Grim Dawn

Last updated

Grim Dawn
Grim Dawn logo.png
Developer(s) Crate Entertainment
Publisher(s) Crate Entertainment
Composer(s)
  • Steve Pardo
  • Chris Wilson
Platform(s)
Release
  • Microsoft Windows
  • February 25, 2016
  • Xbox One
  • December 3, 2021
Genre(s) Action role-playing, hack and slash
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Grim Dawn is an action role-playing game (ARPG), developed and published by Crate Entertainment for Microsoft Windows in February 2016 and released for Xbox One in December 2021. Developed using the Titan Quest engine, it is set in a thematically dark fictional world loosely based on the Victorian era. It received generally favorable reviews from critics and had sold 7 million units (including its DLC) by February 2022.

Contents

Plot

Grim Dawn takes place in Cairn, a setting in which humanity has been brought to near extinction by a trans-dimensional war.

The conflict begins when the humans in the setting begin to contact Aetherial entities from another dimension. Using what was learned from these entities, they open a portal to bring one into their own dimension and learn that the Aetherials could possess humans, and that these humans would retain enhanced abilities after the spirit was removed from the host. The people then released more Aetherials into the world, who themselves opened more portals and would intend to use humanity for their own purposes.

This attracted the attention of another race known as the Cthonians, who declared war to destroy humanity before it could be completely dominated. The war caused enormous numbers of casualties to the human population and damaged the fabric of reality, causing additional horrors to manifest.

The remaining human survivors reside in scattered enclaves, observing the war to learn of their enemies' weaknesses and using powers gained from exposure to the warp to prepare to retaliate at the invaders.

Gameplay

Grim Dawn is an action role-playing game that features fast-paced real-time combat and emphasizes collecting loot, such as armor, potions, weapons, and money (in the form of Iron Bits). The game's crafting system is similar to the one used in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos's popular mod Defense of the Ancients. Grim Dawn also builds upon systems from Titan Quest, including improved physics, location-specific damage effects, dynamic weather, a rotatable camera, dismemberment, the addition of factions, and a completely redesigned quest system.

Character classes

There are nine distinct character classes in the game.

Each player character can combine two of these classes and their various skills and modifiers.

Factions

The game features several Non-player character (NPC) factions, with some of them friendly to the player, and others hostile. The player can earn favor with some factions to unlock additional quest lines, vendor discounts and special faction-based items and augments. Some neutral factions can be turned into allies, but aiding one will make the enemy of another. Hostile factions will remember your deeds and deepen their hatred, sending out large packs and elite heroes to hunt the player down. Some initially friendly factions may also become hostile depending on player choices.

Devotion

A system of skills that serves as an extra layer of character development. The devotion system lets the player acquire devotion points by finding and restoring destroyed or corrupted shrines hidden throughout the game world, and spend them to unlock various bonuses and abilities from a giant constellation map.

Crafting

The game's crafting system allows you to combine salvaged components into unique crafted items and then, later, use those basic crafted items with higher-tiered recipes to produce powerful equipment and consumables. Blueprints and Recipes can be collected from slain enemies, chests or quest rewards.

Difficulty

Grim Dawn has three difficulty levels: Normal, Elite and Ultimate. As with Titan Quest and some other games of the ARPG genre, each subsequent difficulty is unlocked by defeating the Final Boss of the base game on the previous difficulty (ex. to unlock Elite Difficulty, you must first complete Normal Difficulty base game content).

Normal also has a "Veteran" mode, for additional challenge, which increases monster damage and stats, as well as granting an Experience boost.

On creation of a new character the player also has the option of selecting Hardcore mode, in which a character's death is permanent and thus becomes no longer playable. Any equipment a Hardcore character has at time of death is lost forever. Hardcore mode characters do not share a stash with Normal mode characters and can only join multiplayer sessions with other Hardcore characters.

