Grim Dawn Preview

GameSpy had the chance to get some hands-on time with Crate Entertainment’s Grim Dawn, and seems to have some pretty positive impressions to report on the loot-driven action-RPG. Here’s an excerpt:

Grim Dawn may not be a completely open-world action RPG, but many barriers can be broken. For example, while on a road lined with stone walls, I found my Occultist surrounded by monsters. Not wanting my frail magic user to become lunch, I hurled a bolt of magic at the nearby stones and watched them crumble. I jumped through my self-made exit and took the fight out into an open field; as my attackers funneled through after me I was able to cut them down one at a time.

The simple act of blowing up a wall and jumping off the beaten path made me feel as if I was in control of this adventure. I wasn’t being pulled along by the wrist, I was making my own way in this world gone wrong. And it felt great.

Bruno warned me not to get too comfortable with locations I learned to use to my advantage, though, because they might not be there the next time I played through. Grim Dawn features a dynamic-barrier system that spawns immovable and indestructible objects that force players to choose different paths.

“After a few runthroughs, players tend to find the most optimized path through a level. We play those same paths over and over again, and that leads to tedium. This is a way to promote players to try something different and to have a better experience. Maps aren’t totally randomized, but it’s a good compromise.”

Though there will be plenty of elements that are completely randomized, Bruno said. Yes, there will be different enemies spawning in different places, but that’s just the tip of the random iceberg. Crate is working on a system that will spawn random NPC camps capable of giving quests, create random events such as enemies attacking a group of humans which players must try to save, and even random entrances into Cairn’s vast underground.