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Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

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Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar
Developer(s)Golden Era Games
Publisher(s)Golden Era Games
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • WW: August 4, 2017
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar is a dungeon-crawling role-playing video game developed by Golden Era Games. The game was released for Windows on August 4, 2017. The project had been assumed to be vaporware having been in development for more than 20 years. Grimoire features "old-school" qualities, such as turn-based combat and blobber gameplay, with a whimsical fantasy style with influences from other genres.

Plot

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar is set in a fantasy world entitled Hyperborea, guarded by a god known as the White Owl (also known as the "Winged Exemplar", hence the game's subtitle). The White Owl has set up a clock, named the "Metronome Mysterium", to promote peace and tranquility throughout Hyperborea, which had been plagued by conflict before the implementation of the clock. Knowledge of the Metronome Mysterium's location on nine hidden tablets, but the White Owl soon forgot the location of them. As the clock began to count down and unwind, the player is required to locate the nine tablets in order to restore the state of peace Hyperborea was once in.[1]

Gameplay

An in-game screenshot of Grimoire.

Grimoire is a dungeon-crawling role-playing video game played from a first-person perspective. The game features turn-based tactical combat with gameplay patterned closely after Wizardry 6 and Wizardry 7.[2] In the game, the player controls up to 8 party members. Intense difficulty is also a key feature of gameplay,[3] along with the aforementioned "old-school" nature; the game includes 2D graphics and MIDI music.[4] The game world is divided into tiles which the player can move between, with a camera view pointing in the four cardinal directions. Grimoire features an in-game map with an auto-walking option.

Gameplay consists of a combination of exploration, puzzle solving and combat. Characters within the party gain experience for defeating enemies, allowing them to increase in level, learn new magic spells and improve their skills. New equipment and quest items are obtained through exploration and purchased in shops or from friendly characters. The game offers over 1000 different items, 240 different enemies and 144 context sensitive magic spells.

In Grimoire, it is possible to create your own party from 15 different professions and 14 different races. In addition, out of the 64 friendly characters encountered during the game, about 25 can be recruited into one's own party of up to 8 members. The player can choose between five different beginnings and can adjust the combat difficulty level throughout the game.

Development

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar was created by Cleveland Mark Blakemore. Blakemore, a programmer by trade, had previously worked for Sir-Tech, the publishers of the popular Wizardry computer role-playing game series. After the release of the seventh game in the series, Wizardry 7, Sir-Tech outsourced their development to an Australian company with the intent to create a sequel, known as Wizardry: Stones of Arnhem. Due to the lack of progress by the game's team, Blakemore was hired as a consultant. However, he alleged that he was unable to bring the rest of the team into line, and resigned. Stones of Arnhem was eventually cancelled; distraught at Sir-Tech by their alleged failure to create an effective work environment, he started work on Grimoire shortly after the cancellation of Stones of Arnhem. Traditionally, gaming historians have treated Blakemore's version of events with skepticism, but after Sir-Tech documents appeared for auction, his version of events has been largely confirmed.[5][failed verification]

Since the game's 1997 announcement and 1998 beta testing, there have been many release dates announced and updates provided. One of the first was provided by a preview in October 1997 issue of Computer Gaming World, which claimed the game would be released later that year.[6] In 2013, Blakemore launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding drive, which failed to meet its goal, only raising $10,598 out of a goal of $250,000; the campaign promised a release later that year.[4][1] In 2017, the game was launched on Steam Greenlight pending a release sometime later that year. The release date was eventually announced as July 7, but the game failed to be released that day. The game was eventually released on August 4;[7][8] Blakemore announced that "After more than 20 years of development, the greatest roleplaying game of them all is finally ready for release!"[9][10] After its release, Golden Era Games pledged to support the game with more patches and features.

Reception

GameStar reviewer Sascha Penzhorn criticizes the outdated graphics and sound of the game, but notes that with the inclusion of missing features, a manual, as well as adjustments to the user interface and the game balance, Grimoire could become "a really good oldschool RPG". In summary, he states that currently the game is "unfinished, broken, hostile to its users and is being offered at full price", awarding it a score of 30/100.[11][12]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun writer Alec Meer states in an article that he admires the size of the game and the dedication behind it, noting that "the labour of love is clear". However, he also harshly criticizes the slow combat, the "desperately cumbersome" user interface and the sound. His conclusion: "I like Grimoire in many ways, but again, I would need to truly, madly, deeply love it in order to endure all that. I’m afraid that I do not."[2]

Writing for Motherboard, Leif Johnson concludes that even though Grimoire fills a niche that has not been filled for a while, personally he does not "have time for this kind of punishment anymore."[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Grimoire : Heralds of the Winged Exemplar". Indiegogo. 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b Meer, Alec (9 August 2017). "Grimoire, the RPG 20 years in the making, is a crazily tough nut to crack". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b Johnson, Leif (9 August 2017). "Is This Game That Started Development 20 Years Ago the 'Greatest RPG of Them All'?". Motherboard. Vice. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b Chalk, Andy (4 August 2017). "Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar is now live on Steam after 20 years of development". PCGamer. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  5. ^ Carolipio, Reggie (30 April 2014). "Four legends from gaming's past". GamesBeat. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  6. ^ Wilson, Johnny L. (October 1997). "Grimoire: A Classic Role-playing Game from the Net" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 159. Ziff Davis. p. 150. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  7. ^ Chalk, Andy (7 July 2017). "Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar launch delayed (Update)". PCGamer. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  8. ^ Schreier, Jason (5 August 2017). "Aussie Game That Entered Development In 1997 Came Out Last Night". Kotaku AU. Allure Media. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  9. ^ Blake, Vikki (5 August 2017). "Grimoire dev thinks his own game is the "greatest roleplaying game of them all"". PCGamesN. Network N Ltd. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  10. ^ Kim, Matt (7 July 2017). "Classic Fantasy RPG, Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar, Finally Comes Out on PC After 20 Years [Update]". USGamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar im Test - Retro-Masochismus für 37 Euro". GameStar. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  12. ^ "WERTUNG ZU Grimoire". GameStar. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
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