Multiplayer

Players can form a party of up to 4 members. The strength and toughness of monsters scale with the number of players, as does the amount of loot. Items and Iron Bits can be traded between players in a party. The host of a multiplayer session can also enable Player vs. Player (PvP) mode, in which players who are not in the same party can attack and kill each other.

Development

Crate Entertainment announced on July 27, 2009, that they had licensed the Titan Quest engine from Iron Lore [1] [2] and announced Grim Dawn's development on January 21, 2010. [1] Initially, few details were revealed, with Crate Entertainment stating that Grim Dawn is set in a thematically dark fictional world loosely based on the Victorian era. [3]

Grim Dawn's development is notable for Crate Entertainment's open appeal to their fans for financial support. In a posting on the game's official website, the developers announced that after a period of increased email activity from fans wishing to donate to Crate to support the project, they had added a pre-order page to the game's official website allowing fans to contribute to the project in an official manner. [4] Fifteen days later in another posting on the game's official website, Crate stated that they had received financial support from the gaming website Gamebanshee and one of the authors of the gaming-related web comic Penny Arcade . [4] Despite this support from their fans and various websites, Crate manager Arthur Bruno stated in an interview with The Escapist that pre-orders made for only a very small percentage of Grim Dawn's total budget. [5] In a later interview with the gaming website Big Download, Bruno again confirmed that donations and pre-orders alone were insufficient to fund the project completely. Additionally, Bruno revealed that Crate intended to provide new gameplay content for Grim Dawn through expansions every six to ten months. [2]

On April 17, 2012, Crate Entertainment opened a project page on Kickstarter, setting a funding goal of $280,000, with the halfway point of this goal being reached in four days. [6] It finished up with $537,515, well exceeding its initial funding goal. [7] Crate released an alpha version of the game (Build 8) through the Steam Early Access program on May 15, 2013. [8]

Release

On February 25, 2016, the game entered full release with v1.0.0.0 (build 31 hotfix 1). The version for Xbox One, featuring all previous DLC and expansions, was released on December 3, 2021. [9]

Downloadable content and expansions

The Crucible

On August 3, 2016, a new game mode called The Crucible was released as downloadable content. [10]

Ashes of Malmouth

On October 11, 2017 Grim Dawn's first expansion, Ashes of Malmouth, was released [11]

The Forgotten Gods

On March 5, 2018, a second expansion was announced, called Forgotten Gods, and was released on March 27, 2019. [12]

Fangs of Asterkarn

On August 29, 2023, Fangs of Asterkarn, Grim Dawn's third expansion was announced. It has been tentatively scheduled for release in 2024. [13]

Reception

Critical reception

Grim Dawn received generally favorable reviews from 29 critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [14]

Leif Johnson of PC Gamer wrote: "If anything, Grim Dawn is both empowered and chained down by its retro stylings, preventing, say, the randomized levels of Diablo III and thus its endless potential for replay. But on the upside, none of its recent competitors deliver that old-style hack-and-slash experience so purely and so satisfyingly, and its hybrid class system makes each new jaunt a little different. More than once it found me playing until dawn, and my appreciation for any game that manages to do that is anything but grim." [19]

Sales

By May 2017, Grim Dawn had sold over 1 million units worldwide and its DLC, Crucible had sold over 200,000. [20]

In April 2019, Crate announced that the Forgotten Gods expansion had sold over 100,000 units, bringing the total number of units sold between the base game and its DLC to over 3 million. [21]

In May 2020, one of the game's designers stated in a forum post that the game and its DLC were approaching a total of 5 million units sold. [22]

In February 2022, Crate announced that the game and its DLC had sold 7 million units. [23]

Related Research Articles

<i>Elite Dangerous</i> 2014 space trading and exploration simulator

Elite Dangerous is an online space flight simulation game developed and published by Frontier Developments. The player commands a spaceship and explores a realistic 1:1 scale, open-world representation of the Milky Way galaxy, with the gameplay being open-ended. The game is the first in the series to attempt massively multiplayer gameplay, with players' actions affecting the narrative story of the game's persistent universe, while also retaining a single-player mode. Elite Dangerous is the fourth game in the Elite video game series. It is the sequel to Frontier: First Encounters, released in 1995.

