Monsters are restricted to the same, although as with DM move in real-time - there's nothing turn-based here. Clearly the engine could offer completely free movement without a problem, but that would rather defeat the point. The beautifully-lit 3D chambers can be traversed reasonably quickly, with repeated taps, gliding pleasingly. But rather impressively, Grimrock manages to give this a pleasing, smooth feel, without compromising on it at all. If you've gone back to replay any Dungeon Master-inspired game of the late 80s/early 90s, you'll likely have noticed how peculiar this can feel when in first-person, leaping a square at a time. Part of the DM feel is movement, restricted to 90 degree turns, and advancing one tile at a time. But primarily the focus here is on the action and the puzzles, and both are in huge amounts. There are a couple of twists and turns along the way. The story is: get to the bottom, see if you can escape. you're thrown down a hole at the top, and left to die. You're a group of four prisoners, who find 'redemption' at the top of Mount Grimrock. There's a story here, and while it's a loose, flappy skeleton, it begins, middles and ends. Get this balance wrong, and I'd imagine you could have a fairly tough time getting deep enough down the mountain in which you're trapped. The back two won't be able to reach if given a sword or mace, but are ideal for firing off spells or arrows.

The front two are going to take the brunt of the attacks, while being able to dish out melee. The game's played from a first-person perspective, but your squad is stood in a 2 by 2 formation, meaning you're going to want to think about whom you have at the front, and at the back. There are humans, minotaurs, lizardmen and insectoids, each with various stat advantages, and three classes, Rogue, Fighter and Mage. Also, that would be somewhat unhelpful to those who never played FTL's Atari hit.Īt the start you can take a pre-packaged set of four characters to play as, or generate your own in a fairly standard RPG style. While the game is inescapably an overt tribute to the 1987 classic, right down to some intricate details, it's also its own entity, and very interesting in its own ways. The temptation to compare Legend Of Grimrock to Dungeon Master, perhaps just writing a review consisting of two columns of ticks and crosses, is one to be avoided.

Don't worry - we'll remind you next Wednesday that it's released, as we have more coverage planned.

Sometimes that's just what a review is for. I've finished it, and am here to tell you why it's bloody brilliant. Almost Human's Legend Of Grimrock comes out a week today.

Legend of grimrock how to attack