Grim Realms

About

Grim Realms is a single player tactical management game with fantasy, economy, medieval, historical and others themes. It was developed by Edym Pixels and was released on March 16, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

A side scrolling, pixel art, survival colony fantasy sim: Guide your villagers as they struggle to stay alive in a world overrun by the undead.

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78%

Audience ScoreBased on 494 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

stability42 negative mentions

The game has a fun and engaging concept, combining elements of colony management and survival.
The developer is responsive to feedback and actively works on updates and bug fixes, showing dedication to improving the game.
The pixel art style and overall aesthetic are appealing, creating an enjoyable atmosphere for players.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, making it frustrating to play at times.
AI pathfinding and task management are poorly implemented, leading to villagers getting stuck or failing to complete tasks.
The tutorial is lacking, leaving players confused about basic mechanics and how to progress effectively.

gameplay
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
63%
10%
The gameplay is characterized by a steep learning curve and a lack of comprehensive tutorials, leading to frustration as players navigate through numerous bugs and mechanics that can feel tedious and broken. While the game offers a solid and engaging experience with unique mechanics and a charming aesthetic, it is marred by issues such as poor AI, constant crashes, and unbalanced random events, suggesting that significant polishing and updates are needed for it to reach its full potential. Overall, players find the concept enjoyable but are often hindered by the execution and technical problems.
- “Overall, I like the art, the music is awesomely nice (so nice I had people poke their heads into my den to hear it better), gameplay is solid.”
- “Well put together; takes a second to get it down, but once you do, the gameplay is quite smooth, peaceful, but can still be difficult at times.”
- “There is a whole open world to explore and settle, with unique mechanics that allow this game to stand out from many other colony sims such as RimWorld.”
- “The game is quite advanced in its mechanics, and yet the tutorial teaches you almost nothing.”
- “This means that you are left with a gigantic lack of information and have to figure out most of the game mechanics through trial and error (and death).”
- “Constant crashes, terrible AI, broken game mechanics, etc. I want to support the developer, but at the pace this is going, you better wait a few dozen updates before trying to do anything here.”
stability
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues, making basic functions tedious and frustrating for players. While it shows potential as a colony sim with engaging gameplay, the current state is considered unplayable by many, leading to a lack of recommendations until significant improvements are made. Despite some responsive development efforts, the overall consensus is that the game remains a "buggy mess" that detracts from the experience.
- “The constant bugs and performance glitches have ground me down, until I can't be bothered to play anymore.”
- “Currently it stands as a really good proof of concept, and excellent and imaginative twist on the colony sim genre, sadly brought down by a poorly optimized and buggy implementation.”
- “Really can't recommend this game at this point, it has a good basis but it's extremely buggy at this point.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The game's story is described as interesting and nostalgic, with a focus on player-driven narratives and colony-building across a vast map. However, some players find the story unclear and the lack of well-defined factions a drawback. Overall, the potential for unique storytelling enhances replayability, despite some criticisms regarding clarity and alignment with darker themes.
- “In my opinion, a game that builds into your own unique story is more memorable and replayable.”
- “The art, sounds, lore, and story are quite nostalgic; I've more than got my money's worth out of the game and will continue to see my hours double before waiting on the next expansion of content.”
- “I've been a major fan of the first Grim Nights game and its mechanics and overall simple story, but this game truly has a lot of potential.”
- “The story is quite unclear as well as faction backgrounds.”
- “Also the game's story/goals generally go against doing a dark alignment settlement.”
- “But given the story of the game, I can understand the lack of readily known factions.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
27%
17%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a simple yet satisfying pixel art style, evoking nostalgia reminiscent of titles like "Terraria." While the landscapes and models are generally well-received, some users feel that certain elements, particularly the design of undead characters, lack detail and could benefit from future updates to enhance customization and aesthetics. Overall, the visuals are seen as a notable improvement from its predecessor, "Grim Nights 1," despite not being particularly "pretty."
- “Nice graphics, nice models, landscapes, and so on.”
- “I played Grim Nights 1, which caught my eye by being unique in its atmosphere, gameplay, and art style, and this seems like a brilliant and unexpected improvement to the game in many ways.”
- “+ pleasant pixel art style.”
- “Aesthetically, it's not particularly 'pretty'.”
- “Also, most of the aesthetic qualities this game has presented (especially that of the opening menu) eerily feel like that of 'Airships: Conquest of the Sky'.”
- “The undead are quite lackluster in terms of design and class customization. I do believe that there will be future updates to further customize enemy types and art style; given a more focused approach on detail, I think this would be the next necessary path.”
grinding
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
89%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often frustrating due to buggy mechanics and a lack of automation, particularly in farming and resource management. Many suggest that quality of life improvements, such as automatic harvesting and clearer resource tracking, are necessary to enhance the experience. While the game offers enjoyable elements like creating and exploring, the grinding can feel overwhelming, sometimes requiring excessive time investment.
- “Extremely tedious and buggy mechanics for even performing the most basic of functions, e.g. building.”
- “I think there are some definite quality of life improvements that need to happen; farming really should be automatic and keeping track of resources is painful the way it is currently programmed.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The music in the game has received high praise for its quality and appeal, with many players noting its ability to enhance the overall experience. However, some users pointed out that the main menu lacks music after one minute, which detracts from the initial atmosphere. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing positively to its artistic and gameplay elements.
- “Overall, I like the art; the music is awesomely nice (so nice I had people poke their heads into my den to hear it better), gameplay is solid.”
- “Also, the music is great, and the dev puts a lot of effort into the game and bug fixing, which I respect.”
- “The main menu doesn't have music after 1 minute.”
- “Grim Nights 2 expands upon the original title with new occupations, resources, art, and music.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The optimization of the game is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance and good design after initial setup, others experience significant issues such as slow and buggy pathfinding, performance degradation as colonies expand, and frequent crashes during world generation. Overall, the game's optimization needs improvement to enhance the user experience.
- “Runs smoothly, well designed.”
- “I experienced a few crashes while generating new worlds, but once I got past the setup, the game appears to run smoothly and is fully playable.”
- “Sadly, as my colony expanded, responsivity and performance bled away, turning the experience sour.”
- “The constant bugs and performance glitches have ground me down, until I can't be bothered to play anymore.”
- “Pathfinding in general is slow and buggy; hauling needs better optimization.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of Grim Nights 2 is praised for its uniqueness, with players noting significant improvements over the first game in terms of gameplay and art style, contributing to an engaging and immersive experience.
- “I played Grim Nights 1, which caught my eye with its unique atmosphere, gameplay, and art style. This sequel seems like a brilliant and unexpected improvement in many ways.”
- “The atmosphere in Grim Nights 1 was captivating, and I am thrilled to see how it has evolved in this new installment.”
- “The game's atmosphere is immersive and engaging, drawing players into its world and enhancing the overall experience.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find that games offering unique storytelling experiences enhance replayability, as they create memorable narratives that encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “In my opinion, a game that builds into your own unique story is more memorable and replayable.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted to be subtle, with many players finding it amusing by the conclusion, suggesting a light-hearted tone that may not be immediately apparent.