For Backlog 365 I plan on playing one game on my backlog everyday this year and write about it. For each game I will decide if I want to put it on my "Shelved" list (games that I plan to come back to and play in depth) or put it on the "Retired" list (games that I will delete or sell and move on with my life).

• January 11
• PC Time Played:
• 56 minutes

“Best RPG ever.” That’s what it says right there on the Steam page for Legend of Grimrock. That statement is setting some pretty lofty expectations. Good thing I also happen to own Legend of Grimrock II, which I’m guessing is the best RPG sequel ever. I definitely heard a lot of scuttlebutt about Legend of Grimrock, but wasn’t really sure what I was getting into. Apparently, according to PC Gamer, I was about to start playing the “Best RPG ever.”

Despite my cynical tone, I was excited to check out Legend of Grimrock. I have fond memories of the old Might and Magic game, but when I have tried to go back to play them I find that they don’t hold up. Legend of Grimrock looks like a promising update to the dungeon crawling genre. The game seems to update the look and feel without sacrificing the mundane, but fun, exploration that is at the heart of a dungeon crawler. What first sold me on the game was the “Old School” mode option. The option removes the in game map, so that you can track with graph paper and pencil. I really thought about going this route, but had to talk myself down reminding myself that this is just a little quick play. The testament to the quality of Legend of Grimrock is that I ended up completely forgetting about my timer, and when I finally did look at it I had been playing for almost an hour.

I have to throw a little wrinkle into my decision making. I am going to put Legend of Grimrock on my Shelved list but with a caveat. Legend of Grimrock II is on my list, so when I get to it, and if it turns out to be an upgraded version of the first one, then I’m going to move Legend of Grimrock to the Retired list.

Judgement: Shelved

I know people are way into this game if they played Might & Magic or Eye of the Beholder way back in the day, but I didn't, and I just can't get into this style of dungeon crawley RPG. Some of the puzzles were clever, in the circuitous way you can see a room through an iron grate and then have to figure out how to get there later, but boy did I hate the combat (I would've vastly preferred it to be turn-based - the finished product is ridiculously spammy and unfun), nor did I really like how linear the character upgrades were and you basically had to min-max exactly one thing for each character.

I guess I would say that I only recommend Grimrock to people that already have nostalgia for this type of game, because as someone who has played other RPGs of various sorts (Western and Japanese), this subgenre of RPG just doesn't do a lot for me. Also you're completely mad if you turn on the mode where you have to chart out your own map - it's busywork that I don't need. I'll only take paper notes on a video game if it has Fez levels of madness in it, or if I want to play detective in something like Her Story.