[Songbird]

A desolate mountain, riddled with ancient dungeons...

Four prisoners must survive where countless others have fallen...

Welcome to Mount Grimrock, prisoner. Enjoy your stay.

Legend of Grimrock
Developer: Almost Human
Genre: First-person dungeon crawler RPG
PC Release: April 11th 2012 at GOG.com, Steam and direct at Almost Human
Linux, Mac, iOS, Droid Release: To be confirmed. Developers are looking into these platforms and have interface designs
Price: $14.99

Minimum OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3 CPU: Dual Core 2GHz Intel or 2.8GHz AMD Memory: 2GB Graphics: ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or better (512MB graphics memory or more. Shader Model 3.0 needs to be supported). Minimum supported resolutions 1280×720 and 1024×768. DirectX: 9.0c Disk Space: 1GB Recommended: OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7 CPU: Quad Core 2.66GHz Intel or 3.2GHz AMD Memory: 4GB Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2900 or NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or better (512MB graphics memory or more. Shader Model 3.0 needs to be supported) DirectX: 9.0c Disk Space: 1GB

Combining “an old-school heart with a modern execution” Legend of Grimrock aims to bring the classic dungeon crawler to a new generation of adventurers while staying true to the stalwarts who have enjoyed the genre since the days of Dungeon Master. Forming a party of four prisoners, players must descend and escape from Mount Grimrock while surviving devious traps, solving forgotten puzzles and conquering the less than friendly denizens of the dungeons. As a group of four, the party marches together utilizing protective formations that safeguard vulnerable members of the team. With sturdy warriors in front, the mages and rogues of the player's escape party avoid harm until one of their protectors fall.

That doesn't mean the guys at the back are helpless, however. Rogues use archery and throwing weapons to take down powerful opponents with mages casting spells using a system of runes that allow for interesting combinations...as long as one has been learnt by the player. Combining the fire and physicality runes can create a fireball, for instance.

Noble or commoner, brain or brawn, guilty or falsely accused, only skill will see the prisoners to victory.

Features

• Make your great escape with a heroic quartet of your own design: Fighters, rogues and mages.
• Meet your inevitable demise sooner rather than later: Selectable difficulty settings for rookies and veterans alike.
• Grow from novice to master in your quest for freedom: Build your party with the races, skills and traits that will lead you to victory.
• Pen and pencil are relevant again: Utilize Grimlock's automapping system or go it alone using printable graph paper available with pre-orders.
• Think like a general, fight like a Spartan. For realsies: Real time combat tests your ability to plan ahead, manoeuvre and battle the creatures you will face. Attacks can be dodged. Arrows can be sidestepped. Cover can be taken. Take that, Gears.

Pre-Order/GOG.com Bonuses
Purchasing the game direct or at GOG.com gives you access to:

• The game's title theme.
• The official manual and world map.
• Printable grid paper.
• Wallpapers and concept art.
• A lovely photo of the dev team.

Update: Check your Steam installation for an extras folder containing these above benefits. Thanks Hawk xSx!

Prospective explorers are strongly recommended to see the game in motion. A lot of work has gone into some very smooth enemy animations.

Never played a first-person, real time dungeon crawler like this? Feeling a little intimidated or looking for something to delve into before Grimrock hits? This section's for you.

A word of warning...

Like a lot of its genre, the dungeon floors in Legend of Grimrock are not randomized. Instead, each one is hand designed for puzzles and combat encounters. Going into the dungeons blind is without a doubt the most satisfying way to play (according to top scientists) and is highly recommended. If you are new, give the first floor of the dungeons a good going over a few times to gain confidence.

• Practice moving and timing attacks.
• In open spaces allow enemies to chase you by circling and sidestepping.
• The step by step movement also applies to your enemies.
• Strike foes when they are engaged in moving animations.
• Discretion is the better part of valour.
• Experiment with party structures.
• Feed your prisoners only when they are starving.
• Have your back row prisoners use missile/thrown weapons in every encounter to ensure they gain experience before spells are learnt.
• Have fun!

