Grime II Review - Grime and Punishment

Ole Gamer Joe
20 hours ago
6 min read

Grime II

PC/PS/XBOX

3/31/26

Clover Bite/Kwalee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIVMXP1qZQE

As a janitor, I am used to dealing with plenty of grime. Whether it's mildew, soap scum, or literal shit, I've become pretty desensitized to the many gross offerings of this world. Hell, I've even cleaned up kids' vomit; working in a school isn't easy, brothers and sisters! Grime II, the follow-up to a 2021 Metroidvania that gained a decent following, isn't quite as gnarly as staring into a bowl of feces, but its organic, alien-like environments, disgusting squelchy sound effects, and disturbed set of tormented souls who could have easily lumbered out of a town called Silent Hill make for an experience that lives up to its name. But is Grime II squeaky clean in how it plays, or did it muck up my mood? Let's find out in our full review!

GRIME II is another entry into the Metroidvania genre hoping to stand out from the many currently flooding the industry, and in some ways, it does just that. Coming to us from developer Clover Bite, it has all of the genre staples, including a sprawling map to explore teeming with secrets, new abilities to discover and master, gnarly enemies accompanied by behemoth bosses, a rousing orchestral soundtrack, and lots of mysterious lore. What's a bit unusual is the game's combat system, which often has you absorbing molds of your prey and then using their own abilities against them. You are known as a Formless, which is fancy word for mimic.

GRIME II's storyline isn't exactly squeaky clean. I'm not entirely sure how much the original game plays into understanding this one, however I will say it didn't always make total sense to me. Our tale opens on the narration of, "The Rippler of Waves" which from what I can gather is some sort of creator or Godlike creature, and you're an egg. Players answer a variety of questions as they gain consciousness and are then born into a....Grimy world for lack of a better word.

After being flung through The Rippler of Waves' vagina and pubes, you awaken in a small pool of primordial ooze, newly baptized by a bouquet of hands. Now it's time to do something, I guess, otherwise, this would be a pretty boring game. Jokes aside, it's a fittingly weird intro for a pretty bizarre experience. The core of the story seems mostly about becoming who you are. Through characters that you encounter, you'll slowly learn a bit more about your own existence. Why were you created? Why do you hunger? Did I leave the burner on when I left the house? All of these questions might be answered, emphasis on MIGHT, as you'll make many choices throughout the narrative. I don't know if I loved how cryptic this game presents, but at the least it's always somewhat interesting and even humorous in a few instances.

Playing as a Formless, GRIME II features a robust offering of systems and customization that will allow you to enjoy the game according to your individual skill level and preference. For one, the first pivotal choice to be made is your play mode: either standard, which follows the developers' original intentions, or a much-appreciated story mode wherein difficulty is lowered, and damage numbers can be further tweaked. As someone who greatly enjoys the Metroidvania genre but not so much the frustrating difficulty spikes that can often come with it, this was a godsend.

Players can also personalize the way they play GRIME II in other fun ways. Take weapons, for example. There's no shortage of axes and broadswords available, nor throwing knives if you prefer striking from a distance. Every weapon has a feel of its own with various strengths and weaknesses. The same can be said for armor and equipment, which also change the physical appearance of your character. Naturally, there are plenty of ways to upgrade your arsenal as well, whether it be purchasing new items or visiting a blacksmith who can make your existing weaponry stronger for a price.

Combat in GRIME II is good fun with plenty of intricacies of its own. Defeating foes nets you breath, and when enough breath is earned, you'll be able to heal, though you should do so carefully as this action can take a decent amount of time to recharge your health bar. Eventually a breath crown can be earned much later in the game which adds a bit more depth.

Fans of parrying will be happy to know that's an option as well, and while I hate parrying in games, the windows in GRIME II seemed at least somewhat forgiving. In combat, you'll also be gaining weapon charges to dish out special attacks, and then, of course, there are those aforementioned molds which really spice things up. Molds are earned through defeating enemies and can then be equipped and activated with the D-Pad. This can lead to some very cool combination attacks, and while I never perfected the combat of this game, I could easily see advanced players thriving with the many options available. I won't go into every detail about this game's many systems, but you should also expect a relatively straightforward leveling format which allows you to build out stats in many different ways. Focus on strength and dexterity or take a more balanced approach. Take care in your choices, however, as leveling can also play a part in the effectiveness of weapons. There's plenty more here involving molds, but I'm not here to give you a tutorial, you'll learn as you explore and discovery is half the fun.

Exploration is the other key component of any good Metroidvania game, and thankfully the world of GRIME II is not only vast, but it's quite interesting to unveil. Getting around isn't too much of a hassle with fast travel points available, and a solid, though unremarkable, map that serves the purpose and not much else. It's certainly not foolproof, and I am a fool, but expect the usual dose of backtracking that comes with the genre. And then, of course, the further you progress, the more abilities become available. Eventually, you'll have a grappling hook of sorts and even a wall jump, which allows you to reach areas that were previously dead ends. Platforming feels quite good in my opinion, snappy and a cut above your average Metroidvania. There's a good amount of it to be done too, some of which can net you some helpful rewards.

GRIME II is not an easy game on its default settings, which is good news for those who are hungry for a challenge. Bosses will show no mercy, and enemies and traps put up a good fight too. It's satisfying toppling tough opponents and then being able to quite literally absorb them to grow more powerful. As I mentioned, accessibility tweaks ensure most people will be able to stumble their way to the finish line, which will take well over 20 hours.

The visuals of GRIME II remind me a bit of diet HR Giger, a bit more down to earth though still sublimely organic and textured. There are body parts strewn about, fascinating characters to meet with uniquely unsettling features, and varied landscapes that feel unique between zones, offering wonderful variation. A few low-resolution textures can appear in spots, and a few hiccups presented themselves at times, proving that this is still very much an indie on a budget, but it's a pretty nice-looking product overall with solid art direction. I especially enjoyed the creature designs and overall soundscape of the game. It sounds downright gross at times, which is perfectly suitable for its world. The soundtrack is very good too, sometimes bombastic with its orchestral compositions, and other times presenting tranquil pianos and even vocal melodies.

I can't say I encountered too many performance issues throughout gameplay, as GRIME II ran very nicely on my 4070 even at the 4K resolution. There were no major frame rate drops, no crashes, and outside of those rare visual bugs, things were smooth as butter on PC. On Steam Deck, the game doesn't fare quite as well. I tried out a variety of settings but couldn't get much above 40 FPS even on low settings with all the effects turned off. Obviously, you lose a good deal of fidelity on Valve's handheld as of launch, but it's functionally playable if you're willing to mess with things a bit and can accept not getting a steady 60 frames per second. This could very well be ironed out quickly with a few optimizations post-launch. Overall, not the ideal way to play but certainly an option.

While GRIME II doesn't entirely break the mold, it offers just enough to help it stand out and feel uniquely its own. I enjoyed the game's platforming, most of its exploration, and interesting combat system, which mixed in both molds and environmental objects. The whole "CRYPTIC LORE" thing has run its course with me personally, but I did still enjoy some of the humor and interactions that were present. Plus, the whole game is just kind of weird but in a good way. If you seek a new Metroidvania that is well-made and is willing to try new things, GRIME II is a prime example of how to push the genre forward in different ways.

SILVER/GREAT