Grimind Demo

There are many ways one can make a platformer unique nowadays, but turning it into a horror game is a tad too much and very ambitious, to say the least. However, with enough imagination and sturdy level design, it shouldn’t be impossible to achieve, as long as the gamers are willing to take a leap of faith and give the idea a chance.

Grimind is basically a physics-driven platformer with some horror elements thrown into the mix to make the entire experience feel unique, yet it may fail to do so in most cases. Even so, it’s a valiant effort and it deserves a try, even if you may very well stop playing it after a few levels. At a minimum, the physics engine is fun to see in action and it also makes exploration a bit more attractive at the same time.

Story-wise, everything starts out with the main character having no memory about who, what, or where he is, which is nothing if not a cliche. Knowing basically nothing about anything, you must venture and explore a series of unwelcoming caves, all of which are filled with deadly traps and some kind of vicious creatures that attack you on sight. Puzzles are also part of the equation, but nothing to require a Mensa club certificate.

To accentuate the desolation theme, most of the environments are very dark and poorly lit, usually in weird nuances, such as red or blue. However, this also makes it very difficult for you to see what’s going on most of the time, which is mighty annoying, considering the fact that you have to pay attention to traps and various other dangers. In fact, some of these traps are practically scripted to trick you the first time around, because you have no way of seeing them beforehand.

Frustration sets in after a while, because the game doesn’t play nice and it cheats on you with every chance it gets. It’s nice to be presented with a challenge, but the challenge loses its charm when it’s unbeatable unless the game shows you how to avoid the danger. Hence, the gameplay gets boring and joyless in a hurry, which means you probably won’t see the end of the story.

All things considered, Grimind had a few good ideas in the beginning, but it failed to make proper use of them. Design mistakes and poor execution seriously hurt the overall appeal of the game, so it’s only enjoyable for short periods of time and if you’ve got nothing better to do.