If you are still having trouble with Level 1 and would like a visual demonstration of how I personally conduct combat, I have recorded a video for YouTube. Enable annotations for some tips and the party structure. There's even a secret you might not have found...

Level 1 - Youtube by Songbird
Amateur dungeon director? Submit your clips to me by posting here or sending a PM and I'll post them here.


Thanks UncleSporky for the spell list!

Dungeon Master – The challenge of the Firestaff.
In 1987 FTL Games released Dungeon Master on the Atari ST, followed closely by a versions on the Commodore Amiga and a variety of other systems. While Dungeon Master was inspired by games of the era such as Wizardry and Ultima, the real time gameplay and unorthodox design choices became popular. For instance, the Elder Scrolls games are heavily influenced by dungeon crawlers such as DM and Ultima Underworld with skills advancing through their use, reaction driven gameplay and large viewports with Arena's rows of buttons evolving into the streamlined UI of Skyrim.



The legend pleases you? You accept the challenge of the dreaded Firestaff? Give these modern recreations of DM a try, take a look at the encyclopedia and try not to die by walking into a wall.

The Dungeon Mater Manual
Dungeon Master – Return to Chaos
Dungeon Master – Dungeon Strikes Back!
Chaos Strikes Back for Windows (and Linux, MacOS X, Pocket PC)

Here's a list of some of the old First Person RPGs. I have finished all except one mentioned below. I did not post about the most famous ones (M&M3-5, Wizardry, EotB etc.) as everybody knows them and has played them :) I hope Grimrock joins these classics! Enjoy! Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds http://www.gog.com/gamecard/ultima_underworld_1_2 http://www.abload.de/img/underworld016fb5l.jpg http://www.abload.de/img/underworld02eqxmb.png http://www.abload.de/img/underworld03dia1u.jpg Best first person dungeon crawler ever. Challenging, deep, mature and totally revolutionary at the time of release with very good music and unprecedenced atmosphere. First game in history where you could fly, swim and move your head 360 degrees around including up and down. This game PRE-dates Wolfenstein 3D yet Wolf3D is hailed as the first free-movement FPS game ever. There was much doubt about UW1 and UW2 around the time of release, people were saying "First person Ultima game? So dumbed down!" After getting critical acclaim and almost perfect scores all the haters were shut. A true classic that no RPG aficianodo should omit. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny http://www.gog.com/gamecard/lands_of_lore_1_2 http://www.abload.de/img/landsoflore2_0171yi1.gif http://www.abload.de/img/landsoflore2_02nuyz9.jpg http://www.abload.de/img/landsoflorebvz3e.png Another classic and his sequel, both very high rated (80-90) games. A "modern" at the time of release version of Eye of the Beholder series. To be frank I liked them more than EoB series, they were more "casual" but still somewhat hardcore. LoL1 sports typical DOS era graphics which are however way nicer than those found in EoB. Puzzles are easier as well. LoL2 is a next-gen title: 3D acceleration, texturing, special effects, full 360 degrees movement. Same vein as for example Might and Magic 6 onwards. Bonus: a 2012 pic of the game from my collection. Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven http://www.gog.com/gamecard/might_an...imited_edition http://www.abload.de/img/mightandmagic6_0183l1i.jpg http://www.abload.de/img/mightandmagic6_02u6zgc.jpg The second best dungeon crawler ever created. Calling it a dungeon crawler is a bit much as the overworld in this game is HUGE. Better to call it... the 1998 version of Skyrim. This game is absolutely AMAZING. It can take up to 100 hours to finish. It is not a DOS game anymore (so no 320x240 8-bit VGA graphics like previous Might and Magic titles) but a full 65k colours Windows title. You can fly in this game! Fly in the overworld! How cool is that? You can also teleport to ANY place you want even in the middle of a dungeon (Lloyd's Beacon spell). Might and Magic 6 overwhelms you just as Baldur's Gate 2 does. There is just so much to do. The whole world is a sandbox - you can go EVERYWHERE you want any time you want. Wanna try tackling those Titans with 3000 damage points attacks while you're party has an average of 260 HP? Go on. They will more than kill you... they will ERADICATE you where not even a Resurrection spell can help! I could go on and on about this game for hours... It has the perfect amount of challenge right until the very last dungeon where things start to get a little bit on the easy side cause you can shoot laser weapons then. Don't be confused: sci-fi ending is a staple of Might and Magic series. One last thing: dungeons in Mandate of Heaven are second to none. If I were to recommend ONE game from this list, ONE game for all you old-school RPG maniacs this would be Mandate of Heaven. For me personally this is the best RPG ever created. Better than Fallouts, Baldur's Gates, previous M&M entries, even better than Ultima 7. Bonus: a 2012 pic of the game from my collection. Arx Fatalis http://www.gog.com/gamecard/arx_fatalis http://www.abload.de/img/arxfatalis01keakv.jpg http://www.abload.de/img/arxfatalis02yvlky.jpg Arx Fatalis is the most faitful sequel to Ultima Underworld 1&2 ever created. It is Ultima Underworld 3 much like Dead Space is System Shock 3. A true spiritual successor. Game has new-age graphics (bumpmapping, selfshadowing etc.) but still retains the absolutely amazing atmosphere of the old Ultima Underworld games. You are alone in strange caverns. There are different races living down there, they inhabit different carved in stone castles, villages, dungeons. The magic system is very interesting: you have to actually draw runes to cast spells. Imagine drawing runes in pre-Wii era with your mouse... kinda awkward. The difficulty spike near the end of the game is ENORMOUS. There is one species of heavily armored enemies that simply cannot be defeated without using quick-save/ quick-load cheating. And you want to defeat them cause they sport the very best armor in the whole game. Last boss design looks ridiculous and breaks the otherwise perfect whole game. If you loved UW1 and UW2 you will love Arx Fatalis. I think there is even an Xbox version!

