Info about Grimoire : Heralds of the Winged Exemplar (V2):

Official game description:
Digital Deluxe Edition
======================
Work on the awesome V4 version of Grimoire to be released in the Fall continues and the world trembles at the coming incline of win and excellence! Tens of thousands begin to camp out on the sidewalk outside of Steam headquarters after rumors of a Grimoire shortage and possible Grimoire rationing ripple through the population.
About the Game
==============
**THE ULTIMATE CLASSIC STYLE TURN-BASED FANTASY ROLEPLAYING GAME!**  
After more than 20 years of development, the greatest roleplaying game of them all is finally ready for release! Grimoire is an homage to the classic dungeon blobbers and is inspired by Wizardry, Might & Magic, Lands of Lore, Anvil of Dawn, DungeonMaster and the Eye of the Beholder games!  
*   600 hours of play possible in a single game  
*   Lush Colorful 2D Hand Drawn Artwork  
*   Retro style MIDI music and 8 bit sound effects  
*   244+ Maps in the game to explore!  
*   Turn-Based strategic combat  
*   Multiple Beginnings, Multiple Endings  
*   144 context sensitive magic spells  
*   14 races, 15 professions, 50 skills  
*   64 intelligent NPCs with 8000+ Words in Vocabulary  
*   Full Sentence Communication with NPCs  
*   240+ monsters each with special powers and defenses  
*   1000+ items, Carry Containers, Global Party Inventory  
*   30 conditions, from Confusion to Disease & Lycanthropy  
*   Automapping, Autowalking, Autohealing  
*   Global Map Atlas With Position Marker  
*   Quest Journal, Hint Prompting, Help Facility, Mini-Quests  
*   Complex LockPicking Interfaces for Doors & Chests  
*   Challenging Puzzles and Rich Interactive Dungeons  
*   Browsable Character Library for up to 100 characters  
*   Multiple Crafting Workshops for all items  
*   Up to 12 Commented Postage Stamped Savegames  
*   Multi-themed GUI and customizable screen layouts

Release date: Aug 4, 2017

Categories: Dungeon Crawler, Turn-based RPG, Party-based Combat, First-Person Perspective, Multiple Endings, Exploration, Character Customization

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 75; verdict: The Hoarder; summary: The primary driver of 'Wiki Tax' is the forced need for external spreadsheets and manual tracking, indicative of Tier 2: The Hoarder. A single review explicitly references creating an Excel sheet, which matches the strict 'Spreadsheet' keyword. While other complaints about missing information, walkthrough requirements, navigation difficulties, and technical bugs are present, the priority scoring algorithm assigns a score of 75 based on this Tier 2 evidence.
- Steam Deck: score 85; verdict: Broken; summary: The game suffers from severe crash bugs, save data corruption, and updates that break launching or loading. Stability is consistently poor, affecting core gameplay.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $15.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews indicate the original $40 price is too high and the new $19.99 full price is seen as more accurate. The $3 sale price is considered very cheap but not the base price. Some users find $19.99 fair without discounts, supporting a range around that point. The evidence suggests a community fair base price between $15 and $20, with $20 as the upper bound based on the adjusted full price.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 90.0h
  - Story completion: 90.0h
  - Session length: 4.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Game completion: A French player reports 80-100 hours to finish, which directly supports a typical total playtime to beat the game. Story/campaign completion: The same 80-100 hour figure applies since finishing the game likely means completing the main campaign. Session length: The early-game description indicates a few minutes for character creation plus an hour for party building, and a 'first 4 hours' impression suggests a typical session of around 4 hours. Endgame: Evidence describes grinding and difficulty escalation but no specific hour count, so this metric remains unsupported.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Grimoire has a punishing early game with a steep learning curve, but once players overcome the initial friction and learn the mechanics, the game becomes highly addictive and fun for a period, though many report that mid and late game become tedious and infuriating.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: After power gain accelerates and party synergy clicks
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: steep learning curve; unintuitive UI requiring many extra clicks; tedious early gameplay and confusing puzzles; repetitive and annoying sound design; bugs and technical issues from a one-man team; unbalanced encounters and character options
  - Unlock drivers: learning game mechanics through trial and error; power gain acceleration as party builds synergy; patience to get through the first few hours; watching streams to reduce learning curve
  - Conditions: player must be patient and willing to learn; enjoyment of old-school, clunky RPGs with steep curves; solo play with focus on trial and error exploration; setting aside expectations of modern UI conveniences
- Player Archetypes:
  - Old-School Blobber Devotee (buy)
    - Motivation: Nostalgia for classic blobber RPGs and the satisfaction of overcoming punishing, old-school challenges.
    - Playstyle: Methodical exploration and grinding; accepts savescumming and high difficulty; invests dozens of hours to uncover hidden depth.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: hardcore fan; old school gamer; Wizardry fan; blobber enthusiast
    - Reference games: Wizardry 7; Wizardry 6; Might and Magic; Bard's Tale
  - Disillusioned Genre Fan (no buy)
    - Motivation: Hope for a worthy successor to classic blobbers, but ultimately disappointed by unbalanced gameplay and incomplete features.
    - Playstyle: Initially engaged but quickly frustrated by obtuse design, grind, and lack of QoL; may abandon the game or only play with extensive research and walkthroughs.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: Wizardry veteran; old school gamer; genre fan; disappointed player
    - Reference games: Wizardry 7; Wizardry 6; Might and Magic; Bard's Tale


