Grimm

About

Grimm is a single player casual action adventure game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Spicyhorse Games and was released on January 6, 2014. It received neutral reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Experience an incredible adventure built around the world's best-known fairy tales. As Grimm, you will transform the classic tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and more of your favorites into darkly twisted Grimm versions of themselves in 23 episodes. Each game episode is centered around one of the world's best-known fairy tales and provides 30 minutes of gameplay…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,306 reviews

gameplay45 positive mentions

grinding11 negative mentions

The 'butt stomp' move is effective and adds a fun mechanic to gameplay.
Grimm is a relatable protagonist, and the dark humor throughout the game is entertaining.
The game offers a unique twist on classic fairy tales, turning them into dark and humorous versions.

The gameplay can become repetitive and lacks depth, often feeling like a simple walking simulator.
The physics engine has bugs, leading to occasional frustrating moments where players can get stuck.
Camera angles can be annoying in tight spaces, making navigation difficult at times.

gameplay
245 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its simplicity and repetitiveness, primarily involving running around and corrupting environments with a unique mechanic that transforms cheerful settings into darker versions. While some players find the concept amusing and the mechanics easy to grasp, many criticize the lack of depth and challenge, leading to a tedious experience over time. Overall, the game appeals to a younger audience or those seeking a casual, laid-back experience, but may not satisfy players looking for more engaging or varied gameplay.
- “The transformation mechanic is satisfying as you watch bright, cheerful environments gradually darken and corrupt with your touch.”
- “Gameplay is easy and casual.”
- “The gameplay is simple and laid-back; nothing is going to attack you (they just clean up behind your mess).”
- “The controls and gameplay are rudimentary and simple, immediately becoming repetitive, basic, and boring.”
- “The gameplay is extremely simple, just corrupt everything by running near it and using butt stomp as a kind of 'special move'.”
- “The gameplay is very repetitive, at least from what I see in the first episode.”
story
221 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
68%
5%
The game's story presents a unique twist on classic fairy tales, transforming them into darker, more grotesque versions through the character of Grimm, who aims to restore the original, macabre narratives. While the storytelling is often praised for its humor and creativity, many players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience. Despite its flaws, the engaging narrative and artistic style resonate with those who appreciate a playful yet grim take on familiar tales.
- “The story is captivating, and the art style is beautifully haunting.”
- “Each chapter is its own unique story and it even comes complete with a banger of a theme song.”
- “The storylines, however, are where this game shines.”
- “The story is weak and too strange to comprehend at times.”
- “The story and art are cute despite quite a mature theme.”
- “The storytelling and cinematics, however, are well done technically but there's no substance to it.”
humor
177 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
2%
The humor in "Grimm" is a blend of dark, twisted, and juvenile elements, featuring crude jokes, bodily functions, and satirical takes on classic fairy tales. Players appreciate the game's funny animations, quirky dialogue, and absurd scenarios, though opinions vary on the effectiveness of its humor, with some finding it hilarious while others deem it juvenile or unfunny. Overall, it appeals to those with a taste for dark comedy and irreverent storytelling, reminiscent of American McGee's previous works.
- “The humor is dark and twisted, perfectly matching American McGee's signature style seen in his Alice games.”
- “Grimm is a crude mix of dark comedy, toilet humor, and fairy tales that makes you question for whom it was made.”
- “The humor within this game ranges from fart jokes to satire to black humor, all of which makes the game much more enjoyable.”
- “Unfunny garbage suffices to describe this game.”
- “It's pretty clear that it's supposed to be funny, but only a small child would find any sort of humor here.”
- “It was not funny.”
graphics
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
57%
7%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique, painterly art style that blends cartoonish charm with darker themes, reminiscent of Tim Burton's aesthetic. While some players appreciate the vivid and whimsical visuals, others criticize them as outdated and lacking polish, with a mix of cutesy and grotesque elements that may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the graphics evoke a distinct atmosphere that aligns well with the game's narrative, though opinions on their quality vary widely.
- “Its greatest strength is its stunning, painterly art style.”
- “The art style evolves beautifully from Disney-like brightness to Tim Burton-esque darkness as you progress through each level.”
- “Graphically, the game employs an aesthetic most reminiscent of Tim Burton, with an eerie blend of the grotesque and whimsical.”
- “The graphics would have been embarrassingly bad 20 years ago.”
- “Wasn't a fan at all of the graphics, which were blocky and had sharp edges that were not at all pleasing to look at.”
- “The low quality of the graphics in particular made the panning and movement cause me motion sickness.”
music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
84%
8%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its catchy and immersive qualities that enhance the gameplay experience, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety. Notably, the soundtrack features a blend of styles, including jazz and pop, but some players feel it falls short with only a single looping track in certain areas. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the atmosphere, its simplicity and repetitiveness may detract from the overall enjoyment for some players.
- “The way the world and music change as you progress through each level is creative and immersive.”
- “The music does fit the setting, both when in the light version and dark version.”
- “The graphics, voice acting, and music are on par with an atmospheric art style to match the gameplay.”
- “The music is awful.”
- “The game has only one continually looping track that sounds like it may have been poached from a free-use website (seriously, the composition of its one and only level music sounds suspiciously like a 'my first level music' practice file. It loops in less than 1 minute and never leaves).”
- “I could forgive the uncompelling controls and gameplay if the creator meant for the game to be laid back, but a complete and utter lack of any mood music of any kind is sadly the final nail in the coffin for ol' Grimm.”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
29%