<i>Titan Quest</i> 2006 action role playing hack and slash video game

Titan Quest is a 2006 action role-playing game developed by Iron Lore Entertainment and published by THQ for Windows, first physically and then in 2007 through Steam. A mobile port was developed by DotEmu and published in 2016, and versions for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch were released in 2018. All these versions were published by THQ Nordic. The story follows a player-created protagonist as they navigate Ancient Greece, Egypt and China on a quest to defeat the Titans after they escape from their ancient prison. The gameplay is similar to the Diablo series, with player navigation being handled with a mouse-driven tile-based interface, and gameplay revolving around role-playing mechanics and real-time combat. Four expansions have been created for the game; Titan Quest: Immortal Throne in 2007, and three others between 2017 and 2021.

<i>Titan Quest: Immortal Throne</i> 2007 video game expansion pack

Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is a 2007 expansion pack to the action role-playing game Titan Quest (2006). Developed by Iron Lore Entertainment, it was originally published by THQ for Windows: it would be Iron Lore's last original project prior to their closure in 2008. Versions were later published by THQ Nordic for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2018; and iOS and Android in 2021.

<i>Defense Grid: The Awakening</i> 2008 video game

Defense Grid: The Awakening is a tower defense video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment for Windows and Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360. The game was one of the titles promoted by Microsoft during their Game Developers Conference keynote speech on February 20, 2008. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on December 8, 2008, and for Xbox 360 on September 2, 2009. The OS X version shipped from Virtual Programming on July 7, 2010.

<i>Fallout: New Vegas</i> 2010 video game

Fallout: New Vegas is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Set in the Mojave Desert 204 years after a devastating nuclear war, the player controls a courier who wakes up after being shot in the head by an unknown assailant. While tracking down their assailant, the courier becomes embroiled in a larger conflict between different governing factions vying for control of the region. Fallout: New Vegas features an open world map that the player can freely explore. Much of the gameplay revolves around combat, and there are a variety of weapons the player can use, such as melee weapons, conventional guns, and energy-based weapons. An optional difficulty level is Hardcore Mode, which adds survival mechanics such as a need to routinely eat, drink, and sleep.

<i>Record of Agarest War Zero</i> 2009 video game

Record of Agarest War Zero, known as Agarest Senki Zero in Japan and Agarest: Generations of War Zero in Europe, is a tactical role-playing game developed by Compile Heart and Red Entertainment. It was published in Japan by Idea Factory on June 25, 2009, for the PlayStation 3. It is the prequel to the 2007 game Record of Agarest War.

<i>Mount & Blade: Warband</i> 2010 standalone video game expansion pack

Mount & Blade: Warband is the standalone expansion pack to the strategy action role-playing video game Mount & Blade. Announced in January 2009, the game was developed by the Turkish company TaleWorlds Entertainment and was published by Paradox Interactive on March 30, 2010. The game is available as a direct download from the TaleWorlds website, through the Steam digital distribution software, as a DRM-free version from GOG.com, or as a DVD with required online activation. The macOS and Linux versions were released on July 10, 2014, through Steam.

Crate Entertainment is an American independent video game developer based in Massachusetts. The company was publicly announced on February 18, 2008 by former members of Iron Lore Entertainment.

<i>Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning</i> 2012 video game

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by Big Huge Games and published by 38 Studios and Electronic Arts for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Reckoning follows the story of the Fateless One, a resurrected person freed from the destiny which binds all of Amalur's people to destruction. Gameplay consists of players exploring the Faelands of Amalur, completing quests and fighting a variety of enemies both in field and dungeon environments. The playstyle is customized through a combination of weapons types, skill trees, and passive enhancements earned through quests and the Destiny character class system.

