If you’ve had the pleasure of playing either of Supergiant Games’ incredible Hades titles, you’ll be right at home with Grim Trials, a new action-roguelike from Indonesian developer Glory Jam.
This, however, isn’t just a Hades clone. Grim Trials offers the familiar style of top-down chaotic gameplay you’d expect, but it does enough differently to both set it apart and be worthy of your time. During PAX East in Boston, I had the opportunity to play it for about half an hour, but that wasn’t nearly enough time to really sink my teeth in. Not only because that isn’t really enough time to get a full impression, but also because what I played was genuinely fun, and I’m excited to eventually dive back in.
Much of Grim Trials‘ DNA is admittedly ripped straight from Hades, from the focus on various real-world deities, the killer rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack, and, of course, in its combat, but there’s enough here to make it feel like a unique experience. The game’s combat is super fast and fluid, with extremely responsive controls that make your attacks and dodges fairly accurate. You’ll traverse through randomly generated rooms, each with its own bonuses like upgradeable perks and crafting materials. What’s different here is that you can also return to rooms previously visited. Grim Trials is much more of a real-time action roguelike, whereas with something like Hades, you’d get pseudo breaks in the action, knowing what dangers are behind you.
Like any other roguelike, dying is both part of the game mechanics and the story. Once you die, you’ll return to the game’s main hub, called the Academy, where you’ll be able to explore various vendors and points of interest. This is where you’ll gain permanent upgrades and use your crafting materials to make sure your next run is even better than the last. Your goal in Grim Trials is to become the next great Grim Reaper (hence the title), and the Academy’s decor and design fit the death theme perfectly well, as do the perks you’ll get from dungeon crawling. You can pick from passive and active abilities after clearing a room of enemies, sporting the name of a real-world deity of death, as if you’re aspiring to become just like them.
Grim Trials is sure to be a massive game if its inspiration is anything to go by, so we don’t yet have a release window. But rest assured, I’ll keep a close eye on this title throughout its development cycle.
During PAX East in Boston, I had the opportunity to play Grim Trials for about half an hour, but that wasn’t nearly enough time to really sink my teeth in. Not only because that isn’t really enough time to get a full impression, but also because what I played was genuinely fun, and I’m excited to eventually dive back in.
If you’ve had the pleasure of playing either of Supergiant Games’ incredible Hades titles, you’ll be right at home with Grim Trials, a new action-roguelike from Indonesian developer Glory Jam.
This, however, isn’t just a Hades clone. Grim Trials offers the familiar style of top-down chaotic gameplay you’d expect, but it does enough differently to both set it apart and be worthy of your time. During PAX East in Boston, I had the opportunity to play it for about half an hour, but that wasn’t nearly enough time to really sink my teeth in. Not only because that isn’t really enough time to get a full impression, but also because what I played was genuinely fun, and I’m excited to eventually dive back in.
Much of Grim Trials‘ DNA is admittedly ripped straight from Hades, from the focus on various real-world deities, the killer rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack, and, of course, in its combat, but there’s enough here to make it feel like a unique experience. The game’s combat is super fast and fluid, with extremely responsive controls that make your attacks and dodges fairly accurate. You’ll traverse through randomly generated rooms, each with its own bonuses like upgradeable perks and crafting materials. What’s different here is that you can also return to rooms previously visited. Grim Trials is much more of a real-time action roguelike, whereas with something like Hades, you’d get pseudo breaks in the action, knowing what dangers are behind you.
Like any other roguelike, dying is both part of the game mechanics and the story. Once you die, you’ll return to the game’s main hub, called the Academy, where you’ll be able to explore various vendors and points of interest. This is where you’ll gain permanent upgrades and use your crafting materials to make sure your next run is even better than the last. Your goal in Grim Trials is to become the next great Grim Reaper (hence the title), and the Academy’s decor and design fit the death theme perfectly well, as do the perks you’ll get from dungeon crawling. You can pick from passive and active abilities after clearing a room of enemies, sporting the name of a real-world deity of death, as if you’re aspiring to become just like them.
Grim Trials is sure to be a massive game if its inspiration is anything to go by, so we don’t yet have a release window. But rest assured, I’ll keep a close eye on this title throughout its development cycle.
by Myles Obenza
