We've had the opportunity to test out an early build for Grim Trials and share our thoughts on the roguelike dungeon crawler game in this preview. If you're wondering how it plays, how it compares, and how much I like it (spoiler: quite a bit), keep reading.
As a reminder, this is an early build version of the game, which means that not all features are implemented, and neither is the entire story accessible.
The premise of the story is set at the Academy where prospecting candidates can train to become one of Death's Reapers by completing quests and defeating various creatures and sinful souls at the trial grounds. Grim Reapers are one of my favorite concepts (from Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, across Bleach, and to The Book Thief), so of course the game gets a big plus from me storywise. From what we could glimpse in the preview, without actually spoiling anything, it has teased me enough to want to know more about Avelin's life before death, as well as what the future holds for her.
There were only a few characters you could interact with to learn more about this entire world as well as Avelin, so I'm hoping for lots more once the full game releases, along with a more fleshed out story. Of course, I want even more of Namélés especially, the cute four-eyed dog you can pet at the Academy. If one quest isn't to get some treats on a run for him, I will be severely disappointed.
When it comes to the actual battle, as is typical to my playstyle, I mostly stuck with melee weapons and special attacks rather than ranged. I really suck at ranged in roguelikes so I can't really give a proper overview of the these in Grim Trials, but they did their job once every 15 Hexagons that I used them, and that's about it.
However, both the Scythe and the Axe melee weapons were fun to learn and yield, since they behaved differently, with different speeds, targeting and area of damage. The Scythe was more of a Grim Reaper aesthetic that I preferred, but the knockback of the Axe was tempting me at all times.
The enemies in Grim Trials had varied mechanics, that you again had to learn to deal with, so it did entertain me for quite a few runs, until I was done with the big boss of the game (so far) and cleared the Trial Grounds multiple times. The First Sinful Soul Acedia wasn't too challenging to deal with, especially with specific Skills and Blessings unlocked, better equipment and lots of training on the little pests of early hexagons. Actually, the most challenging to deal with were the little pests, especially Crawlers and Ribbit Wreckers. Especially if I had one of the Blessings which destroyed enemy projectiles, and then went on a run without them. I was sure to lose at least half of my health to the tiny creatures.
Crafting allows you to upgrade your gear, weapons and clothes alike to boost specific stats. There aren't too many crafting recipes available at the moment, but I did love the skill checks you had to hit when crafting which would decide whether your weapon was Mastercrafted (with better stats), or Common. Those 700 hours in Dead by Daylight really came in handy.
However, the fact that Avelin's outfit changes in the customization screen but not in the game annoyed me a bit. I wanted to see my fresh new drip that I just put in so much effort to craft, so hopefully this is another one of those full game features.
Lastly, I mentioned Blessings above, but these are your standard RNG boosts which you can choose between each run (though this time they come from the Death gods, which we better meet, or I'll be very upset). I had a few favorites that fit my playstyle and overall improved the gameplay, so whenever they appeared I grabbed them right away. There also doesn't seem to be a limit of how many you can set up, which is great, just don't spread yourself too thin. Sometimes it's better to level up an already picked Blessing, rather than going for a new one.
I'm a big fan of roguelikes, and I have to say I enjoyed the gameplay, story, and artstyle of the game, as much as I got to experience. However, there is certainly lots more to do and to add to make the game feel full. More mechanics, or perhaps different mini games when crafting Potions, Clothes, and Weapons, more enemies, and of course more story. I'll definitely be waiting patiently for more content to be added to Grim Trials so I can come back and reap some more Souls.