<i>Dungeon Defenders</i> 2010 video game

Dungeon Defenders is a hybrid multiplayer video game developed by Trendy Entertainment that combines the genres of tower defense and action role-playing game. It is based on a showcase of Unreal Engine 3 named Dungeon Defense. The game takes place in a fantasy setting where players control the young apprentices of wizards and warriors and defend against hordes of monsters. A sequel titled Dungeon Defenders II was released in 2015.

<i>Awesomenauts</i> 2012 video game

Awesomenauts was a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed by Dutch video game development company Ronimo Games. The game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in May 2012, and for Microsoft Windows systems in August 2012. It was later ported to OS X and Linux. Another version of the game, Awesomenauts Assemble!, incorporating all the changes and additions available on Windows, OS X and Linux, was released for the PlayStation 4 in March 2014 and for the Xbox One in September 2016. In May 2017, the PC version of the game transitioned to a free-to-play title, incorporating an in-game currency and reward system to allow players to gain access to new characters and other customization aspects. In September 2019, Ronimo Games announced that development on the game has stopped indefinitely. Despite this, Awesomenauts was still available to play, until the servers went offline on September 15, 2023 due to Ronimo's bankruptcy.

<i>Destiny</i> (video game) 2014 video game

Destiny is an online first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. It was released worldwide on September 9, 2014, for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles. Destiny marked Bungie's first new console franchise since the Halo series, and it was the first game in a ten-year agreement between Bungie and Activision. Set in a "mythological science fiction" world, the game features a multiplayer "shared-world" environment with elements of role-playing games. Activities in Destiny are divided among player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) game types. In addition to normal story missions, PvE features three-player "strikes" and six-player raids. A free roam patrol mode is also available for each destination which feature public events. PvP features objective-based modes, as well as traditional deathmatch game modes.

<i>Injustice: Gods Among Us</i> 2013 video game

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a 2013 fighting video game. It is the first installment in the Injustice franchise based upon the fictional universe of DC Comics. The game was developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360. It was released in April 2013 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and June 2013 in Japan. An expanded version of the game, titled Injustice: Gods Among Us – Ultimate Edition, was released in November 2013 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, and Xbox 360. A free-to-play mobile app based on Injustice was also released for iOS and Android devices, which was then ported to arcade machines by Raw Thrills in the fall of 2017, months after the sequel's release. A prequel comic book series of the same name, written by Tom Taylor, was released beginning in January 2013.

<i>Just Dance 4</i> 2012 video game

Just Dance 4 is a 2012 music rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft as the fourth main installment of the Just Dance series. Announced at E3 2012 by Flo Rida and Aisha Tyler, it was released on the Wii, the Wii U, the PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360. The Wii, PlayStation Move and Kinect versions were released on October 2, 2012 in Europe and Australia and on October 9, 2012 in North America, The Wii U version was released on November 18, 2012 in North America and on November 30, 2012 in Europe and Australia, as a launch title for the console.

<i>Fantasia: Music Evolved</i> 2014 video game

Fantasia: Music Evolved is a 2014 motion-controlled rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One with Kinect. The game is the interactive successor to Walt Disney Animation Studios' 1940 animated film Fantasia and its 1999 sequel Fantasia 2000, both of which it is based upon.

<i>Shantae: Half-Genie Hero</i> 2016 video game

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, stylized as Shantae: ½ Genie Hero, is a platform video game developed and published by WayForward Technologies. It is the fourth game in the Shantae series, following Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014), and the first to be specifically developed for high definition game platforms. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2016, for Nintendo Switch in June 2017, for Amazon Luna in October 2020, for Stadia in February 2021, and for PlayStation 5 in November 2021. Versions for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were initially announced, but cancelled during development.

<i>The Escapists</i> Strategy video game

The Escapists is a strategy game developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and following a Steam Early Access release in 2014, was released in 2015 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It was released on iOS and Android in 2017. A Nintendo Switch version of the game containing all downloadable content was released in 2018. The game was launched on the Epic Games Store on 23 September 2021, with the weekly free game campaign of Epic Games. Players assume the role of an inmate and must escape from prisons of increasing difficulty.

