Legend of Grimrock

[Panda Tar]

Has anyone played this game? I was watching the LoG 2 video, given it was released on October 18th, or something. As I enjoyed my experience with MM X, I was wondering if this one RPG was good.

[Pol]

I'm joining the question. Hearing a lot about this game recently and the previous title was a success. They say.

[mr.hackcrag]

I was tempted to try it based on the positive reviews, but I kept getting the feeling that the so called "puzzles" were more like extremely ill-defined problems that obstruct the pace of the game. Walking around checking every wall for a hard to see switch is not a puzzle. Placing random objects on an altar for no apparent reason to see if something happens is not a puzzle. It's so irritating when I hear people referring to these arcane acts as puzzles - they're not and neither are they fun.

These kinds of games need to take notes on puzzle making from rpgs like Golden Sun or Lufia 2.

[Panda Tar]

Hm, but that's only your assumption that those are the puzzles that are in the game, not that it is basically true.

Metacritics gave it 82. It might be worth the shot. It's not expensive either, like the Evil Within, my God...

[mr.hackcrag]

Well, it was based on my observation of watching gameplay videos on youtube and reading reviews. The overall vibe I got was that for this genre of game, Legend of Grimrock 2 is one of the best around - however, the "puzzles" are a deal breaker for me. Puzzle solving games are one of my favorite genres, but this is not what I envisioned as puzzle solving.

[Panda Tar]

I see.

Hm, I'll buy the first one this weekend to check it out and let you know about these puzzles, if there are a broader range of them regarding different mechanics. If the balance falls to the dull work of looking for switches, I might get bored fast.

[mr.hackcrag]

I would advise you to get the second one since it appears to be talked about as an improvement over the first.

Other random stuff I learned is that the first one takes place entirely in a dungeon, while the second one has dungeons and an "overworld" of forests, beaches, etc.

Also, be careful where and what items you throw away. A review of the second game said if you don't have a certain item (which the importance of said item is never emphasized), it's impossible to complete the game.

It's this kind of esoteric stuff that really turns me off these kinds of games. It's one thing to be discrete about revealing secret "puzzle" elements and a completely different thing to never ever mention how one random, innocent item you pick up midway is vital to successfully completing the game.


REVIEWS:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... k-2-review
http://metro.co.uk/2014/10/21/legend-of ... d-4914178/
http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/The_Legen ... index.html
http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/games/ ... 2485.shtml
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/17/ ... -ii-review

[Panda Tar]

It's this kind of esoteric stuff that really turns me off these kinds of games. It's one thing to be discrete about revealing secret "puzzle" elements and a completely different thing to never ever mention how one random, innocent item you pick up midway is vital to successfully completing the game.

That's bad design. At least make them Keyitem you cannot discard, or treat it like Resident Evil games. Once you would not need a key anymore, you could discard it (and it was explained so). Until being adviced, you knew you would still need that key.

Perhaps there's some explanation, deep down somewhere.