GRIME II Review
Clover Bite’s sequel to GRIME is a surreal metroidvania with satisfying soulslike combat and enemy-copying abilities.
GRIME II. Credit: Clover Bite / Kwalee
Clover Bite and Kwalee’s soulslike metroidvania GRIME II is at its best when you’re slashing, bludgeoning, or otherwise maiming enemies. Its combat feels heavy, responsive, and crunchy in a way many games fail to achieve. Nothing else gave me much reason to stay invested.
You play as a Formless art mimic sent into a surreal world to consume creatures and steal their shapes. The dialogue is taxing to read, and the story is dense with lore. There’s clear thought put into its themes of creation, consumption, and art. I just didn’t care. If I don't find the character, his journey, or anything he has to say interesting or emotionally compelling, I'm not going to bother.
Killing things genuinely feels great. Light and heavy attacks connect with crunchy impact, while soulslike staples like dodges and fairly forgiving parries give encounters a satisfying rhythm. Grasp gives you another opening to watch for, sending tendrils outward at vulnerable enemies to pull them, stun them, or cancel their attacks. Absorbed creatures become Molds that function much like magic, letting you summon them to perform one of their attacks. Boss fights are demanding in a satisfying way, brutal but surmountable once you learn their tells and perfect your timing.
GRIME II. Credit: Clover Bite / Kwalee
Movement never matches the responsiveness of combat. Platforming feels sluggish and occasionally clumsy, even after unlocking more traversal abilities. Because so much of GRIME II is about exploring its enormous, maze-like world, that sluggishness becomes exhausting. Landmarks blend together within each region, detours rarely feel worth the trouble, and searching for the correct path becomes boring. Frankly, I also find the art kind of ugly. For a game so preoccupied with art, it looks drab. Clover Bite's 2021 original looks better.
GRIME II delivers excellent combat inside a world I had little desire to explore or understand. If movement and exploration were better, I'd be more willing to forgive the game’s story. I needed at least one other thing to carry the experience for me beyond combat, and nothing did.
GRIME II
GRIME II delivers exceptional soulslike combat, but the rest of the adventure feels like a chore.
