GRIME 2 Review – Bizarrely Beautiful

GRIME 2 is a captivating sequel to the 2021 action-adventure role-playing game, building meaningfully on its predecessor with improved mechanics while bringing back the striking art style that made the original so memorable. My time with it has not only been fun, but also challenging enough to have me exploring its well-designed levels in the hope of testing my skills against new enemies.

It smartly reworks familiar ideas through a new lens, weaving its themes into the journey of the Formless, an art mimic brought to life by the mysterious Rippler of Waves and told that the world before it exists to sate its appetite. That setup gives real purpose to the combat, pushing you deeper into the world as you cut down enemy after enemy and encounter the occasional ally along the way.

"The world itself carries an ethereal charm to it, its dangers seeming so natural and organic that you’re compelled to learn more about how it came to be the way that it is."

Before getting into combat and progression, though, it’s worth highlighting how strongly GRIME 2 is built around the idea of individual agency, with hands serving as a constant visual and mechanical expression of that theme. That idea runs through the entire game, and the repeated presence of hands in the world, in enemy designs, and even on your character, helps reinforce it in a way that feels organic rather than forced.

The world itself carries an ethereal charm to it, its dangers seeming so natural and organic that you’re compelled to learn more about how it came to be the way that it is. It’s also elegantly structured, with areas folding back into one another so naturally that the path forward remains coherent even when you’re poking around every hidden corner for much-needed upgrades.

Part of what makes that structure work is how vulnerable the Formless feels at the start. You begin with light and heavy attacks, along with a jump, dash, and parry for movement and defense. It’s a simple setup that the developers have utilized well with additional layers and moves opening up as you keep taking down some incredible bosses.

Each area teaches you how to use the mechanics it introduces, and its boss usually serves as the final exam, forcing those lessons into your muscle memory through punishing attacks. While I wouldn’t put them on the same level as a full-blown Soulsborne, they still offer a stern challenge, with the standard difficulty in particular keeping me on the back foot more often than I’d care to admit.

"The environment could work either for you or against you, depending on how you use it, which adds interesting wrinkles to fights."

Every boss fight you take on is tough but fair, requiring precise use of dodges, parries, and a grapple that’s introduced a little later. The weapons you use against them are also quite varied, and nailing down the timings on each animation was a huge part of the fun. You’ll likely settle into a preferred pairing of melee and ranged options, which gives you the flexibility to handle most encounters efficiently.

Of course, the art mimic does have one massive trick up its sleeve, and that’s the ability to absorb Molds of your enemies, using their own moves against them. Several enemies come with a yellow dot on their health bars. Whittling them down to their breaking point opens them up to a grapple that lets you copy their abilities. Repeat the process enough times, and that move gets added to a growing list that you can then mix and match to make your mimic your own.

The environment could work either for you or against you, depending on how you use it, which adds interesting wrinkles to fights, ensuring that things in this weird world never get boring. That’s because exploring each level requires a fair bit of dexterity on your part, be it in dealing with the various enemies in differing combinations that stand in your way, or some platforming challenges that were a pleasure to pull off correctly, thanks to how cool it all looked! Even slight mistakes can quickly shatter your rhythm, whether that means eating damage from enemies or blundering into carefully placed traps.

You recover health through the Breath mechanic, which involves building up the eponymous meter by killing enemies in the field before you use it all up to give yourself a heal-over-time effect. It’s fairly quick but does require that you continue to avoid damage in case you’re really low on health. The Force meter adds an interesting layer to offense, rewarding you for managing it well rather than simply mashing attacks.

"The story helps set it all up with context for your adventures, and is another solid part of the experience."

Managing all of these elements when you’re juggling multiple enemies or trying to learn the ins and outs of a boss’s attacks is deviously delightful. It looks so simple to a spectator, as you’re probably going to see for yourself if you dive in, but it is challenging and incredibly satisfying to pull off. It’s the kind of combat system that feels instantly inviting even while demanding real concentration and precision.

The story helps set it all up with context for your adventures, and is another solid part of the experience. I’m a fan of games that tell their stories through world-building, and this one has that in spades. You meet a range of characters, some welcoming and others decidedly less so, who stand out thanks to strong visual design and sharp writing. It’s a testament to GRIME 2’s quality that there is a certain wit and charm to be found in its bleak world, and the story brings it all together very well.

The soundtrack deserves special mention, giving many areas a haunting beauty that makes it easy to stop and simply take in the atmosphere. I’m particularly fond of the adorable noises some enemies make when they let an attack loose. It made me chuckle to myself even as I was laser-focused on the action.

The game performed very well on my base PS5, running smoothly enough for its combat and platforming to consistently look and feel excellent. Although there aren’t any graphical options on offer, I reckon they’re an unnecessary addition to a game that looks and performs like this one does.

"Its combat is spot on, while its platforming trappings can have you grinding your teeth as you try to nail down the timing on its various challenges."

I did encounter one early bug that froze the game and forced a restart before I could continue, but beyond that, I ran into no major technical issues. There was also the occasional bit of pop-in when traversing between areas, but you’re unlikely to notice it unless you’re actively looking for it. It does bear mentioning, though.

You’ve probably already guessed that for me, this one’s very easy to recommend. Its combat is spot on, while its platforming trappings can have you grinding your teeth as you try to nail down the timing on its various challenges. Put that challenging gameplay loop beside a world and story that are quite intriguing, and you’ve got the recipe for a title that lets you fully immerse yourself in its absurdity.

If you were a fan of the original title, you’re going to love this one. If you’re new to GRIME, strap in for a very entertaining romp through a world that’s spellbinding right from the get-go. Either way, this one’s worth your cash and the time and effort it takes to master all it has to offer. Its difficulty may look intimidating from the outside, but it shouldn’t put you off, because you’d be missing out on one of the more compelling RPGs in recent memory.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.