Secrets of Grindea - Action RPG first Impressions & beta playthrough


PixelFerrets was kind enough to provide us with an early teaser for Secrets of Grindea and through most of this afternoon I was giving the game a quick playthrough. A game described as an Action RPG that is inspired by the classic Action RPG SNES titles of the past. From the initial load up you can customize your character, giving him that style to your liking which it gives it that little bit of edge over other SNES titles and really adds to the personality of the game. But it's not until you actually get into Grindea you realise just how good and retro this game looks, it's a thing of beauty for SNES fans!

From the very start after talking to the friendly characters you'll be set with a quest to gather shield and sword for the oncoming battles, and the control system flows really well. It works so much like Zelda, with sword to attack and shield to repel enemies. Changing between the different combat styles is easily done and can be upgraded through the character skill system when you level up. Want to throw fireballs instead of rush? Just go into the character info screen and swap the slots over, it's so simple!

Enemies are also varied in the world, from cute bunnies to bouncing green slimes, each with a different style of animation. And some enemies need to be dealt with in different ways! Button mashing wont work with some, you'll need to think! Those bee's for example, they need to be knocked back by shield before the final swing can commence. My only criticism I could find of the enemies were they respawned way too fast, sometimes re-appearing in an instant from my dealing of the death blow. But I suppose this can be more of a feature, with the choice of staying behind to grind away for extra dropped items and raised experience.

Onwards to the graphics and sound, and this is where the game really shines, PixelFerrets have really put a lot of work into this game, it looks simply stunningly for a retro inspired game and sounds fantastic. From the initial starting area sounds are varied and life like, with chickens clucking and characters doing daily chores. But further to impress are the graphics, with everything being vibrant and detailed. Smoke billows out from the chimney, clouds move across the landscape and animated waterfalls. I really felt like I was playing a fully retail Action RPG SNES game.

I won't spoil the game any more but this is one of the best Action RPG's in a retro style that I've played for some time that really fits well in the SNES era. It looks fantastic and plays fantastic, and considering it's only a beta I can't wait until it's finally released. I highly recommend to every fan of this style of game to buy it, it's just so good!

Secrets of Grindea can be pre-ordered from the website for instant beta access, and also available is the demo!


Website

Steam Page

2 comments:

  1. It is indeed! Haven't played a SNES style game like this in awhile :)

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