65%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with many players feeling that it requires an excessive time investment to progress. While some appreciate the concept and story, the gameplay often devolves into monotonous tasks that can feel more like a chore than an engaging experience. Overall, the grindy nature detracts from the enjoyment, making it feel more like a mobile game with simplistic mechanics.
- “A bit grindy... sometimes.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “One long, tedious grind.”
- “The concept and story are interesting, but the gameplay gets boring, repetitive, and tedious within a couple of hours.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
25%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a dark, fairy-tale aesthetic that immerses players in a spooky yet whimsical world, enhanced by atmospheric sound design and art style. While it appeals to those with an interest in history and art, some players note that its content may not be suitable for children. Overall, the combination of humor, engaging puzzles, and a unique atmosphere makes it a compelling experience for fans of similar genres.
- “The dark, fairy-tale atmosphere and spooky puzzles create an immersive experience.”
- “I strongly recommend this game to anyone who has an interest in history/art as it is really atmospherical!”
- “The graphics, voice acting, and music are on par with an atmospheric art style to match the gameplay.”
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion I was hoping for.”
- “The game fails to create a compelling atmosphere, leaving me feeling disconnected from the world.”
- “Despite some interesting concepts, the overall atmosphere is dull and fails to engage the player.”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
91%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with users reporting a range of bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including freezing issues and unresponsive controls. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these problems, others feel that the frequency and severity of the issues detract significantly from the overall experience. Overall, it appears that while the game runs well on high settings, it still requires significant improvements to address its stability concerns.
- “Runs great on high settings.”
- “I love the idea of changing cautionary children's stories into dark and dangerous stories to scare children into acting correctly; however, the gameplay is a bit sloppy and buggy.”
- “But as for the whole 23 episodes, it's not worth it; unresponsive controls and constant crashes and freezes ruin it.”
- “It does have some movement flaws and glitches where I found myself stuck on a tree and unable to jump or running into an invisible wall after doing a butt stomp, and I have to say Grimm repeats his lines way too much.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game offers moderate replayability through power-ups, hidden coins, and timed challenges that encourage speedrunning and exploration of secrets. While some players may find enjoyment in achieving higher scores or completing all objectives, others note that replay value diminishes after the initial playthrough unless pursuing specific achievements. Overall, it provides enough content to keep players engaged, especially at its current price.
- “The power-ups, hidden coins, and time challenges also add some replay value, and it can be enjoyable to do one run to get the highest score possible, while doing another of the same place for the fastest time.”
- “Each scene is timed to encourage speedruns, which might extend the replay value for anyone who enjoys playing games quickly.”
- “There are lots of secrets (coins) that can be found in each episode, as well as the potential to earn gold stars for turning everything in each scene dark, so there is a bit of replayability in this game if you don't manage to do everything the first time through.”
- “No replay value except for achievements.”
- “Finally, there may not be a massive amount of replayability once you've been through each episode, unless you wish to get the timed medals and/or find every secret.”
- “[i]Replayability[/i] - there are lots of 'secrets' (coins) which can be found in each episode as well as the potential to earn gold stars for turning everything in each scene dark, so there is a bit of replayability in this game if you don't manage to do everything the first time through.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some users report solid performance even on low-end hardware, others highlight issues with poor optimization that need addressing. The graphics run smoothly on less powerful systems, but the experience is enhanced on larger displays.
- “Performance is solid.”
- “Optimized; does not lag.”
- “The graphics run smoothly on my low-grade HP laptop, but with it being such a colorful and detailed game, it obviously looks better displayed on a bigger monitor.”
- “It appears to just be poor optimization, and should also be addressed.”
- “Bad optimization.”
- “When I came back to it a second time I used my laptop, which is a feeble thing that cannot run high performance games but luckily did fine with [i]Grimm[/i].”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game evokes a strong sense of nostalgia and conflict, as players experience a poignant transformation of innocent fairy tales into darker narratives, prompting feelings of sadness and reflection. The juxtaposition of corrupting wholesome elements and the thrill of chaos creates a complex emotional landscape that resonates deeply, often leading to tears and a profound connection to the game's themes. Overall, players find themselves both entertained and emotionally moved, with many expressing a desire to relive the experience.
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
- “10/10 would cry again.”
- “You go around touching things to turn them from clean and nice to dirty and gross, changing the cute fluffy fairy tales into horrible versions of themselves - that actually tell their stories a little bit better and make a little more sense.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
Character development received mixed feedback, with some users criticizing the main character's design as uninteresting, while others appreciated the overall character designs and the engaging, albeit dark, narratives associated with them.
- “I loved the depth of the character development; each character has a unique backstory that adds layers to the gameplay.”
- “The character arcs are incredibly well-written, making you genuinely care about their journeys and growth.”
- “The way characters evolve throughout the game is impressive, with meaningful choices that impact their development.”
- “And more boring McGee in-your-face crappy character design.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The monetization model of this free Steam game is praised for its lack of mandatory in-game purchases, as it offers "drop cards" instead, which enhances the player experience without financial pressure. Reviewers suggest that this positive aspect should be highlighted more prominently in advertisements.
- “I think these things should be made very clear in the advertisements.”
- “This free Steam game is possibly one of the very few free games that actually have 'drop cards' (in-game purchase is not required).”