There are four pieces of downloadable content (DLC) that were released for Bungie's 2014 first-person shooter video game Destiny. Each package of downloadable content added new player versus environment (PvE) missions and player versus player (PvP) modes, new locales to visit, and new items for the player to make use of. The first expansion was The Dark Below in December 2014, which was followed by House of Wolves in May 2015. The third, The Taken King, was released in September 2015 and had the largest effect on the game, as it changed much of the core gameplay. Upon the release of the third expansion, retailers issued Destiny: The Taken King Legendary Edition, which included Destiny and all DLC up to and including The Taken King. In December 2015, Destiny shifted to an event-based model, featuring more periodical limited-time events. The fourth and last expansion called Rise of Iron released in September 2016. Upon release of the fourth expansion, retailers issued Destiny: The Collection, which includes Destiny and all DLC up to and including Rise of Iron.

<i>Hollow Knight</i> 2017 video game

Hollow Knight is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by independent developer Team Cherry. The player controls the Knight, an insectoid warrior exploring Hallownest, a fallen kingdom plagued by a supernatural disease. The game is set in diverse subterranean locations, featuring friendly and hostile insectoid characters and numerous bosses. Players have the opportunity to unlock abilities as they explore, along with pieces of lore and flavour text that are spread throughout the kingdom.

<i>Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot</i> 2020 video game

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is an action role-playing game developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, based on the Dragon Ball franchise. It was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows in January 2020, Nintendo Switch in September 2021, Stadia in October 2021, PlayStation 5 in January 2023, and Xbox Series X/S in February 2023. The game follows the main protagonist Goku and the Z-Fighters throughout the events of the Dragon Ball Z anime, including anime-original storylines and moments.

References

  1. 1 2 "Crate Entertainment Website" . Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Arthur Bruno Interview - Big Download". Archived from the original on July 22, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  3. "Crate Entertainment Website - Games Section". Archived from the original on April 29, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Grim Dawn Website" . Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  5. "The Escapist, Crowd Contributed Game Development Article". Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  6. Bruno, Arthur (April 21, 2012). "Kickstarter - Update #2: Grim Dawn is backed 50% in 4 days! New goals on the horizon!". Kickstarter. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  7. "Grim Dawn". Kickstarter. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  8. "Grim Dawn Alpha Release!". Crate Entertainment Forum. May 14, 2013.
  9. "Grim Dawn Definitive Edition coming to Xbox One on December 3". Gematsu. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  10. "Grim Dawn - Crucible Mode DLC on Steam". store.steampowered.com.
  11. Brown, Fraser (October 12, 2017). "Grim Dawn: Ashes of Malmouth is out now". PC Gamer. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  12. "Forgotten Gods is coming March 27th!". Crate Entertainment Forum. March 8, 2019.
  13. "Announcing Fangs of Asterkarn!". Crate Entertainment Forum. August 29, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Grim Dawn for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  15. "Grim Dawn: Definitive Edition for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  16. Todd, Brett (April 7, 2016). "Grim Dawn Review". GameSpot . Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  17. Cobbett, Richard (March 7, 2016). "Review: Grim Dawn". IGN . Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  18. Johnson, Leif (March 12, 2016). "Grim Dawn Review". PCGamer . Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  19. Johnson, Leif (March 12, 2016). "Grim Dawn Review". PCGamer . Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  20. "Grim Dawn Passes 1 Million Copies Sold, Crucible DLC Hits 200,000". Kotaku. May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  21. "Forthcoming Forgotten Gods expac - what we know so far Part II". Crate Entertainment Forum. July 28, 2018.
  22. "Interview with Arthur Bruno on working remotely". Crate Entertainment Forum. May 31, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  23. "Happy 6th Birthday Grim Dawn!". February 25, 2022.