Recent reviews by RandomBlackGuy

Is Grim Dawn good in 2023?

8.5/10 - The game holds up stronger than 80% of other games its age.

The combat is not so crisp as Diablo - the forefather of the genre; but the itemization is so crisp that it honestly makes up for the small input lag when spamming an ability to get the ability off while simultaneously holding your basic attack button. In this game, combat is crisp if you want it to be. To make it crisp, it is best to stop your basic attack, cast your ability, then go back to basic attacks, all within less than 1 to 1.5 seconds, in order to maintain your DPS. Itemization helps with taking the game a bit slower; resistances work better than any other game I've played. Do not underestimate them. They are your true friend.

Crafting is what Diablo 3 and especially Diablo 4 should have been. The crafting is impeccable with the ability to craft some powerful yet particularly complex items.

The customization you have with gear towards the end-game is ridiculous through the use of Augmentations and Components, both of which add various effects and resistances which you will need towards the end-game. You don't need high gear customization while leveling unless you're playing on Normal with Veteran activated. Veteran ONLY makes the game harder. No increased loot drops. 10% bonus XP. If you min-max while leveling, the game will be an absolute breeze; especially if you know what you're doing in these types of games.

Tips for beginners? Stick with a single damage type, or two damage types, and stack damage % of your type, E.G Aether or Fire, as well as all the resistances and Skill bonuses you can find. Try to find bonuses for skills you want to build around. For the most part, all skills can have a build made around them.

Game is good. 60$ for base game and all DLC, including Crucible (not required and you're not missing out, but it is useful for end-game farming because of how loot drops work in the game in general) will give you atleast 200 hours if you do the following:

- Level from 1 to 100.

- Deck out a character with enough powerful gear to complete SR70

- Complete the campaign and all DLCs

- Get all Factions maxed out

In addition to all of this, there are community made seasons for Grim Dawn called Grim League, which has recently started popping off with the amount of content it's been providing in the last 2 years.

There is a mod which literally recreates Diablo 2: Reign of Terror inside the Grim Dawn engine, with Masteries featuring abilities from the Diablo franchise. The mod is highly polished and critically acclaimed by the Grim Dawn community.

Buy the game already; you get 2 games in 1. D2 and Grim Dawn + Seasons. Also the end-game loop is better than D4 right now, so. Get to it.

I tried it. It's cool.

Edit: After 300 more hours. I think it's a little cooler than before.