Review: Grimoire Groves Is a Perfect Cozy Choice This Summer
So you've finished re-watching Spirited Away and wondered for the nth time what it would be like to immerse yourself in a Ghibli-inspired world? Would it be peaceful, poetic, or even exciting?
Grimoire Groves, a cozy dungeon crawler developed by the indie studio Stardust Games, manages to be all three. Reminiscent of films such as Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away, with mechanics similar to the cult favorite Hades, Grimoire Groves is a refreshing entry into the roguelite genre focused on rebuilding nature. Although challenging, with its gorgeous art and a unique premise, Grimoire Groves is the game you need to fill the Ghibli-shaped hole in your heart.
Play as Primrose, a young witch determined to finish her apprenticeship under her grandmother Lavender's guidance. As part of her apprenticeship, you will passionately restore Lavender's garden, which has become unkept and overrun by nature. Restore the Grimoire Groves to their former glory by planting new seeds from the forest while battling thirsty plants on the way. Use the by-products to unlock new spells and equipment, crafting your way into becoming a fully fledged witch.
Unlike the standard roguelite, you do not damage your "enemies" while playing Grimoire Grove. Rather, each battle involves watering the plants with elemental energy until they rejoin the earth. Be careful, though: if you get too close, the over-excited plants may just try to hug you, causing your energy to deplete. For those who do not enjoy a challenge, Stardust Studios has also included a relaxed mode, where you have all the fun but none of the damage.
As you progress, the forest will flourish with you, introducing new plants to sow and characters to find. Meet the Earth Spirit, a shy dragon, hiding in the forest away from his siblings.
Have a fun afternoon with the beautiful Irene, the musical mermaid, help build Sami's tavern, and recycle your waste with Wigglesworth.
Fill your grimoire with the information you find and unlock the hidden story of the Groves and how it fell into disrepair. Craft new recipes, harvest new spells and forge new bonds in Grimoire Groves.
First Impressions
Concept
A cute entry into rogue-lite games, the pacifist nature of the game and focus on restoring nature creates a cozy alternative to games like Hades and Cult of the Lamb. The Grimoire is a cute tracker for encounters, and the visual presentation of progress by restoring the garden over time is an inventive way to see the results of your hard effort.
Aesthetics
The game has a colourful and bright style similar to that of Adventure Time. The pastel colour scheme is cohesive and creates a cheerful environment for players to enjoy, while each character is uniquely designed in ways that visualise their personality. The plants are adorable, and, as you progress and discover more, structured in a way that you can tell which plants are related and which are not, while the Grimoire that you sue to track your progress and record your discoveries feels like it could be a handwritten diary, adding a personal flair to the gameplay.
Tutorial
Although the tutorial is fairly explanatory, there is nothing in place to stop you from acting outside of its recommended actions (such as gifting a sapling to an NPC instead of planting it), which can create hardship further along. Make sure you pay close attention to the tutorial so that you begin the game at the best starting point.
The tutorial also does not fully explain all mechanics, such as the ability to phone a friend or how to play the minigame to create recovery items, leaving them neglected by players and creating a mounting feeling of frustration. The mini game particularly vexed me, as you have one attempt per round, which is not enough time to figure out how the game works.
Core Game-Play Loop
The core gameplay is fairly repetitive, as expected of the genre. You adventure, gather resources, have random encounters with NPCs, and return ( either willingly after exploring a map where you will receive a completion percentage, or forcefully when you get hugged too much by the plants and run out of energy.) Once returned, you will then use the resources to either unlock new abilities or restore the garden. When you're ready to begin your next attempt, you recycle your remaining resources to power the portal and leave.
Although the recycling mechanic sounds good in theory, it can be frustrating when you recycle your resources and then encounter an NPC before having the chance to gather more. This can delay quest fulfilment as you may recycle the needed item before encountering the character again, and prevents bonding with the NPCs as you are unable to interact with them fully without the required resources. Don't let this prevent you from playing the game, however, as the more you progress and advance, the less this becomes an issue.
Mechanics
The game mechanics are fairly simple: dodge, stun, water, and plant. You will equip three spells, swap between elements based on the type of plants, then once the plants are hydrated, plant them to gather resources/pick up resources lying around.
Although the different elements are a fun mechanic, the concept feels underdeveloped. Based on the plants' elements, you switch to a different elemental power and then repeat the same strategies. If you use the wrong element to water the plants, you will not be able to plant them. The use of the different elements does not change the mechanics of the game, but rather adds an extra step to your fighting tactics. This is a shame as the different elemental types for the same plant could be used to create unique battles and runs. The developers could change the tactics that the plants use based on their elements to allow players to creatively strategize for the different types, and change the designs further (currently they are different colours based on element) of the different elemental plants to further suit the element they belong to, creating a distinction between the different elemental types.
Accessibility
Although available in many languages, Grimoire Groves has limited accessibility options, limited to the standard ability to change resolution and volume. The characters speak in gibberish with subtitles for you to understand what they're saying. Hopefully, future updates will include further options for those who are hearing or visually impaired.
Conclusion
Grimoire Groves is a fun entry into the rogue-lite genre and a must-try for all the cozy gamers out there. Although there is room for improvement, the gorgeous art style, cozy concept, and passionate team behind Grimoire Groves more than make up for it.
Grimoire Groves is available on Steam and will soon be released on the Nintendo Switch.
