Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

[bataille]

As requested by readers, the next review will finally determine what Grimoire really is in itself, stay tuned.

Spoiler

Our resident reviewer has began contemplating on the subject. That's going to take 15, 20 years tops.

 

[buru5]

Funny thing is I killed more than a couple of them on various encounters before one actually hit me. First time it happened I thought my leet saurian zerker hit himself in the head with his own dick and proc'ed lethal blow.

I had the same experience. It's especially easy to miss wtf happened when you're hitting ENTER to speed up combat, too. Eventually I figured out that he hits you once for normal damage and then that hit procs a second health draining effect that deals massive damage. I'm not sure if it's literally an instant kill attack or just a very hard hitting drain.

 

[DeepOcean]

Honest question:
Is it reasonable to expect OP shit being thrown at you at any moment at the end game? I mean, the game was announced as a Wizardry 7 spiritual sequel, Wizardry 7 wasn't exactly known to be newbie friendly and you are at the end of the game where all the gentlemen gloves should be removed and you should expect tasteful raep from the monsters and expect the worst?

I mean, if there are all those OP spells and weapons you can use, shouldn't the enemies be able to use them as well at the end game where you supposedly are acclimatized with the game and know what to expect and deal with that stuff?

I think the end game of a video game should be a tough gauntlet to test all you learned on the game and it is okay to use all the stuff the game has available, I think any game that has the aspiration of being good should make the player suffer at the end. We are kinda spoiled with so many rpgs failing to do a proper challenge curve at the end with you being a demi god and just mopping up the opposition, I lost count with the amount of RPGs I was utterly bored at the end exactly because of that. If you know the system well and manage to make a good party, you should be rewarded with a early easier difficulty for your effort but you shouldn't expect that to be the case until the very end, at the end game, if you make a good party, you should be rewarded with you being barely able to defeat the enemies and not expect your party not to be annihilated at any moment if you aren't careful.

I would be fine with any DnD game with end game wizards with time stop and melee ones with vorpal blades, maybe making everyone having those powers might be too much as this kills variation but enemies should be able to fuck you hard at the end of a game that pretends to be challenging.

 

[Lady_Error]

It will be rebalanced - the XP you get, leveling up, the OP exploits. In the current state, late game combat is not the best experience.

 

[Cleveland Mark Blakemore]

I mean, if there are all those OP spells and weapons you can use, shouldn't the enemies be able to use them as well at the end game where you supposedly are acclimatized with the game and know what to expect and deal with that stuff?

I would be fine with any DnD game with end game wizards with time stop and melee ones with vorpal blades, maybe making everyone having those powers might be too much as this kills variation but enemies should be able to fuck you hard at the end of a game that pretends to be challenging.

CASE CLOSED EXCEPT

"MUH BALINCE"​

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Grimoire 2: Wings of the Exemplary Heralds will be the best CRPG of 2037!

I guess this explains why he had to have a son.

Grimoire 3: Exemplars of the Heraldic Wings will be the RPG Codex GotY 2057.

Grimoire 4 will be slated for release October 24, 2077, but we all know what happens one day earlier.

 

[Darth Roxor]

But did you use the spells and prebuffs? Those tactics are there to give you a chance to win those fights without cheesing and from your screens you rarely used those or specifically used the diplomacy option to get though those areas

In most cases the only pre-buff that makes any difference is Amorplate to buff armor, so that insta-kill attacks are harder to hit & penetrate. And honestly, I'm not really sure the spell actually WORKS - the numbers on character's equipment screen don't change when you cast it. There's also Magic Screen when dealing with those fucking fairies, but that's basically it.

Also, what diplomacy options? lol

But here, I made a cool little video to prove just what a thinking man's game Grimoire truly is. This is me kinda-soloing the game's supposedly most difficult optional boss - the final beast on its own "Hall of Gorrors" - on SuperHero difficulty. With no buffs. At Lv 9.



