Grim Dawn

Quick Info
Mods available?	Yes
Year released	2016
Available from	Steam GoG
Category	Roguelike
Time to Beat	15 Hours
Played?	Yes
Game length via HowLongToBeat

Grim Dawn is an ARPG developed by Crate Entertainment that released in 2016. The game is heavily inspired by similar titles such as the Diablo and Titans Quest franchises. On release the game received favorable reviews from critics, but has grown beyond just good reviews from publications and turned into something that is reaching "cult classic" status with ARPG gamers.

Boasting a unique dark world with a Victorian esthetic, the game features a number of classes, build types and systems sure to bring in any fan of the ARPG. There is a ton of depth here, and many hours of playtime available to those who love to adventure through new lands and scrutinize loot.

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Why Should This Game Be Played?

Built on the Titan Quest engine, the game expands on some of the features introduced in Titans Quest. Things like a fully 3d world, ragdoll physics, weather effects, dismemberment of enemies, and a fully rotatable camera help Grim Dawn set itself apart from other contemporaries within the genre. While the camera is able to be rotated by the player, it does not play a huge part into the gameplay, only occasionally allowing for the uncovering of secrets.

The game consists of all the typical ARPG tropes that players gravitate towards, how Grim Dawn handles these standards is what sets it apart. In addition to how Grim Dawn handles these things, it also sets itself apart by focusing more on the journey rather than the destination. Many modern ARPG are centered around seasonal models, where you start playing the game once endgame is reached. While Grim Dawn does have some endgame activities, most of the enjoyment will be found progressing through different areas of the campaign on the different difficulties, and target farming certain areas. This approach is much closer to Diablo 2 than something like Path of Exile.

There are nine classes within the game, six from the base game and three from the expansions. Instead of just allowing for one class to be selected per character, at a certain point in the game players can select a second class - effectively creating a whole bunch of different dual-class options. The pairing of these two choices allows for a variety of character builds and really expands on the choices available. Each class consists of a horizontal progression path, with points being granted each level up and can be assigned to skills unique to the class or passive effects to strengthen the character. Points can be assigned to either of the selected classes, allowing for different synergies between available skills and buffs from each class.

The Devotion system in the game also serves as another layer of player power augmentation. Throughout the game world shrines will be found that require either a sacrifice of materials or defeating of a series of enemies to receive a point that can be spent on a constellation grid. Each node on a particular constellation will grant some additional stats, with some key nodes within a constellation granting buffs that can be assigned to specific skills, or new skills entirely. There is also some complexity around the system, requiring a certain number of constellation type points before being able to assign points to similar star groups in the same category. While this isn't overly restrictive, it does encourage folks to plan out a path to make the most of their points.

Loot within the game is generally very satisfying, although the sheer number of affixes that can be attached to a single item can become somewhat overwhelming. Luckily there are great resources available within the community to help with understanding the powerful items, along with an ingame loot filter, that provides some additional help, even if it is a little simple. Throughout your adventures, different components will also drop, which provides a way of augmenting items and giving gear that final polish.

To smooth out the gear grind, the game has multiple factions that you will become available throughout your adventures. These factions often sell recipes or powerful equipment with a specific range of stats that can help fill in the needed equipment slots for a specific build.

As far as areas to explore and places to adventure in, the game world is quite expansive. With or without the expansions, there are certainly tons of different biomes to explore, repeatable bossees to fight and areas to farm. While there isn't any dedicated endgame systems like Path of Exiles map system, there is enough interesting stuff here, coupled with multiple difficulty levels to keep you engaged for a good amount of time. Layer in the build diversity and interesting itemization and Grim Dawn is certainly able to provide 100's of hours of playtime for ARPG fans.

Where to Get the Game

The game is available on Steam and across other platforms. It's truly a great game for phones or tablets to whittle away the time.

• Steam
• GoG


• Steam DB Price History
• GoG DB Price History

Expansion Info

There are two expansions currently available for Grim Dawn, Ashes of Malmouth and The Forgotten Gods, with another expansion Fangs of Asterkarn releasing sometime in 2026.

Ashes of Malmouth adds two new chapters to the story and two new masteries (classes). Additionally the expected expansion of additional items, factions, constellations, enemies, and other QoL features is also present. Overall if you enjoyed the base game - this expansion provides more of that, increasing the amount of content by around 50% of what the base game provided.

The Forgotten Gods is similar to Ashes of Malmouth in what it delivers. A new game mode, a new mastery, along with a story chapter. As before it also grows the number of item affixes, enemies, constellations and the like.

If you've enjoyed Grim Dawn or want to have the most feature complete experience getting into the game, both expansions provide just that. Growing the size and complexity of the world, providing much more content to whittle away the hours with.

Additional Resources