walls. Carefully placed rocks weigh down the tiles that raise iron bars blocking your path.

In addition to the closed doors and mysterious statues, you will find occasional banknotes scattered around the island. These can give you clues as to where a treasure is buried or contain the only hint you’ll get as to what you need to do to pass a seemingly impassable area.

A modern retro experience

One of the main differences between any modern game and games that came out decades ago is the ease of play. Now, when you start a game, you are given instructions. There’s a little walkthrough that teaches you which button performs which action, how to interact with the world around you, and what kind of game functionality you have access to.

Legend of Grimrock 2 offers you none of this. There is no narration, dialogue and introspection. As a gamer, you simply wake up in a cage on a beach with no idea which keyboard buttons perform which function. You are not given a list of missions or an activity that you need to complete. You have no direction, no education. You are simply free on this island to explore and do your best to reveal its secrets.

Checks

The second retro feature of Legend of Grimrock 2 is the method by which you fight. There are no hotkeys assigned. You manually click on the individual attack tiles and hope you can coordinate all four in time to take down your enemy.

Some players may find it unnecessarily difficult and frustrating, but those who have spent years developing these rusty skills will be thrilled with the opportunity to solve them again.

Final verdict

In a world where games straddle multiple genres to keep the interest of a large player base, Legend of Grimrock 2 makes things easy. The downside is that it has a smaller audience of potential players. Games like Mass Effect or Kingdom Hearts cater to RPG and sci-fi fans, as well as people who love shooters, strong character development, and franchises. Legend of Grimrock 2 will only really appeal to those who want to play an old fashioned Myst type game where you are left to fend for yourself to work through the mysteries of this island.

But the benefit of this focus is that it has honed these characteristics to a razor-sharp level of detail and precision. The funding for this game has been completely devoted to designing an intricate system of tricks and traps to keep your brain in suspense as you play.

This makes Legend of Grimrock 2 a must for those afternoons where you want to work your brain through a survival-based puzzle system. If nothing else, this is a game to put on your Steam wish list to be picked up during the next sale.