Grimoire: Manastorm

"Grimoire Groves has an active ad campaign that claims some of its early players are calling it a mix of Hades and Animal Crossing. It is neither of those things. The NPCs aren’t dynamic, they aren’t your neighbors, and they will become the source of your headaches. The combat isn’t Hades, because it quickly becomes onerous and grindy, and I felt zero joy when I beat the first boss. The combat isn’t smooth, either; aiming your spells is inexact, and only the lack of enemy damage keeps that from being a gamekiller itself. This is a game I desperately looked forward to, and I work hard to be gentle in my reviews, because I can admire the effort. I wanted to be gentle this time, but my partner put his hand on my arm and pointed out that I literally screamed at my Steam Deck in frustration. Grimoire Groves is polished and pretty, put together by people who clearly know what they’re doing, and yet somehow forgot to make the game loop fun to repeat. I cannot recommend it. It made me angry and unhappy to continue, and nothing was satisfying about the loop or its characters. I hope it will improve, but it’s going to take a lot to bring me around for another try."

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