Shane
Grim Dawn: Definitive Edition from Crate Entertainment is one mother of an RPG.
The once PC only hack’n’slash title is now out Xbox owners.
An evil spirit plague has befallen the citizens of Devil’s Crossing.
A small township struggling to survive against the hordes of monsters and undead that threaten its borders.
With the population dwindling due to folk becoming possessed by Aethereal Spirits or going missing your adventure starts out with your execution.
A stranger to this town and having been possessed yourself it’s only when the hangman’s noose pulls tight that the evil spirit flees your body.
Quested by the Captain of Devil’s Crossing, he enlists you to help to get to the source of the evil that has befallen mankind.
To start off with there’s eight classes to choose from; Arcanist, Demolitionist, Nightblade, Occultist, Shaman, Soldier, Necromancer and Inquisitor. Being the Definitive Edition means that the Xbox version includes all current DLC, the last two classes in this list originally being a part of an add-on.
With your class chosen you begin your quests. Aiding townsfolk with small to medium errands, trapsing the extremely expansive map as your missions take you further and further in to the depths of the fantastical world.
Each class has their own set of skills while you do upgrade via a skill tree once you have obtained another character Level, these skills are specific to your chosen class.
Not all skills are readily available. You will need to use your much sought after skill points to open up some of the additional skills in order to acquire them.
Then almost every skill has differing levels to them.
As well as these you also need to up your strength, might and magic (dependent on your character class).
There’s alot of goodies to be plundered (and I really do mean alot!) but if your agility levels aren’t high enough, you’re not going to be able to use the good stuff.
Grim Dawn for PC uses a point and click to play, this includes adventuring as well as within the Inventory and all game menu’s. In the Xbox port this has mostly been swapped out for button commands. there is still a pointer, and you’ll still need to use it – via control pad.
The game is initially very generous with it’s Level system, to begin with.
You’ll find yourself Levelling up real quick… until you get to around Level 5, then it’s the normal grind to get yourself mightier.
This is almost like a bum rush to get you deeper in to play, then the trainer wheels come off.
Played from an isometric view, Grim Dawn: Definitive Edition wins over the more known RPG’s of similar ilk by being played out in a massively expansive world filled with extreme detail.
It also gives you comparative stats on items you find before you pick them up.
To traverse quicker about the place you’ll need to find Rift Gates. These are few and far between but each area has at least one.
If you die you may lose items and experience points. Upon death you’ll resurrect at Devil’s Crossing. This is a sore point. Being that Rift Gates are so far apart you’ll lose alot of time getting back to the point that you perished at. I would’ve liked to see the option to resurrect at the point of death, even if it takes coin or there is a penalty to do so.
But, if you find the spot where you met your untimely demise and anything that you dropped, sometimes including experience points, are there waiting to be picked up again.
Not only is the Xbox port of Grim Dawn the Definitive Edition, I think it’s fair to say that Grim Dawn in itself is one hugely definitive RPG.
This summer down under if you’re not keen to bask in the endless sun rays, close the curtains, stay in and hack the hours away in one of the most rewarding RPG’s I’ve played.
Released: December 2021
Rating: M15+
Platforms reviewed: Xbox Series X
Genre: RPG
Developer: Crate Entertainment
Publisher: Crate Entertainment