It’s pretty rare to see a game come along that’s challenging without being ‘unfair’.

There’s a lot of debate as to whether games like Dark Souls are unfair or not. Some say it is because of all the traps, and incredibly strong enemies you face. Others say it’s a challenge because you have to keep a watchful eye in your surroundings for visual hints that spell danger for you, as well as not rush head on into battle…especially against a new foe.

On the Dragon Bridge, if you look at the scorch marks and dead bodies littering the area…it serves as a hint that there’s some fire breathing activity close by…yeah…still probably gonna die…

To me unfair denotes the fact that a game is unwinnable no matter how much skill one possesses. Challenging means that while winnable, it won’t be easy and you’ll have to work for it…and then there’s brutal when I find a game to be brutal, to me that means there’s a considerable degree of challenge, however…any and all mistakes are punished severely…brutal is how I would describe Grimstorm…

The very first thing that caught my attention while I was scrolling through Game Jolt was the graphics…it reminded me of the ‘good ol console days’ when action side scrolling was at it’s finest…when I played games like Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts, Legend of Zelda and Wonderboy In Monster World (look it up, it’s an awesome game!)

The second thing that caught me was the music…oh my goodness the music! The main theme or first area music (which you’ll be hearing a lot of..I guarantee it) is dark, foreboding, but most of all epic! If you’re into 8-bit or Chiptune music you’ll love this! If you don’t like being punished, losing repeatedly, and having to hear restart from the beginning over and over again…this might not be for you…

Here’s a table, you may be flipping it soon…

When you start the game, you’re greeted by the following narrative…

“Castle Grimstorm…

A place of terror and evil, spreading it’s foul corruption across the Kingdom.

With it’s malevolent ruler causing chaos and despair, it’s time he met his demise.

That’s where you come in, heroic adventurer.

Blessed with the gift to come back from death, it’s up to you to storm the castle!”

I began next to a…bonfire! By now I’m already digging this as it’s reminiscent of Dark Souls…especially the bit about coming back after dying…I already knew I was going to be seeing this bonfire again…and again…and again…

When I encountered my first enemy, it looked simple enough…a guard with a sword and shield just like mine…shouldn’t be too difficult…

I soon found myself back at the bonfire because I did exactly what I should not have done and underestimated the game! At this point I gave my knuckles a good cracking, picked my game pad back up (this game supports a game pad by the way) and charged back into the castle.

Even though I took some damage I eventually defeated the first guard, I ventured onto the next screen, only to be met by another enemy, this time an archer. “OK, just guard and wait for him to loose his arrow, then run in for the kill” I thought to myself…only to find the archer stood there, just as patiently as I was…arrow drawn…awaiting my next (stupid) move.

As soon as I let my shield down so I could approach…WHAM I was struck by an arrow, which flew clear across the screen almost faster than I could blink!

I found myself running towards the castle at least 30 times after that, only to be met with failure after repeated failure and having to start over again.

Did I get frustrated? Did I rage quit? Quite the opposite. I expected death after death before I even started playing the game. My signature crooked smile crept it’s way across my face as I said to myself “Well it’s bout time..” and proceeded to go at it again!

Never have I had such a hard time with archers!

I’m yet to beat this game, I had to quit because I was playing it into the late hours of the night, and I had my job to get to the next day. So i retired for the evening, only to find myself dreaming about how to beat these enemies, and claim victory over not just the guards, but the castle itself!

I am yet to beat this game, but when I do I’ll have the biggest sense of accomplishment that I’ve had in quite some time from completing a challenging game. Be sure to check this game out, it’s not only very well made, but it’s free! Did I mention this game was created in just over a week?! Incredible!

I couldn’t recommend this title more. From it’s dark fantasy setting, classic side scrolling, to it’s smooth game play and controls…it’s an incredibly fun, frustrating, and very rewarding game.

http://gamejolt.com/games/grimstorm/59563#!

Also make sure to give the creator Nik Sudan a shoutout, he’s simply brilliant!

http://niksudan.com/