Perhaps it's appropriate that the game's first town is an old, ruined prison at a crossroads called Devil's Crossing. The theme of the game isn't necessarily fighting back to turn the tide, but to simply continue surviving in the destroyed world. With one intent on using humans as weapons and the other bent on simply cleansing them from existence, it's fair to say that Grim Dawn is one of the bleaker games I've played recently. Civilization has been all but wiped out by the war between two factions far more powerful than humanity, the Aetherials and Chthonians. It's tradition to set action-RPGs in worlds which are on the brink of destruction, and Grim Dawn's land of Cairn is no exception. Recently, I got the chance to spend an extended time with the game's closed beta (covering the first chapter), and with no strings attached, I'm able to report how the game is progressing after nearly four years in development. Backed up by a successful Kickstarter campaign and upgraded technology that powered their original game, Grim Dawn is both a departure from and a retread of the same ideas found in Titan Quest six years ago.

However, several Iron Lore veterans reformed sometime around 2009 as Crate Entertainment, and have been dutifully working away on their 'spiritual follow-up' to Titan Quest. Those who wished for a Titan Quest sequel, it seems, would be stuck holding their breath. Titan Quest aged rather well and is currently available for next to nothing, but after its expansion pack Immortal Throne, Iron Lore closed its doors. Published by THQ in 2007, Titan Quest came at an interesting time - a dry spell between the prior king of action-RPGs, Diablo II, and the current cornucopia that we have today with the likes of Torchlight II, Path of Exile and Diablo III.Īt the time, Titan Quest received a mostly positive reception, but it found perhaps more acceptance beyond its initial release as word spread of 'that game that does Diablo better than Diablo' - at least, according to some. Those of you who enjoy action-RPGs may have heard of a little game by the now-defunct studio Iron Lore Entertainment called Titan Quest.

Grim dawn vs torchlight 2