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- True Wizardry spiritual successor (weight 0.2): Many reviewers describe this game as the true successor to Wizardry 6/7 and Might and Magic, capturing the same feeling and containing everything Wizardry 7 had and more.
- Abundant races, classes, skills (weight 0.15): The game features a large number of races, classes, skills, and items, providing extensive depth and variety for character building and exploration.
- Excellent quality of life features (weight 0.14): Auto-mapping, auto-movement, in-game journal, quest tracking, and full mouse support make the experience smoother and more accessible.
- Interesting and complex puzzles (weight 0.12): Puzzles are described as interesting, complicated, and requiring thinking, with well-designed hints available to assist players.
- Fun character creation options (weight 0.12): Character creation is highlighted as fun and extensive, with boatloads of options in races, classes, and skills to personalize your party.
- Fantastic music and graphics (weight 0.1): The music, soundtrack, art design, and graphics are consistently praised as top-notch, enhancing the overall atmosphere and enjoyment.
- Authentic old-school dungeon crawler (weight 0.1): Reviewers note it is exactly what you expect from an old-school 90's dungeon crawler, with classic turn-based gameplay and a massive world intact.
- Challenging and rewarding combat (weight 0.1): Tough combat with consequences for mistakes, combined with puzzles, makes encounters challenging yet rewarding for players seeking a test of skill.
- Huge world full of secrets (weight 0.1): The game offers a huge expansive world with over 200 locations, each with a story, encouraging thorough exploration.
- Great storytelling by creator (weight 0.07): The story is well-received, with the creator delivering good storytelling that engages players throughout the journey.
- Flexible difficulty customization (weight 0.07): Difficulty is flexibly adjustable through starting location, random encounter frequency, and base difficulty, allowing players to tailor the challenge.
- Fun and positive atmosphere (weight 0.07): Reviewers consistently mention the game as pure fun with a nice atmosphere that keeps them engaged and happy.
- Improved class change mechanics (weight 0.07): Class change mechanics are improved compared to Wizardry 7, and some areas show improvement over Wizardry 8, such as respawning.

