Grime II Review – More Grime This Time

If you’ve played the original Grime, you already know what you’re signing up for with Grime II. That said, the sequel is very much a standalone experience. You don’t need prior knowledge to understand what’s going on, but returning players will immediately recognize the Grime DNA.

Grime II is bigger and more ambitious than the original. The weapon variety is impressive, and more importantly, everything feels usable. The game never really pushes you into one specific playstyle, which makes experimenting feel rewarding and meaningful.

For more information about the game, check out its official website here. 

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Throwing Hands in a Dark, Unsettling World

I love a dark and broody world. It’s part of why I played the original Grime, and Grime II is steeped in that same weird atmosphere. No two regions in the game feel the same. Each zone feels unique and has its own distinct personality. The enemies that you find in each zone have a reason to be there. They’re not thrown in just to fill space. 

You can see this from the very start of the game. The first zone, called the Temple of Hands, is filled with creatures that are basically hands, with enemies like Spiked Fingers, Curled Fingers, Plunging Fingers, and more.

Then, when you finally get into Mudfalls, you start encountering Halfmades, who are basically formed of mud, which is why they are not fully formed. It’s subtle, and most players might not care much for it, but for me, it’s a very clever worldbuilding that makes me feel more connected to all the strangeness.

The same goes for the NPCs. There’s this underlying sadness in a lot of their dialogue, but it’s often paired with a strange sense of humor that makes interactions memorable. You get multiple dialogue options in conversations, and while some of them clearly lead to the same outcome, there are moments where your choice does matter. This keeps you on your toes as you don’t really know which dialogue option matters.

The music and sound design take a quieter approach, with the music rarely trying to stand out on its own. Instead, it sits in the background and slowly pulls you deeper into the world. It’s subtle, but effective.

Dancing by Absorbing Mold and Parrying Strikes

Grime II is not a game that gives you an easy way out. It expects you to mess up, learn from your failure, and try again. Combat is heavily built around timing, especially parries. You’ll need to study enemy patterns, find openings, and make proper use of mechanics like Grasp Counters and Dash Counters if you want to stay in control of a fight.

There’s a certain rhythm to it. It’s not immediately obvious, but once it clicks, it feels like you’re dancing with the enemy. Landing counters, setting up a dash counter, absorbing their Mold, then chaining it into a Mold Ability, there’s a lot of flair once the combat starts to come together.

The boss battles felt more about solving puzzles than brute-forcing through their health bars. You’re constantly asking yourself when it is safe to attack, when you should parry, and when it is better to dodge. You have to figure that out before you can push through each fight. They are challenging, especially once you get past the initial sections. And that’s exactly what makes finally beating them feel so satisfying. 

For players who want a slightly more relaxed experience, there is a difficulty option that reduces enemy aggression and health. It does make general encounters easier to handle, but it doesn’t change the core of the game. You still need to learn timings and patterns. The difference is that mistakes are a bit more forgiving in this difficulty option.

Secrets, Exploration & the Grind

Grime II rewards exploration in a big way, often hiding secrets in off-beat paths. Hidden breakable walls, ability-gated areas, and hard-to-see grapple points are just a few of the tools the game uses to hide away its many secrets. And exploring every zone as much as possible rewards you with a ton of useful stuff that makes your journey through this surreal world easier.

Secrets can include things as simple as Fragments and Atriums to more meaningful upgrades like unique armor pieces, Hunt Pigments, or even new weapons. Unlike the first game, Grime II doesn’t let you put points directly into the Force meter. So, to increase your Force meter, which essentially acts as your stamina bar, you need to pick up some orbs that are mostly hidden away in the far reaches of the zones.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t complete the game if you just stick to the main path. If you’d rather just grind and beat the same loop of enemies over and over again, increasing your Health and Damage-Boosting stat, there’s nothing to stop you.

In fact, if a zone feels too tough, you’ll often find enemies near Surrogate that you can beat over and over again to level up your stats. You have complete freedom to choose how you want to tackle the threat the world throws at you.

Lost in the Grime

I don’t have a lot of complaints about the game, but there were a few moments where I felt lost and wasn’t entirely sure where to go next. Now, this is part of the genre, and getting lost isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, a bit clearer direction would have certainly made things less frustrating.

There is a learning curve to the combat system, but it’s not to the point that the game starts to demotivate you. Yes, you’ll have to take a few attempts at certain bosses, but you’ll find yourself learning the attack patterns over time, making each encounter feel easier.

Verdict

Grime II doesn’t try to reinvent what made the first game work. It just builds on it, and frankly, does a great job at it. If you enjoyed the original, this is an easy recommendation. And even if you’re new to the series, there’s enough here for it to stand on its own.

For Metroidvania fans, this is easily a game where you can sink a lot of hours into. 

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​Developer: Clover Bite
Country of Origin: Israel
Publisher: Kwalee
Release Date: 31 March, 2026 (PC, Xbox X|S, PlayStation 5)

This review is based on a copy of the game provided by the developer. The PC version of the game was played for this review of Grime II (Steam).

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Thank you for reading our review of Grime II.

Already playing the game? Check out our complete walkthrough for the game here.

For more interesting articles about all things indie games, be sure to check out the links below.

• Into Indie Games Home Page
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• Resident Evil Requiem – Walkthrough Hub
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