Grime
Developer(s)Clover Bite
Publisher(s)Akupara Games
Director(s)Yarden Weissbrot
Producer(s)Yarden Weissbrot
Designer(s)
  • Yarden Weissbrot
  • Yonatan Tepperberg
Programmer(s)Theodore Kovalev
Artist(s)
  • Nick Pochtariov
  • Adva Shamo
  • Yarden Weissbrot
Writer(s)Yarden Weissbrot
Composer(s)
  • Alex Roe
  • Sean Secca
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
Release
August 2, 2021
  • Windows, Google Stadia
  • August 2, 2021
  • PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
  • December 15, 2022
  • Nintendo Switch
  • January 23, 2024
Genre(s)Metroidvania, Soulslike, platform-adventure
Mode(s)Single player

Grime[lower-alpha 1] is a 2021 metroidvania[1][2][3] video game developed by Israeli game studio Clover Bite and published by Akupara Games. The game was released on August 2, 2021 for Windows and Google Stadia, followed by versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in December 2022, and a Nintendo Switch version in January 2024.[4] It received generally positive reviews from critics.

A sequel, Grime II, was announced on August 25th, 2023 and is scheduled for release in 2024.[5]

Plot

The player is set to explore a world set on perfect proportions and anatomy.[6] During progression the player learns the history behind the world they are exploring and the reason why they are addressed by its inhabitants as "the chiseled one."[7] The player is formed by Breath, which drains in the process of creating a form, causing many of the shapes (Heads, hands etc...) scattered in the world to be incomplete. The game's setting is grim, dark, and creepy, and filled with grotesque anatomical features, rocks, and brutality.

Gameplay

Sources:[1][3][8]

Grime has been described as a Soulsvania,[2] or a Soulslike-influenced Metroidvania. In the game, the player controls "The Vessel," which is an incredibly strong being born of "levolam," the world's concept of earth, and who has what appears to be a black hole for a head. It is a sidescrolling platformer designed to be difficult through "tough combat" and "rigorous platforming." Unlike most other soulslike games, in Grime, the player does not lose progress upon death; the game however, does the retain the bonfire concept, except the bonfire itself is replaced with an obelisk made out of levolam called a "surrogate." At each surrogate, The Vessel is able to increase its stats and learn new abilities using "mass," the game's currency and experience point system.

The Vessel landing a hit on one of the game's bosses for 66 damage - The Vessel's four essential metrics are located in the top left of the image and its mass on the bottom right.
The Vessel absorbing an enemy during a parry.

Grime's world is filled with "tunnels, chambers, and nooks and crannies," in which some NPCs use mysterious riddles and metaphors to tell the game's cryptic story, while others "mutter away" incoherehently. Due to the seeming lack of a coherent story at first, the game encourages and rewards exploration and experimentation. After defeating bosses, The Vessel learns new "Metroid-style" abilities that are required to progress further. As is typical in a Metroidvania game, platforming and backtracking are core elements of the game.

The Vessel has a healthbar, a stamina bar known as "Force," a breath bar, and an "Ardor" meter, all four of which are essential metrics in the game. As The Vessel is attacked, the healthbar depletes and, as is typical for a Soulslike, enemy attacks are strong and deal powerful attacks that quickly depletes it. Once it reaches 0, The Vessel is destroyed and respawns at the latest accessed surrogate. The stamina bar, which determines how many actions The Vessel can perform, depletes rapidly, leaving The Vessel vulnerable. Enemy attacks, however, are predictable, and can be easily avoided by jumping, dashing, pulling an enemy, or parrying if correctly timed.

Grime's unique feature is the "absorb" mechanic, the game's parry action, during which The Vessel sucks in an enemy or an enemy's attack using its black-hole-esque head, which provides for offensive and defensive evasion. Grime emphasizes parrying, and is a critical component of the gameplay, greatly rewarding the player for it when done correctly. Absorbing an enemy's attack will reflect the attack back at the enemy (or other nearby enemies), while absorbing a weak enemy will destroy it and absorbing a large enemy will greatly damage it. Absorbing either an enemy or their attack may partially refill The Vessel's health, but absorbing an enemy will always refill a portion The Vessel's breath meter. The Vessel may restore a large portion of its health using breath when the breath meter is filled, and is the main way of health regeneration in the game, and may also be used to unlock performance boosting traits. Enemies, however, may also be killed using conventional weapons such as swords, axes, and clubs, which range from hitting light and fast (using less stamina) to hitting hard and slow (using more stamina). Some enemies need to be absorbed before they may be attacked with conventional weapons. An incorrectly timed parry, however, may leave The Vessel vulnerable.

Ardor is an index that displays how much mass The Vessel will gain when defeating enemies. When attacked the number decreases, and when destroying enemies the number increases. Absorbing enemies increases ardor by a larger amount than using traditional weapons.

Development

Clover Bite is the internal studio of Tiltan School of Design, based in Haifa, Israel. The studio collaborated to develop the game, with Akupara Games publishing the title.[9]

The director Yarden Weissbrot, stated he wanted to create "something Israeli gamers could be proud of".[10]

Reception

The game received an aggregate score of 81/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

David Wildgoose of IGN rated the game 9/10 points, calling it "an accomplished Souls-like action RPG".[14] James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer rated it 4/5 points, saying it was a "classic and fantastically designed Metroidvania".[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wildgoose, David (9 August 2021). "Grime Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "GRIME Critic Reviews". OpenCritic.
  3. 1 2 "Grime review -- A surreal Souls-like Metroidvania starring a singularity". PC Invasion. 5 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Romano, Sal (October 27, 2022). "GRIME coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch alongside free DLC 'Colors of Rot'". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Grime II". IGN.
  6. ↑ "Grime review: Chiseled & polished metroidvania". Shacknews. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  7. ↑ Hetfeld, Malindy (2021-08-04). "Grime, a Metroidvania that lets you absorb enemies, is out now". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  8. ↑ "Jioplaygame's review of Grime". jplaygame.com. 25 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Akupara Games to Publish Clover Bite's GRIME". www.gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Israeli-made video game GRIME released on Steam, Epic Games, GOG". The Jerusalem Post. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  11. 1 2 "GRIME for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  12. ↑ Cunningham, James (9 August 2021). "Review: Grime". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  13. ↑ Denzer, TJ (2 August 2021). "Grime review: Chiseled & polished metroidvania". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  14. ↑ Wildgoose, David (2021-08-09). "Grime Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  15. ↑ Cunningham, James (2021-08-09). "Review: Grime". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  1. ↑ (stylized as GRIME)
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