Common complaints:
- UI is clunky and unintuitive (weight 0.36): Players report the interface is extremely cumbersome, requiring multiple clicks for simple actions, with inconsistent information presentation and small font sizes.
- Missing manual despite promises (weight 0.19): The developer promised a manual over a year ago but has not delivered one, leaving players without essential guidance.
- Numerous bugs present (weight 0.17): The game contains a significant number of bugs, both minor and major, even after release, making it feel unfinished.
- Blurry graphics and small text (weight 0.11): Graphics are blurry even by 90s standards, and text is very small and hard to read.
- Developer trust issues (weight 0.11): The developer has a history of lying, missing deadlines, and banning players for criticism, damaging community trust.
- Unclear NPC dialogue system (weight 0.09): NPC conversations require typing keywords without hints or clue words, forcing players to guess the correct input.
- Obscure game mechanics (weight 0.07): Game mechanics are poorly explained, leaving players uncertain about the impact of their choices.
- Combat is too slow (weight 0.07): Combat rounds proceed very slowly, making battles feel excessively long and tedious.
- Encourages save scumming (weight 0.07): Due to high difficulty and random elements, players feel forced to repeatedly save and reload to progress.
- No tooltips available (weight 0.07): The game lacks tooltips, making it difficult to understand what various UI elements and game features do.
- Unbalanced character creation (weight 0.07): Character creation can produce characters with as little as 2 HP, while early enemies hit for 3, making them nearly unplayable.
- Tedious random encounters (weight 0.07): Random encounters force players to traverse areas repeatedly in a slow, tedious manner.
- Poor stat and race explanation (weight 0.07): The game does not explain what stats do, the value of skills, or differences between races, leaving players confused.
- Extreme difficulty even on Novice (weight 0.07): The game is extremely difficult even on the Novice setting, with frequent one-hit kills from enemies.

Gameplay feedback:
- Classic dungeon crawler game (weight 0.46): The game is frequently described as an old-school dungeon crawler, specifically a 'blobber' and a turn-based, grid-based, first-person party-based RPG. It strongly evokes the style of early 1990s and Wizardry 7.
- Wizardry-inspired gameplay (weight 0.34): Many reviews directly compare the game to the Wizardry series, calling it a 'Wizardry-like' or 'clone' with similar mechanics. The influence of Wizardry 6, 7, and 8 is heavily noted in the turn-based combat and system design.
- Extensive character creation (weight 0.24): The game offers deep character customization with many races, classes, and abilities, allowing for complex party building. The creation process is detailed and takes place in a 'Library' from the main menu.
- Keyword-based NPC dialogue (weight 0.23): A distinct feature is the keyword-based or text input system for interacting with NPCs. Players type specific keywords to ask about topics, which is a classic and sometimes challenging mechanic.
- Large party size (weight 0.2): Players can create and manage a party of up to eight characters, often arranged in a two-column formation. This allows for a front line of warriors and a back line of mages or support.
- High difficulty and no hand-holding (weight 0.18): The game is described as very hard, especially in the early game, with frequent party deaths and no hand-holding. It requires reading the manual and savescumming to survive.
- Turn-based tactical combat (weight 0.18): Combat is turn-based and considered strategic, focusing on spell selection, status effects, and party formation. It is compared to the tactical depth of Might and Magic and Wizardry.
- Vast world for exploration (weight 0.18): The game features a large world with over 200 zones, many dungeons, and puzzles. Exploration is a core focus, with hidden secrets and multiple starting locations.
- Deep stat and skill systems (weight 0.17): The game has complex stats, including randomization for leveling, an experience system similar to D&D, and multiple skills like Litany and Necromancy. Attribute distribution and skill checks are key to progression.
- Variety of spells and items (weight 0.15): There are many spells (12 schools of magic) and hundreds of items, with detailed mechanics for identification and crafting. The inventory icons are hand-painted.
- Random encounters and difficulty customization (weight 0.14): The game uses a random encounter system, and players can customize difficulty through starting location, encounter frequency, and difficulty levels (Novice to Superhero).
- Multi-classing and class changes (weight 0.12): Players can change classes or multi-class, especially after reaching high levels, to continue gaining benefits. This system encourages strategic planning for character growth.
- Puzzle and trap mechanics (weight 0.11): The game includes old-school puzzles, lock picking puzzles, and traps. While some hidden passages are obscure, the traps are considered fair.
- UI and combat interface (weight 0.1): The interface includes a single icon with dropdowns for actions, and combat requires individual orders for each character. There is a shortcut to speed up battles.
- Auto-mapping and journal features (weight 0.09): The game includes an automatic map and an auto-journal that records clues and information. These features assist in navigating the large, complex world and are seen as essential quality-of-life tools.
- Resource management and survival (weight 0.09): Players need to manage resources carefully, including scarce ranged ammunition and resting costs that are affected by an Age stat. Survival in dungeons is a constant challenge.
- Status effects and ailments (weight 0.09): Status effects are critical in combat, with enemies and players suffering from ailments like blindness, madness, and backstabbing. There are counterplay spells to manage these effects.
- Narrative and writing quality (weight 0.07): The game's writing quality is noted, and the narrative includes commentary on religion and existence. The game balances exploration and dungeon crawling with a deeper story.
- Classic era graphics (weight 0.05): The graphics are 2D and representative of the early 90s, with low resolution. While not modern, they are considered acceptable for the style of game.
- Quick start and premade parties (weight 0.04): A quick start button is available for players who want to use a premade party instead of going through detailed creation. This helps ease new players into the game.

