Disclaimer
I was sent a free copy of Grim Siege to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. This review is only based on the solo experience. I did not try multiplayer.
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Table of Contents
What is Grim Siege?
Grim Siege is a dark fantasy themed card battler where players use their forces to break down their opponents towers. The game uses an innovative resource system, with an interesting enough loop for those who enjoy card games but want to break way from the big three.
Hook
Gather resources to build your army, strengthen your defenses, and raise your tower. Use your resources wisely as you race to knock down your opponents tower before you’re crumbles to the ground. Players can enjoy a creative roguelike experience, face off against the computer AI, or face off against other players in ranked or normal battles. There are six classes to choose from and thousands of combos to discover, will you find the one to take you to the top?
Players can face off against AI through bot matches or a roguelike adventure, but there is pvp through ranked and unranked matches. I did not try pvp because I wasn’t smart enough to be the AI on easy, but that is a skill issue.
Gameplay
The game is a bit complicated, at least too complicated for a filthy casual like myself. I will dumb it down a bit, but the game has a comprehensive tutorial you can play through.
Players use three unique resources to cast cards each turn: stone, blood, and slaves. Stone is used for defense like building up their wall. Blood is used to cast magic or building up your tower. Slaves are used to do damage on your opponents tower. Both players start with a tower and wall at certain hit points. They each take turns casting cards to build up their defenses, heal, or make an attack. The first tower to go down, loses. Each class has its unique strategy for winning the game, giving players access to a few different play styles. Whether you want to be aggressive, or sacrifice your health for more power, you’ll find a class that best fits your attitude.
The game is like a village management game. Players are forced to navigate their economy as they build their assault. Players can easily wreck their economy, leaving themselves defenseless. They can also take too long and get steamrolled by a more competent AI. The key is finding the balance between building, attacking, and hoarding, but I was never able to find it. I lost to the AI on normal, but that is strictly a skill issue. If you enjoy village building strategy games, the mechanics are tight enough to let you cook something interesting. I
Review
I appreciate that Grim Siege is a fresh take on the genre. The game offers a unique gameplay loop, even if I am not smart enough to figure out how to win. I’ll be sticking to Pokemon TCG for now. If you are looking for a new kind of roguelike, and don’t a little roughness (or the use of AI), you might want to check it out. Just note that the game is a little dense with its nuanced mechanics.
Aesthetic
I am not to crazy about the artstyle for this game. There is a disclaimer about AI being used to help with some of the art. I am not sure to what extent it was used because the game is too dark to tell what is going on. There are some interesting themes that go into each class, but there isn’t anything that really stands out. This is coming from someone that collects anime girl tcgs, so there might be a bit of bias. Art is also expensive, so I don’t expect it to be on par with something that comes from a bigger, better funded developer. I am sure with a bit more funding, the game will start looking a little better.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not a snob about art. I enjoy playing Universus TCG and that game doesn’t have the most collectible art. But if someone is scrolling through Steam for a new game to play, the art isn’t going to pull enough attention to spark curiosity. Maybe a future set can make the game look more pretty, but for now, the only draw seems to be the gameplay.
Gameplay
The gameplay loop is fine, but there seems to be some balancing issues. Take this with a grain of salt because as a reminder, I couldn’t beat the AI on the easiest difficulty. That said, there are a few classes that are easier to play than others (as is true for all card games). There are classes that feel stronger than others, but there are also some interactions that just didn’t work. The game needs a bit more rebalancing and a few more patches, but the Dev is hard at work and I’ll commend them on that. There is even a place in the UI for players to add their suggestions.
When the game works, the loop is fine. It is a refreshing break from the usual deckbuilders I’m starting to burn out on, but I am too much of a casual to get into a game like this. There was simply too much reading. Now if you enjoy these management style strategy tames where you build an army and lay siege on your enemies, you will have a better time. For the most part, game is in a good enough place to let players explore new strategies and do some cool things. At least the AI was able to always pull the sick combos that left me extremely frustrated with my inability to understand this game.The game still needs some work, but with a little support, it might get there. Or at least get to a good enough place to be worth your money.
Personally, I would rather play Solforge Fusion, and I didn’t really like that game.
Conclusion
Grim Siege is going free to play, so there’s nothing to lose. It is rough, but hopefully the influx of new players can help shape it for the better. Personally, it wasn’t for me, but I am not afraid to admit that I simply am not smart enough. For all you compitent intellectuals out there, you might have a better time. That said, you have to keep in mind that there is a general roughness that you’ll have to struggle through. I am sure with a bit of money, the game will fill its niche nicely, its just a matter of growing. If you are looking for a unique new card game and don’t mind a little AI, go check it out. Its going to be free soon.
You can pick up Grim Siege on Steam.