Overview
Grim Dawn is a dark fantasy action RPG developed and published by Crate Entertainment, released in February 2016 after a successful Early Access run. Set in the war-ravaged world of Cairn, it puts players in the middle of a conflict between two parasitic otherworldly forces, both of which have reduced humanity to scattered, desperate survivors. Iron has replaced gold as currency. Trust is the rarest resource of all.
The game draws heavily from the DNA of Titan Quest, which makes sense given that Crate was founded by Titan Quest's lead gameplay designer, with additional veterans from Blizzard North and Irrational Games rounding out the team. That pedigree shows in the polish of the systems and the density of the content. Grim Dawn launched with a complete, substantial game and has since expanded with two major paid expansions, Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods, with the Fangs of Asterkarn expansion also announced.
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Dual-class system: what makes Grim Dawn different?
The defining feature of Grim Dawn is its dual-class system, which lets players combine any two of the available masteries to create a hybrid character. The base game includes six masteries:
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- Soldier
- Demolitionist
- Occultist
- Nightblade
- Arcanist
- Shaman
Each mastery carries over 25 skills and modifiers, meaning the combination space is enormous. A Soldier-Occultist plays completely differently from a Soldier-Demolitionist, and neither resembles a Nightblade-Arcanist. On top of that, over 250 unique item-granted skills add another layer of customization that sits entirely outside the mastery trees. The Devotion system adds yet another dimension, letting players unlock constellation-based passive bonuses by restoring shrines scattered across the world.
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Loot, crafting, and build depth
The loot system in Grim Dawn is genuinely deep. Items fall across common, magical, rare, epic, and legendary tiers, with over 20,000 possible magical affix combinations and more than 200 rare affixes. The crafting system sits on top of that, with over 250 recipes that let players work salvaged components into powerful gear using a tiered recipe progression. Skill points can also be refunded for a cost, which removes the early-game anxiety of locking yourself into a dead-end build.
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The faction system adds another layer of consequence to progression. Aligning with one human faction earns vendor discounts and exclusive gear, but certain neutral factions force a choice between alliances. Hostile factions track your behavior and escalate their response over time, sending elite packs and hero-tier enemies specifically to hunt you down.
World, quests, and replayability
Cairn is a world built for exploration. Over 20 secret areas hide behind crumbling walls and locked doors, and the 200-plus hand-configured enemy heroes and bosses each carry unique skill sets. The rogue-like dungeons strip away teleportation and scale enemy levels as you descend, requiring a rare crafted key just to enter. There is no leaving early.
The quest design carries genuine weight. Over 35 quests present choices with real consequences, where the wrong call can wipe out a village or doom a survivor. The 75-plus lore notes scattered across the world flesh out Cairn's history without forcing it on players who just want to keep moving. Four-player cooperative multiplayer rounds out the package, making the more punishing content approachable with the right group.