Grim Dawn

From herobyclicking

The cave was infested with the walking dead. Zombies controlled by the Aetherials. I summon my raven and hellhound and they wade into battle. I stand on the periphery blasting the undead with my six-shooters. From behind me a stream of brute like mutants charge. I cast a quick hex on them, slowing them down. As my hellhound destroys the last zombie it comes to my aid as I switch to my green-glowing cleaver and shield and meet the mutants head on. They surround me, whittling away at my health but my raven uses occult power to knit my torn flesh back together. It doesn't look good for this Witchblade. Thankfully my hellhound destroys the last mutant before it can get to me. Before us is the bounty of loot to consider. I organize the powerful items to enhance my armor and weapons, collect scrap that will be useful in rebuilding my home of Devil's Crossing and take a quick breath before delving deeper. There are more dangerous things in dark in the world of Grim Dawn, steel yourself.

You start the game as an anonymous character, spared from the brink of death and released from the grips of spiritual possession you’ve acquired the ability to gain great power. Power you will need to make a difference for humanity in the dark world of Cairn. A war between the Aetherials and Chthonians is waged and humanity is caught between them. The Aetherials use the humans as vessels to fight the Chthonians who in turn destroy humans to stem the tide. Hope is fading. You can aid the meager human settlement in growing into a place to make something, maybe hope, maybe just another day living. You trudge forward. You customize your powers as you level up through one of five (soon to be six) classes. You can also add a second class, thereby expanded further choice and customization of your character. The paths available to you in Grim Dawn is echoed by the path the game took to become developed and enter early access.

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Crate Entertainment has been plugging away at development of their action roleplaying game, Grim Dawn for roughly five years. Though they had a successful Kickstarter, they were about two and half years into development when the Kickstarter launched. Two and half years of paying out of pocket, volunteering time, working for free or at a loss. That can be the nature independent game development unsurprisingly. Without outside funding or a publisher your project is going to face that is without outside funding. Once a part of Iron Lore, Arthur Bruno was the lead gameplay designer of the beloved ARPG, Titan Quest. In spite of the following Titan Quest now has, its publisher THQ felt differently. The Greek mythos flavored titled was a victim of the death of PC games notion, relegating it to being loved but not marketed in the United States. Iron Lore was dismantled but Bruno and a group of designers, friends and programmers invested time and energy into the development of a new game that would become Grim Dawn. We couldn't be luckier.

My compulsion with ARPG was met with pure, sheer joy when Grim Dawn went into to early access. Though the choice for ARPGs has grown into an incredibly competitive field. Options for play have exploded within the last several year and Crate Entertainment has responded to this with continued improvement and polish. There is a level care that has become evident as a Kickstarter backer and an engagement with Grim Dawn’s community. Each milestone of development has seen detail, functionality and stability. It has set a standard of how an independent developer can and should handle early access and Kickstarter development.

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Character customization is among the things that has my mind motoring in Grim Dawn. I stare, theorize and crunch numbers to the best build. I settled upon an Occultist/Soldier. I wanted a pet entourage to fight alongside me as bathe in the blood of Aetherials and Cththonians alike. Item enhancement further allows me to make a character I want to play. Though traditional character class archetypes are available I can be the hero that people of Devil’s Crossing needs, and do it in style.

Grim Dawn calls me back periodically. In a sea of choices, I come back. It’s not just because I feel obligated because I was a backer for it’s Kickstarter. I have a slew of projects that I backed that have fizzled out. Bruno and his remote crew of designers, programmers and developers have continually engaged me as a gamer. The game asks to be played. The world, it’s grit, it’s gear and gameplay have grown into a game I want to play and keep playing bring people into play as well. Grim Dawn will reach completion with Act 4, introduce a new class and new skill/faction system adding another layer of depth and play to an already robust independent title.

Crate Entertainment’s Grim Dawn is available on Steam's Early Access, but will also be DRM-free at full release.

Day 4 | Crate Ent.