Grime: Colors of Rot is a Metroidvania and Dark Souls blend with a slight case of the munchies. While you won’t turn into the creatures that you absorb, in Kirby fashion, you do get to use weapons made of living creatures, with some impressive results. A true challenge with some incredible boss fights to keep you on the edge of your seat, this is an unforgiving platformer that deserves an attentive look by every lover of thrilling action games and… rock creatures.

Rolling Stones

Grime: Colors of Rot comes with the original game and free DLC released in November 2022, adding a new area, bosses, weapons, and a whole lot more. This is one for the books on how to build upon your game and give back to a community that, while far from huge, has shown enough respect and appreciation as to make the developers release new content free of charge.

Grime doesn’t reinvent the wheel and is similar in design to recent action platformers such as The Tarnishing of Juxtia. Expansive and damp areas filled with challenging foes, mostly underground, hold the means to unleash your true power. This is a game of patience where every gem earned, every creature absorbed, every pillar discovered represent a small but important step in enhancing your character and being ready to face subsequent trials. Understanding what makes your foes tick, their patterns, and weaknesses, even when succumbing to their hits, is a valuable lesson learned for the next run.

Combat in Grime isn’t as merciless as in any Souls-like; you won’t die at every slight mistake. However, some of the rarer enemies and the bosses themselves are quite ruthless, true tests of resilience and wit that only the best players will be able to face. The latter stand as the highlight of the game, always a discovery that is capable both of petrifying and astounding you, such is the elaborate design and choreography on show sometimes, with the Whispering Mothers serving as one of many great examples of the effort placed into these confrontations.

The secret of success in Grime is to unapologetically understand how the Force bar, otherwise known as stamina works within its limitations. Early in the game you won’t be able to do much apart from a few stabs and dodges, but as you develop your vessel you get the opportunity to spend skill points in Health, Force, and three different weapon types. It’s progress through persistence in a roguelike manner, with respawning enemies that may drop the much-desired in-game currency Mass allowing you to evolve.

Absorbing enemies is the other move that you absolutely need to master if you want to succeed. Timing is crucial here, like a parry mechanic, as the absorption must happen precisely when the foe is about to hit you, delivering a crunchy blowback with quite the devastating effect. This is how you absorb some enemy traits that you can evolve and use as your own. Frustration may set in if you fail to find the sweet spot several times in a row, leading to failure and some boring trips, but that is part of the risk and reward balance in Grime.

But this isn’t the full extent of Grime’s combat system; you should also pay close attention to Ardor. You earn points each time you defeat an enemy, and these points stock up as you go. The higher this stat is, the more Mass you earn from each fallen foe. Get hit and you lose some of your current Ardor, hence less Mass per enemy. It’s an intricate system that rewards a carefully planned approach and the best players, versus those who choose a more reckless and hurried approach.

Giger Rock

One thing that stands out the more you progress and encounter new areas is the art style. Grime can be quite a looker with its sights on surreal rock formations and otherworldly focus, almost if H. R. Giger took his gloriously gruesome alien-esque body horror works and added a splash of stones and wicked rocky creatures. The bosses deserve a special mention, but some of the landscapes can be quite remarkable in an arid and desperate way, often awe-inspiring, even if the caves tend to be somewhat repetitive.

One thing that bothered me more than I was hoping for is the way that our character, the vessel, doesn’t perfectly blend into the background. Maybe it’s an animation issue or the way that the different pieces of armor stand out in occasionally weird contrast to the scenery, but it’s something that I couldn’t shake off for the first hours. Nonetheless, after a while I got used to this issue and could enjoy the beautiful locations with no qualms. The soundtrack is of high quality as well, comprised mainly of atmospheric and haunting tracks until all hell breaks loose as a boss fight begins.

The Good Rot

Grime: Colors of Rot is one for the lovers of challenges, especially those who just can’t wait to find a boss, die, repeat, learn its patterns, and finally send it to its grave. It works brilliantly as a Metroidvania due to the clever map layouts filled with shortcuts and fast travel points to avoid backtracking, and character movement is intuitive enough to allow for adept platforming and skilled, tactical combat.

Stylish, visually impressive, and engaging, this is a game made by someone who clearly understands what it takes to deliver an absorbing work, pun intended.

Pros

• Purposefully slow and meticulous combat
• Boss fights from the Dark Souls school
• Interesting absorption mechanic
• Stylish otherworldly environments

Cons

• Failed timing for absorption can be frustrating
• Not for the ones who give up easily

Rating: 8/10