More recommendations

Printable squared paper!

• Official website
• Official game faq (outdated)
• Official store faq
• Rock Paper Shotgun: 11 Things I'm Looking Forward to in Legend of Grimrock
• Gamebanshee: Almost Human Games Interview
• Kotaku: Legend of Grimrock is Everything I Wanted in a Modern-Day Dungeon Crawler
• TotalBiscuit: WTF Is... Legend of Grimrock? (must watch if you don't mind spoilers!)

ElderGeek video review (positive)

Gamebanshee review (positive)

In short, Legend of Grimrock represents a return to form for a genre that has been ignored for far too long, and, frankly, is simply a good RPG that most dungeon-crawling fans absolutely won't want to miss out on. Now that they've made a game that can stand with the classics, I'm eager to see where Almost Human will go next.

NeoGAF's Ohmwrecker (positive)

I just beat the game, Steam says I played for 16 hours. I know there was some stuff I missed, although I was pretty anal about exploring every nook and cranny of every level. Reviews are embargoed at the moment, so I can't say too much. I could hardly stop playing for two days and nights straight though, if that means anything to you. :)

Rock Paper Shotgun: Wot I think (positive)

Does it directly compare to Dungeon Master, living up to those memories? Do you know, I’ve no idea. I played it when I was 10. But independently of its obvious spiritual father, it stands alone as a really great game that gripped me from top to bottom.

GamingTrend review (positive)

If you are a fan of classic Dungeon Crawlers then there isn’t a whole lot to complain about with Legend of Grimrock. This is a tribute to games like Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder and Ultima Underworld. The free moving battles and challenging monsters offer a level of difficulty that isn’t seen in a lot of today’s games, but at the same time the game never feels cheap. Careful strategy, clever use of your environment, and proper preparation will win most battles and give you a sense of accomplishment.

Metacritic
Reviews thread

Thanks very much to Joseph Merrick and StoppedInTracks for compiling such a good list of relevant games in the previous thread.

Thanks also go out to A Twisty Fluken for pointing me in the direction of Dungeon Strikes Back! Cicero is thanked for Chaos Strikes Back and a link to the original manuals.

Image resolutions and indenting style shamelessly cribbed from alr1ghtstart.

Thanks a bunch to Orcastar for the subtitle.

