This is the best Metroidvania I've played since Guacamelee, and that has been my favorite in the genre since I've played it. Plus, while Wavetale is the only game I ever beat on Stadia, this is the only other game I put a lot of time into on Stadia. Thanks to my Steam Deck, I was still able to beat it portably.

It's a personal meme for me that I love souls likes, but only when they're not made by From Software.I love The Surge 2, Darksiders III, and several other games for how they veer from the more ethereal vibes and obtuse design of From's games. I enjoyed my 40 hours of Elden Ring, and Sekiro and Bloodborne were fun in their opening hours. But I've still yet to ever beat a From game.

The thing is, though, in the same way that Lies of P is the closest anyone has come to making an entry in the genre that feels like From made it, this feels like the closest anyone has come to making a game that From made, but in 2D.

First off, the combat is superb. It revolves around a parry mechanic that absorbs enemies if used on low-health enemies. Absorbing attacks will eventually unlock skills related to each enemy, like health and force (stamina) boosts. If you know me, you'll know I LOVE parry systems, but that's not the only reason I love the combat.

There are dozens of weapons for every playstyle from slow, fast, and in between. But similar to Bloodborne, nearly every weapon has a secondary ability that adds utility outside of the weapon's niche. For example, my main weapon was a pair of bowaxes. They had a short reach, but after a few hits, I'd build up projectiles that I could shoot for ranged damage. Finding a break-in attacks to charge up my arrows and let em rip was always satisfying, but other weapons might launch enemies for a juggle, infuse your blade with extra damage, and several other actions. Stamina management is key here, but I never felt like I was being restricted in my moveset. Anytime I ran outta stamina, it felt like it was due to my error rather than the game being broken.

Speaking of broken, there were 1-2 bugs in which I clipped through platforms and had to back out of the game to reset and progress. But moments like these were so few and far between they never stuck out in my memory. What DOES stick out is just how great this game looks. The namesake of the game is felt in nearly every environment, as most enemies and environments look as if they have a film of slime or dust on all of them. With rare exceptions, everything in this game looks like it'd leave behind residue if you were to touch it, which is great considering you'll be destroying most of it. Monster designs are continuously novel and only get more impressive the more you play. The design of the player character is also just really original, and I love how it's powerset is expressed through it's visual design. Bosses are constantly impressive as well, and they were fun enough to fight that I didn't even mind that some encounters had surprise second phases. The entire game is just so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ slick that I was just as excited to see new visual splendor around the corner as I was to see what new upgrade materials I could find.

I mentioned how much I loved the combat, but that's only a 3rd of the gameplay formula. Exploration is fun initially, as the scale of the world seems impossibly large as you exploit so methodically. In the mid-game, however, it can be difficult to cover large areas. You eventually unlock Nervepass shortcuts, but there are only a handful of these in the entire game. A later ability will allow you to travel between the games' bonfire equivalent, but not only do you get that ability only from a post-release DLC side boss, but these checkpoints are still pretty far apart. But even with those caveats, the density of secrets and challenges made it so that there was always something engaging or rewarding around every corner.

The last third of the gameplay loop is the platforming, and this is the element that really made this game an all-timer for me. I mentioned Guacamelee at the start of this review because, much like that game, the late-game platforming challenges are some of the most demanding I've ever played in any game. You don't necessarily need to have pixel-perfect precision, but if you don't master all traversal abilities you will not beat this game. Some platforming solutions even feel a little bit...hacky? By this, I mean that a few platforming challenges could be solved in ways that felt like I skipped the proper solution rather than found the intentionally designed one. Thankfully though, these moments felt more like I outsmarted the game than broke it.

But the more you explore, and get into the endgame, the more demanding the platforming gets. At times, you'll be asked to maintain focus for 90 or more seconds of air dashes, double jumps, and hover courses, all without a checkpoint for that entire time. These challenges all felt fair though, as I could clearly see where I gave a wrong input and didn't feel the game was being unfair or obtuse. I've yet to say it, but the platforming feels incredible, and it's so notible here because, due to combat and exploration being so great already, I never expected the platforming to be on par with that quality.

This game feels like it does everything at such a high level that I couldn't help but be blown away by it. Sure, the lore is dense, and while that's a trait these games share with From titles, it only motivated me to skip more text boxes as I played. But the lack of a strong narrative is the only issue I could think up, and who cares about that when the game is so fun to play? Hell, I even have lore explainers qued up right now just to watch them and linger in that world even more. Even though at least 5 of my 23 hours with Grime was spent running back to bosses and dying, and even though I had to start the game over after 7 hours on Stadia, I couldn't get enough of this game. I think this game makes it easy to love it, with accessible choices like mass (or souls) not being dropped when you die and you being able to refill your health charges by nailing parries. I'm so glad I went back to this one, and I think it's a travesty that this game isn't talked about in the same breath as games like Hollow Knight or at least Blasphemous. The sequel is now one of my most anticipated games and Grime itself is now one of my favorite games of all time.