I say "kinda-soloing" because this wonderful hardcore masterpiece of the olden days apparently doesn't support soloing. Going into battle with just one character led to a Game Over screen - BEFORE THE COMBAT EVEN BEGAN!

ssssssssooooooooo

the necrospawn acts first and attacks you like 10 times and casts two spells

yet none of these are instakill party wipes that instantly blow up your party before you can react

i thought every enemy in the late game was supposed to be a cheesefest

 

[thesheeep]

Thanks felipepepe . Observing the comments of most people playing, I got the impression that the game wouldn't be interesting for me.
I love exploration and combat, but absolutely hate "artificial" puzzles (as in, they make no sense to be there in the context of the world, the designer just put them there because puzzles).

Exploration seemed to be great, combat an absolute clusterfuck and the puzzles seemed to be almost completely on the artificial side.

So, thanks for confirming all of that.
And thanks to the game for keeping me away with ridiculous mouse implementation

 

[Leitz]

Thanks felipepepe . Observing the comments of most people playing, I got the impression that the game wouldn't be interesting for me.
I love exploration and combat, but absolutely hate "artificial" puzzles (as in, they make no sense to be there in the context of the world, the designer just put them there because puzzles).

Exploration seemed to be great, combat an absolute clusterfuck and the puzzles seemed to be almost completely on the artificial side.

So, thanks for confirming all of that.
And thanks to the game for keeping me away with ridiculous mouse implementation

So you basically hate Wizardry games.

 

[Mynon]

The second game flopped because they didn't step out of the Dungeon Master basic design school and ultimately delivered nothing new to the genre (e.g. npcs. dialog system, open world etc.)

Only a) it didn't flop, it sold about half the number of copies of the first one, while having almost double the price tag, and b) it did have an open world.

Doesn't change the fact that it offered nothing new, compared to other games in the genre from 90s. It didn't help that game was even more focused on puzzles with the Myst-like design of the island, when puzzles were one of most common complaints about the first one.
First one was good looking, polished game in a genre that was all but unknown to younger gamers (being long dead outside of niche Japanese games). It sold well, but there was obviously no enduring market (of that size) for the genre on Steam.

 

[rikkles]

Yo. First time poster here.
Ok so I'm looking at this review with decently virgin eyes (the kind who might have gone to third base before, not the one who did fifth base to avoid home plate). I'm also the kind who got Wizardry as a gift and ultimately mapped the hex codes of every item in game.

My opinionated opinion is that the review is right on the money. Thank you for it, sir, whoever you are.

I'll continue playing Grimoire when most of the issues mentioned (which i also experienced) are mitigated. In the meantime I'll turn on my //e for another spin.

 

[thesheeep]

Thanks felipepepe . Observing the comments of most people playing, I got the impression that the game wouldn't be interesting for me.
I love exploration and combat, but absolutely hate "artificial" puzzles (as in, they make no sense to be there in the context of the world, the designer just put them there because puzzles).

Exploration seemed to be great, combat an absolute clusterfuck and the puzzles seemed to be almost completely on the artificial side.

So, thanks for confirming all of that.
And thanks to the game for keeping me away with ridiculous mouse implementation

So you basically hate Wizardry games.

I have only played Wiz 8, but that one I absolutely loved.
The combat was great (and not a clusterfuck at all, quite the contrary), the exploration was fine as well.
And I cannot remember having been annoyed by any puzzles (and even if, I probably had a walkthrough by my side for those).

I'm interested in trying out Wiz 7 as well at some point. The ones older than that fall below my graphics whore threshold.

 

[Snorkack]

thesheeep just took a big nosedive on my monocle scale.
was wise of you to leave germany.

Seriously though: If it's the looks that hold you back, there are console ports of the earlier Wizzes with pretty good graphics.

 

[Lurker King]

New players? Fuck new players. Reasoning like yours gave us Fallout 3 and other abominations.

The point is that we need to attract new players that can enjoy the same games we do, and not dumbdown the genre to attract popamole players that will never have interest in stats. The only way to do this is by explaining them the basics, giving them manuals, the expectations about this type of game, etc. Taking pride in being inaccessible for its own sake and blasting anyone who thinks different is foolish. cRPGs are dying and everyone is to blame. Not only developers, but players too.

 

[Jugashvili]

Are you familiar with Manga? It is a genre of RPG invented by the asian cultures.

