Diablo II left a huge hole to fill in the ARPG field. Not only was it one of the most popular games of its day, it also immersed millions of players in an epic journey of
dozens of hours while overcoming the incremental challenges of the game and experiencing the wonders, misfortunes and betrayals of the online game. It was one of those games that marked an era and generated a stream of games trying to follow in its wake, some more original than others, but all falling
short in the effort. Among the highlights, six years after the release of the Blizzard game, was Titan Quest, a bet by THQ for a small unknown studio called Iron Lore. At that time, the now defunct producer was trying to become a power beyond their usual licensed games,
Titan Quest was well received despite some problems, but it did not revolutionize the genre at that time. Only later, with the passage of time, improvements, an expansion and much word of mouth, began to consider the importance of the game and what he did. Numerous and substantial reductions put it at a low price in the hands of a new audience, which abandoned by
Blizzard (12 years between Diablo 2 and 3), found consolation in a great interpretation of the genre with many own ideas to offer, especially in terms of versatility and personalization of characters. Unfortunately, the studio never had the opportunity to create a planned second part and then die prematurely in 2008 by maneuvers and decisions of the THQ itself.
But a part of the members of the team decided that what they had created needed continuity, at least as far as foundations and philosophy were concerned.
With no resources and a few difficult beginnings, they began to think about what would become this Grim Dawn, an ARPG that would serve as a spiritual continuation of Titan Quest, betting on a different environment, with steampunk tints. This announcement was made in 2010, so six years have passed between the announcement
and the official launch of the game, a long and arduous journey that could only be completed after two crowdfunding processes, a very transparent development, a lot of patience and a very long process of closed beta that has been key at the time of polishing the game until reaching the current state. The result is an ARPG that clearly achieves its objective,
The story takes us to Cairn, a land where a great empire was formerly located that has been reduced to ashes, invaded by different forces that came out of the mortal plane. The title, Grim Dawn – which could be translated as the “Dark Sunset” – is not free, since the state of desolation of humanity that survives in the game is more than evident. Criminals, monsters, possessed, cultists, undead and other horrors roam at ease for what was once a land of law and order.
Our protagonist himself is one of those possessed, one of many humans who has succumbed to the horrors of the Aetherials, caught in a spell and condemned to the gallows. But at the last moment something changes, the possession disappears and our executioner gives us a new opportunity,
As good ARPG, the story is not exactly in the foreground, but Grim Dawn does not leave this element without the necessary attention.
Through the dialogues and, especially, the fragments of text that we find in our trip, we find all the necessary information to understand what is happening and why it is happening. From information at the highest level about the forces we are facing and their motives, even small stories about the horrors lived by ordinary people trapped in a nightmare continues.
His long time of development has allowed us to take care of a great amount of details like this one, which may seem minor but that help immerse us in fantasy and add value to our experience. It is surprising to arrive at a place separated from the normal “way”