Lastly, thanks to you for reading my first |OT|!

This post will evolve over time. If a question is asked frequently I will add a FAQ. When members contribute videos and screenshots of the game I'll also add them here.

[bigdaddygamebot]

Cannot wait for this game.

Also...+1 for your avatar OP.

I loved that story and the art in it.

[rollingstart]

I just preordered it from the main site today. The recent videos were awesome.

[Aeana]

I have it preordered. I am ready.

[Larsen B]

Despite owning a C64 since the days of text-based adventures, my experience with dungeon crawlers starts and ends with the Etrian Odyssey series (plus a little bit of Persona 1) so I'm really looking forward to this.

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Leave the Dungeoneer's Guide out, everything else looks good. Will be playing this when it comes out.

[Calavera520]

bought, looks great.

[Moobabe]

All kinds of ready.

[Sinatar]

I'm so pumped for this, it looks incredible and I *freaking love* first person dungeon crawls like this.

[verbatimo]

Extraordinarily tough cake? I bet it is. :P

[Songbird]

Leave the Dungeoneer's Guide out, everything else looks good. Will be playing this when it comes out.

I might just lock it in a cell until the game is released. I know a member has been playing the game and I wanted to add some tips for those who are new to the genre. Will it be freed? Who knows?

[Gloam]

Sharpening my pencil and laying out the graph paper as we speak.

[Orcastar]

Grimrock has some big shoes to fill; let's hope it lives up to its illustrious forebears.

Extraordinarily tough cake? I bet it is. :P

This is why Google Translate will never replace human translators.

[Qwomo]

Been tentatively curious about this for a long time.

[subversus]

I sort of want to buy this but I'm already going through Baldur's Gate for the first time + ME3 horde mode. Looks tasty but it will drown itself in my backlog. Will wait for summer.

[LiquidMetal14]

Can I pre order on Steam?

[DMPrince]

preordered awhile back. i am so ready.

[rollingstart]

Can I pre order on Steam?

If you buy it on the main site it's $12, you get a steam key immediately, and a standalone installer once it's released. It seems to go through the Humble Bundle/Store system.

I think you can just get it through Steam if you'd like when it's released, but it doesn't seem like you can preorder it yet.

[Songbird]

Can I pre order on Steam?

If you do so at Almost Human you get a Steam key immediately, in addition to the standalone version.

[SatelliteOfLove]

MMmmmmm...dungeon crawler.

[Woorloog]

Why write the title in Finnish?

EDIT reading the description, the game actually looks interesting. Too bad my laptop cannot run it. And my backlog keeps growing slowly but surely...

[Sinatar]

Can I pre order on Steam?

If you preorder directly from the developer you get a steam key that you can add right away.

EDIT: Beaten like a rented mule.

[Zzoram]

I want this on iPad.

I've been playing Undercroft on iPad and it's basically this but with 16-bit graphics.

[Ketch]

Fuck it, pre-ordering now. The 11th can't come soon enough.

[tomedo]

Already pre-ordered, can't wait to get playing. Media blackout from now on.

[Clydefrog]

I am gonna have to preorder this.

[Minsc]

It's waiting in my Steam list, looking forward to playing. The comments from RPS about higher difficulty (dying in a few hits), party formation, the need to use your party's skills together to survive, the scarcity of food to keep you on your toes, and the complexity of puzzles all sound great.

I sort of want to buy this but I'm already going through Baldur's Gate for the first time + ME3 horde mode. Looks tasty but it will drown in my backlog. Will wait for summer.

No excuses, it's a ~15 hour game! You can clear it in under a day. :p

[Songbird]

Why write the title in Finnish? EDIT reading the description, the game actually looks interesting. Too bad my laptop cannot run it. And my backlog keeps growing slowly but surely...

Almost Human are in Finland with team members coming from Remedy and Futuremark (the Future Crew/Maturefurk days)

[DSmalls84]

So what are the controls like in this game? Is it standard first person WASD style controls? I think this game looks pretty cool, but I have never played any of the older games it references. What is the gameplay,combat, etc like?

