Grim Dawn - Fangs of Asterkarn Review Summary

Excellent DLC and fun new classes make this the best ARPG, but the terrible UI, bugs, and scant content aren't worth the wait.

DLC is excellent: Multiple clusters praise the new DLC and expansion, highlighting its high quality, challenging and fun gameplay, and seamless integration with the base game. The content is described as massive, with new zones comparable in size to the vanilla game, offering substantial value at a low price.

New classes are fun: The new classes, including the Berserker and shapeshifting forms like the Wereraven and Werewolf, are very well-received. Players find these classes not only powerful but also visually appealing and enjoyable to play, adding significant variety.

Best ARPG on market: Many reviews declare this the best ARPG currently available, comparing it favorably to classics like Diablo 2 and modern competitors. The game is considered a top-tier title in the genre, offering excellent value compared to other ARPGs.

UI improvements are welcome: The new UI and quality-of-life changes are highly praised. Players find the UI to be a significant improvement, with some even stating that the UI overhaul alone is worth the price of the expansion.

Huge amount of content: Players consistently report that the game offers a massive amount of content, providing hundreds of hours of gameplay. The expansion alone adds a huge new area and dungeon, contributing to a very lengthy and fulfilling experience.

New UI is terrible: The updated UI is widely disliked for its orange glow, eye strain, poor design, and lack of toggle options.

DLC release and bugs: Multiple players report the DLC was released too late, caused extensive troubleshooting, and introduced numerous bugs including black screens, crashes, and character deletion.

Content too small for wait: After 3-5 years, the expansion offers little new content: a short main story, empty world, few quests, and no new devotions or progression.

New class is disappointing: The Berserker class is criticized for being mostly passives, reskinned abilities, underwhelming melee, and lacking minions compared to previous expansions.

Werewolf form issues: Players cannot revert to human form, find the beast appearance ugly (like a rat), and animations are slow and clumsy.

New Berserker mastery class: The Berserker mastery introduces shapeshifting mechanics, allowing transformations into werewolf, stormcrow, and were-raven forms. This class is praised for its unique playstyle and build options.

Expanded endgame activities: New endgame features include Shattered Realms, Crucible engagements, roguelite dungeons, and nemesis bosses. Players also appreciate the addition of devoted constellations and item transmutation systems.

Classic ARPG nostalgia: Players appreciate the old-school ARPG feel reminiscent of Diablo 2 and Path of Exile. The game offers depth, complexity, and a hack-and-slash experience that fans of the genre enjoy.

Build variety and depth: Players can explore multiple damage types, ascension systems, and devotion constellations. The Berserker class offers distinct build paths between melee werewolf and ranged were-raven forms.

New zones and environments: The expansion introduces a massive new zone called Asterkarn, with handcrafted areas like Frostveil Highlands featuring a winter environment. Players enjoy the new detailed environments and secrets.

Game crashes frequently: Players report black screen crashes on launch and general stability issues. These crashes prevent the game from starting or running properly.

Performance improvements noted: Recent updates have added FPS optimization and faster performance, suggesting the developers are actively addressing technical issues.

Positive Linux experience: Some players report that the game runs great on Linux with no technical issues or bugs, highlighting platform-specific satisfaction.

Stuttering due to CPU: The game stutters on systems with single-core CPUs, indicating a performance issue related to CPU utilization.

UI text corruption issue: When the UI size is set to large, the text becomes corrupted, making it difficult to read menus or in-game information.

Recommended for Grim Dawn fans: Multiple reviews strongly recommend this expansion specifically for fans of Grim Dawn, highlighting it as essential or must-buy content for the existing player base. This is the most frequent and specific theme across clusters.

Worth the price: Several reviews emphasize the expansion as an excellent value for its price, often comparing it favorably to other ARPGs and microtransactions. The content-to-cost ratio is a key selling point.

Buy without hesitation: A number of reviewers express a strong, immediate recommendation to purchase the expansion, using phrases like 'instant buy', 'buy it now', or 'take my money'. This reflects high confidence in the product's quality.

Recommended for ARPG fans: Many reviews recommend the expansion to fans of classic isometric ARPGs like Diablo 2 and Path of Exile, noting it fits well within the genre. This broad recommendation targets a wider audience beyond just Grim Dawn players.

Not recommended by some: A small but present number of reviews do not recommend the expansion, citing disappointment, refunds, or questioning developer practices. This negative feedback is important for a balanced view.

Community fair range: $9.99 - $14.99.

The game delivers immediate fun through powerful early werewolf and wereraven forms and interesting new items, though bugs and mana consumption introduce some friction.

Friction: UI click recognition bug; multiplayer crash on death while transformed; high mana consumption early game.

Veteran Masochist: Optimizes builds to face the hardest super bosses and game modes, often dying repeatedly. Motivation: Seeking extreme challenge and satisfaction from being humbled by difficult content. Stance: buy.

Co-op Social Player: Coordinates DLC ownership with multiplayer partners, avoids being stranded in single player. Motivation: Playing through the game with friends in co-op. Stance: sale.

Value-Seeking Grinder: Grinds for ideal gear, spends hundreds of hours, seeks efficient farming methods. Motivation: Maximize content per dollar and reduce tedious grind through QoL features. Stance: buy.

Performance varies widely by VRAM: high-VRAM users report positive experiences, while the 8-11GB VRAM cohort experiences launch failures, and the 12-15GB VRAM cohort has a positive recommendation.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. A recommended review indicates the game runs well, though one user expressed hope for 4K performance.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: negative. Game fails to launch with a black screen, reported by a not recommended review.

Windows 16GB+ VRAM: positive. A recommended review suggests strong performance, despite commentary focusing on gameplay difficulty.

Monetization: The user feedback shows overwhelming positive sentiment toward Grim Dawn's DLC as a high-value expansion with no microtransactions, pay-to-win elements, or predatory mechanics. A minor criticism about DLC dependency (requiring previous DLCs) is flagged but does not pertain to in-game monetization. The monetization model is traditional DLC/expansion with fair pricing and strong community support.

Grim Dawn 2 development active: Players noted that active development of Grim Dawn 2 started this year, indicating strong ongoing support for the franchise.

Last DLC for Grim Dawn: A single review mentioned that the latest expansion is the final DLC planned for Grim Dawn, signaling the end of content updates for the original game.