Review for Grimvalor. Game for iOS and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 10/10/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 07/04/2020
Grimvalor is a tasty dish prepared by Direlight Games and composed of a base platform in a gothic style with elements RPG, a hint of metroidvania, a hint of hack 'n' slash and a sprinkling of souls-like, all topped off with good graphics and lots of action. Your mouth is watering from the very first minutes of play in tackling this title released about a couple of years ago on iOS and Android and landed today in a splendid port on Nintendo Switch.
So let's go and taste and analyze this delicacy together.
The story behind Grimvalor is quite simple and if we want - although in the end it is only hinted at - also treated in the artwork and engaging in its simplicity. Our hero (or our heroine depending on the initial choice) is in charge of finding the king of Vallaris and, in the course of this search, she will find herself facing enemies and monsters, step by step in order to unravel the intrigue of a history too sip and poor in information.
The weakness which can be seen in the plot, given by not going too far into the explanations to leave room for the fighting, is presumably the daughter of a development born for mobile devices, but on balance it is a marginal problem that does not heavily affect the final result of Grimvalor.
In a few minutes from starting Grimvalor you find yourself thrown into action: sword in hand we will face a short tutorial that will explain us how to fight and move. Even the functions dedicated to this aspect are ultimately reduced to the bone: a button for the fast attack and one for the powerful one, a button for the dash and one for the jump, single or double. The reactivity of the character, however, combined with these simple commands, returns feedback to the player extremely fast and pleasant.
Thanks to the dash we will be able to overcome the enemies and take us behind them and, if we perform the movement in a timely manner, we will get a perfect dodge that will protect us from damage. Moreover, all the controls are chained, allowing the protagonist to jump twice, chain a dash and attack: this offers a great variety in the fights, and makes the action frenetic and engaging.
To increase the variety of attacks we find that hint of RPG we were talking about before and which finds its concreteness in an ever-expanding set of weapons that can be assigned to both the light and heavy attack command. Armor and jewelry provide defense and skill implementations such as particular attacks or resistance to adverse conditions. In our opinion, the metroidvania component is only sketchy, too little compared to what we would have expected.
To identify Grimvalor with this genre, a much more accentuated backtracking and a skill skill component should have been present, able to access initially unreachable places, freeing up new areas and hidden scenarios, a feature present but also just mentioned here. However, the feature that sees the appearance of a stage that is always the same and that exists simultaneously in various points of the game is interesting: this peculiarity allows the player to go back on schemes already faced in search of hidden ravines where to find artifacts and bargaining chips for forge and shop.
Unfortunately, another sore point is given by the game menu, which does not provide a detailed map of the stages that in some cases would have been really useful. The inventory part could also have been written better, as well as the use of skill points that are obtained by leveling up. By spending points in the skill tree we will only get more speed, strength, vitality and slots to equip artifacts: in our opinion, a better understanding of this feature would have given more depth to Grimvalor. As for the level of difficulty and the longevity of the title, we can say that Grimvalor deserves a good pass. Dealing with enemies in jeopardy can be deadly especially when it comes to bosses, but several save points scattered along the way facilitate the task.
Furthermore, to finish the game in its entirety it takes about fifteen hours, which for the price at which Grimvalor is offered seem an excellent compromise. Unfortunately, the structure of Grimvalor does not encourage you to face the game once it is finished even if, to be honest, the development team has provided a Game + mode with new and more aggressive enemies. Speaking of enemies, we found it pleasant the gem of being able to decide in the settings whether to replace spiders with other enemies in a feature that takes into account the fears of arachnophobics.
Where, however, the game shines and in its graphics: the scenarios are well made and varied, even if they come from a graphics engine born for mobile. The artwork and enemies are inspired, with different attack patterns and animations are fluid even in the most excited situations, the result of a well-made porting. Nintendo Switch's implementation of physical controls was also well crafted with immediate feedback and commendable accuracy.
Everything works great and is accompanied by a pleasant and never invasive soundtrack, which does not shine for originality but which does not even clash with the context of the Finnish work of the Direlight Games boys. The gothic atmosphere with elements reminiscent of the Castlevania settings always makes it good, probably triggering the emotions related to the genre that has made school and that remains in the hearts of lovers of the Belmont family.
Grimvalor is a title originally released on iOS and Android and that for this reason inherits some small gaps in the port for Nintendo Switch. These compromises, however, fail to undermine a gaming experience than to see a combination of different styles that manages to involve the player and thrill him throughout the course of the adventure. Lovers of the genre will be pleasantly intrigued by the notes reminiscent of Castlevania and fans of fast-paced action will find bread for their teeth in facing hordes of fierce monsters. The low price makes it a must have to try absolutely.
► Grimvalor is a sliding platform-fighting game developed and published by Direlight Games for iOS and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 10/10/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 07/04/2020
