Legend of Grimrock 2 - A Breath of Fresh Air

Almost Human has posted a new development update for Legend of Grimrock 2.

Hello everyone, it’s time for another status update! Features and content keeps on pouring on in the game at a steady pace and the point where the entire game would be playable from the beginning to the end is sooo close: there’s just two or three levels (that I actually started working on today) that need to be done to make the game “whole”. Of course, the game is not by any means finished at that point but reaching alpha is a mighty fine milestone nonetheless! Other gameplay things we have also tackled recently were prototyping some new spells and adding a completely new character class. We’ll keep the new class under covers for a while but once we get it to a more complete state, we’ll tell you more about it!

More information.

Legend of Grimrock wasn't perfect… a little too puzzle heavy and light on story, levels lacked variety (a few more wall textures would've helped) and the game lacked personality… Where are those singing faeries when you need them?

Nevertheless, I miss this type of game and the sequel is on my must buy list.

I'm not a big fan of crawls that take place in a single dungeon, but I liked Grimrock quite a bit. I certainly liked it more than Stonekeep at least.

Just give us more variety to the levels and more character classes and I'll be happy.

A couple of NPCs and a bit of story would also be nice. A sort of more LoL direction if at all possible as we were saying when the first one got out.

I don't see them deviating too much from the original formula tbh, but I do expect it to be more of an RPG than #1 with some deeper mechanics at least.

Still, nostalgia for this kind of game make this a sure buy for me.

Just hoping that Guido gets to make his game so we can have a proper RPG in this vein

The first game was a handsdown blast and by far my game of the year. I have high hopes for the second, and if it were only another dungeon crawl it would still be a first day purchase for me. The mixture of puzzles and deep dungeon delving worked like magic, I might get in a third replay of the first version before the next is released.

I've stated this more than once - but I just want it to be less of a math/timing puzzle game and more of a story-oriented/exploration game. Yeah, Lands of Lore is as good an example as any

Oh, and I'd take a warm and atmospheric story-heavy version like Stonekeep over a combat puzzler any day of the week and twice on sundays

Technically, however, it was excellent.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Technically, however, it was excellent.

And made in record time too!

From what I get from a couple of their blogs that I've read, they were working with their backs to their wall, financially.

Money was running out so they had to get it out there with whatever features they could put down on a certain timeframe.

I've often seen them say "Now that we are not in danger of starving we can make another pass on this aspect" and so on and so forth.

So I am cautiously optimistic that we may be getting something a bit less lite and less centered on the puzzles (which I found very well designed and enjoyed pretty much ofcourse). We'll see at any rate…

Well, it seems a lot of people liked the puzzle-oriented gameplay - so I don't really think they'll move away from it. I just wish they would

Oh, I love puzzles in my RPGs - but not to that extent and not without more variety. I'm not keen on fantasy Portal and I much prefer wordy riddles or more elaborate stuff like the stuff in Realms of the Haunting.

Originally Posted by JonNik
And made in record time too!

Well I wish they would put a little more speed into making the sequel.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Well I wish they would put a little more speed into making the sequel.

Well I'd love to get my hands on it on say January when there is no other major release unless I am mistaken. But ofcourse they are going to release just when every other game comes out too . I mean even on February You Got Xulima and who knows what else. Still RPG Overload > Drought any day of the Week

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I'm not keen on fantasy Portal and I much prefer wordy riddles or more elaborate stuff like the stuff in Realms of the Haunting.

I remember loving that game back then (and remember it having puzzles) but I can't for the life of me remember the puzzles themselves… And I can't remember Stonekeep either. Yep, memory definitely going

Originally Posted by JonNik
I remember loving that game back then (and remember it having puzzles) but I can't for the life of me remember the puzzles themselves… And I can't remember Stonekeep either. Yep, memory definitely going

Tell me about it

All I can remember about the puzzles is that they were annoying. A lot of samey crap about running back and forth - and timing with portals. That's why it reminded me of Portal - which I also think is extremely overrated.

I do remember Stonekeep - and I always loved the warm colors and old-school fantasy atmosphere. I also remember reading the little novel that came with the game and finding it great.

The gameplay was too streamlined and it was one of the early examples of "dumbing down" established genres, but it wasn't so dumb that it couldn't be enjoyed.

But I know a lot of people don't like it and that's ok

Incidentally, Lands of Lore was also quite excessively dumbed down from games like EotB and Dungeon Master - and yet people didn't seem to mind.

I'm pretty sure JonNik was referring to Realms of The Haunting.

Grimrock had more than just portals, although I agree there are a lot of them. There are also puzzles with switches, timed puzzles, riddles, etc.

Oh, that's probably true about RotH.

I don't remember much about the puzzles in RotH either, except that they were great and rather elaborate

As for Grimrock - I didn't say it was all portals - just that I was annoyed with that aspect of the game.

I quit around level 4 - I believe. I don't remember riddles, but I'm glad to hear they're in there. Maybe there'll be more in Grim 2

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Incidentally, Lands of Lore was also quite excessively dumbed down from games like EotB and Dungeon Master - and yet people didn't seem to mind.

"Streamlined" I would say And yeah definitely did not mind. Even back then I could enjoy different types of game (well of RPGs mostly) that played on different strengths , as long as the game had significantly strong elements and an overall fun and engaging experience to show for itself. And I think LoL had character and fun in spades without needing to be as hardcore as EotB i.e.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I'm pretty sure JonNik was referring to Realms of The Haunting.
.

Well ofcourse. Missed that little misunderstanding on Darts post

Originally Posted by JonNik
"Streamlined" I would say And yeah definitely did not mind. Even back then I could enjoy different types of game (well of RPGs mostly) that played on different strengths , as long as the game had significantly strong elements and an overall fun and engaging experience to show for itself. And I think LoL had character and fun in spades without needing to be as hardcore as EotB i.e.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, as I did with all Westwood games. I'm a huge Kyrandia fan, by the way.

But I did notice the "streamlining" and I was particularly disappointed in the character mechanics.

I got over it, though

I must also be one of the few people on the planet who loved Lands of Lore 2 - which was much worse in the mechanics department.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I must also be one of the few people on the planet who loved Lands of Lore 2 - which was much worse in the mechanics department.

I loved all three regardless. So add me to the list

Couldn't get into LoL3, and I forget why.

I vaguely recall having a talk about LoL3 not too long ago around here, but no details.

Oh my… My memory is crap!

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I don't remember much about the puzzles in RotH either, except that they were great and rather elaborate

Yeah, I really liked RotH for the most part - especially the first half of the game that took place almost entirely inside the mansion. It also had a strong sense of exploration.

The game got a lot more combat-heavy in the second half though, and I didn't care for the parts that took you to the other dimensions.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Yeah, I really liked RotH for the most part - especially the first half of the game that took place almost entirely inside the mansion. It also had a strong sense of exploration.

The game got a lot more combat-heavy in the second half though, and I didn't care for the parts that took you to the other dimensions.

Yes, I do remember the last part being somewhat tiresome. That said, I do believe the very best puzzles came around near the end of the game. But I haven't played it for years and years - except to get it running in DosBox briefly