[HoosTrax]

I was teetering on the fence as far as pre-ordering the game until I saw the RPS review today. Went to the developer's site and bought it as soon as I finished reading. The grayed out game in my Steam library is taunting me now :(. No pre-load apparently, so hopefully the game isn't too large.

Last old-school genre RPG I played was Wizardry 8 I think.

[Tess3ract]

I was teetering on the fence as far as pre-ordering the game until I saw the RPS review today. Went to the developer's site and bought it as soon as I finished reading. The grayed out game in my Steam library is taunting me now :(. No pre-load apparently, so hopefully the game isn't too large.

It's one gigabyte

[subversus]

No excuses, it's a ~15 hour game! You can clear it in under a day. :p

yeah, I totally believe you

[Songbird]

Plenty of FAQ questions already, nice.

So what are the controls like in this game? Is it standard first person WASD style controls? I think this game looks pretty cool, but I have never played any of the older games it references. What is the gameplay,combat, etc like?

The party moves through the tiles using WASD with Q and E to turn left and right on the spot. In the screenshots you'll see portraits with symbols for hands/tools/weapons. Players click on those to use them at times of combat. Enemies are also bound to the grid so you can move and dodge as you wish.

[mrgone]

It's going to be a long 8 days :) Gonna have to smother myself in Dungeon Hack or something until then.

[Hunter-Zero]

Looks ridiculously good

[Woorloog]

Almost Human are in Finland with team members coming from Remedy and Futuremark (the Future Crew/Maturefurk days)

*grunts*

I see. I don't know anything about my country anymore then. I have no idea about our politics, i have no idea who develops games here, and there are various other things i don't know about, likely.

[SparkTR]

Nice OT, glad to see it's getting a great reception. Time to bust out my grid paper, I'm going in oldschool.

[matmanx1]

This sounds amazing. Glad I checked this thread out!

[NemesisPrime]

Oh! They offer Amazon ordering?

BOUGHT!

[Songbird]

*grunts* I see. I don't know anything about my country anymore then.

I'm sure that's not the case. The team have been very low profile during development with only specialist blogs covering the game. Kotaku covering it should do it wonders.

[cicero]

You might be interested in adding these to your OP!

Chaos Strikes Back for Windows.
http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/851

Dungeon Master manual.
http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/412

Download and print out so you can make your own maps in Dungeon Master. Anyone playing will need it.
http://www.papersnake.com/squared_paper/

[Captain Fish]

Great OT.

I've been psyched about this since I saw a short video of the action last year. Pre-ordered direct, can't wait.

[Zarovitch]

Great OT.

Already preorder and i give one to a friend.
We have pass so may time with Eye of the Beholder and Wizardry, we share the same memories about this kind of game.

[mikespit1200]

If I pre-order from the dev's site do I get a steam key immediately?

[The Technomancer]

At that price? Yeah, I'm in

[SparkTR]

If I pre-order from the dev's site do I get a steam key immediately?

Yes, it activates as well.

[cicero]

Great OT. Already preorder and i give one to a friend. We have pass so may time with Eye of the Beholder and Wizardry, we share the same memories about this kind of game.

I really am hoping that GOG.com gets these eventually.

[Songbird]

You might be interested in adding these to your OP! Chaos Strikes Back for Windows. http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/851 Dungeon Master manual. http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/412 Download and print out so you can make your own maps in Dungeon Master. Anyone playing will need it. http://www.papersnake.com/squared_paper/

It's in! Thanks.

If I pre-order from the dev's site do I get a steam key immediately?

Yes indeed, the storefront is made by Humble Bundle so the key is presented the same way as it would be through a bundle or another game using the service.

[Hunter-Zero]

Fuck me, preordered already.

[DSmalls84]

Plenty of FAQ questions already, nice. The party moves through the tiles using WASD with Q and E to turn left and right on the spot. In the screenshots you'll see portraits with symbols for hands/tools/weapons. Players click on those to use them at times of combat. Enemies are also bound to the grid so you can move and dodge as you wish.

Thanks for the info. Sorry I was skimming the OP and missed the FAQ section .