I have had it engraved in marble on my mantlepiece. Truly wisdom for the ages. By the way, are you familiar with hip hop? It is a genre of ballroom dancing invented by the African cultures.

 

[thesheeep]

thesheeep just took a big nosedive on my monocle scale.
was wise of you to leave germany.

Because I don't like puzzles? Or because I never had interest in playing your favorite childhood games?
Man, it's quite easy to take that nosedive

 

[mercyRPG]

Tags: Golden Era Games; Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

Cleve Blakemore's magnum opus Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar seems to be causing just as much drama since its release as it did during its 23 year-long development. During [..]
Read the full article: RPG Codex Review: Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

V2 must be prepared.

 

[Lord Andre]

From the steam curator list:

Edit: I know it has to be one of you faggots. GG

 

[Glop_dweller]

Okay seriously, this is a dumb way of approaching the creation of any product meant for commercial sale. If you are not trying to get new players interested, you're a terrible game maker, an idiot, a shitty businessman, and an overall dope. You're quite literally saying that the only population of possible customers to go after is the base that already exists, but of course people age out of this cohort, or die, or lose interest. Forget needing new players to grow, you simply need them if you want to survive. If everyone took this attitude, nothing new would get made, no new players would get interested, and the genre (any genre, for that matter) would die a shitposter's death.

This is a bad post and you should feel bad.

It depends on what and who one cares about. If the point is to make (and have) the game, and (as a bonus side effect) sell it to those who will appreciate it, and laud it for what it is, and for what it has attempted (and hopefully succeeded at), then why give a damn about the other audiences that don't appreciate it, or who demand silly (and even detrimental) changes to accommodate it to themselves. If they like it—GREAT! —and welcome!; if not gtfo.

There are people who would make casual/social games to fund the (other) ones that they really care about.

 

[Rpguy]

Who is the "RPG Codex (Official)" curator on steam?
"Grimoire is essentially an unofficial sequel to Wizardry VII somehow released decades later. Beyond the madness and memes, it's a genuinely impressive work that's packed with features and content."

That's the official codex review? ~30 words?

 

[Mynon]

That's the official codex review? ~30 words?

Seriously? Is this your first time encounter with steam's curator/recommendations system?

 

[Rpguy]

That's the official codex review? ~30 words?

Seriously? Is this your first time encounter with steam's curator/recommendations system?

Frankly, yes... by your answer I see it's the norm. So who writes these?

 

[Darth Roxor]

urmom

 

[Mynon]

That's the official codex review? ~30 words?

Seriously? Is this your first time encounter with steam's curator/recommendations system?

Frankly, yes... by your answer I see it's the norm. So who writes these?

urmom

ur-mom: the original mom, the great mother, nature

Those recommendations are written by the uncontrolled unconscious, they are manifestation of our unrestrained natural side. They are, as estimable surrealist Breton once wrote, “thought’s dictation, independent of any aesthetic or moral preoccupation.”

 

[Great Deceiver]

Review was fair until "muh balance".

The game is a 20 year old whimsical Frankenstein, it doesn't adhere to current trending design norms, and thankfully so. It's the great work of a madman hacking away at his computer, wiping sweat from his brow in an underground bunker, not a designed-by-committee handholding shitfest made by the beautiful people with game designer degrees and bean-counters in their lofty air-conditioned cubicles.

I personally got a very similar feeling of wonder and awe from Grimoire as I got from the defining games of my adolescence - Might and Magic 2, Wiz 7, Betrayal at Krondor. It's a priceless, ephemerous thing that no amount of balance could hope to approximate or satisfy. Quite simply, it's pure incline - so much so that its many flaws are rendered insignificant in the larger scheme of things.

But, it's a matter of priorities and perspective. I surely wouldn't feel this way if I hadn't grown up playing the games that I did - but something tells me this game wasn't made for those who haven't. It's one thing to play Wiz 7 in retrospective today, with 25 years of accumulated worldwide experience teaching you about every little detail in the game, it was quite another to play it 25 years ago, in the dark. Playing Grimoire made me feel like I was in the dark again. Thanks Cleve.