Performance notes:
- Frequent crashes reported (weight 0.28): Players report frequent crashes, including random crashes, crashes when casting spells, clicking portraits, loading saves, or viewing character stats. Some crashes are game-breaking.
- Fullscreen and resolution issues (weight 0.15): Fullscreen mode has problems on modern systems, requiring manual desktop resolution changes to 1024x768. Black borders and inability to alt-tab are also noted.
- Game performance is janky (weight 0.15): General performance is described as janky or floaty, with mouse lag in fullscreen and forced loading times of 20 seconds. Outdated engine is blamed.
- Save files deleted by updates (weight 0.13): Updates or patches delete all saved games or wipe saves randomly, causing loss of progress. Players cannot overwrite saves after patching.
- Windowed mode problems (weight 0.1): Windowed mode triggers crashes, black screens, or cursor artifacts. The game may not switch between modes smoothly.
- Old engine incompatible with modern OS (weight 0.1): The outdated graphic engine does not work well with modern Windows or high-resolution monitors like 4K. Linux works with workarounds.
- Display scaling and black borders (weight 0.1): Fullscreen scaling causes mouse lag or black borders, and the game only uses a small portion of the screen on large monitors.
- Forced long loading time (weight 0.04): Opening the game forces a 20-second loading screen that players find unnecessary.
- Cannot switch programs easily (weight 0.04): The game prevents switching to other programs, possibly due to fullscreen mode bugs.
- Audio issues present (weight 0.04): Audio problems are mentioned that affect gameplay experience.

Recommendations:
- Target audience is retro fans (weight 0.55): The game is strongly recommended for fans of classic RPGs like Wizardry, Might and Magic, and Bard's Tale. It is explicitly not recommended for casual or modern gamers.
- Not recommended in current state (weight 0.36): Many reviews advise against buying the game now due to bugs, incomplete status, and technical issues. Some suggest waiting for patches or a 2.0 version.
- Worth buying only for genre fans (weight 0.33): For dedicated fans of old-school blobbers or Wizardry, the game is a worthwhile purchase. For others, it is not recommended.
- Should be early access or wait for patches (weight 0.2): Multiple reviews state the game should be listed as Early Access. Players are advised to wait for fixes or a finished version before purchasing.
- High difficulty and jank tolerance needed (weight 0.15): The game is very difficult and requires patience, with high jank tolerance. It is not for new players or those expecting hand-holding.
- Game is incomplete or broken (weight 0.14): Several reviews claim the game has broken mechanics, technical problems, and feels unfinished. Some doubt it will ever be fully fixed.
- Better alternatives exist (weight 0.14): Some reviewers suggest playing other games like Grimoire, Bard's Tale, or replaying the original Wizardry games instead. These alternatives are considered better experiences.
- Price is too high for current quality (weight 0.14): The game is criticized for being priced at $40 while not being complete or polished. Many suggest waiting for a sale or that it is not worth full price.
- Poor UI and outdated design (weight 0.13): The user interface is frustrating and the game suffers from outdated design choices. Issues like lack of manual and save wipes are cited as problems.
- Recommended with caveats (weight 0.12): Some reviews give a qualified recommendation, advising caution, waiting for patches, or only buying on sale. They acknowledge potential but not in current state.
- Requires guide or wiki to play (weight 0.12): Some reviews recommend using a guide, wiki, or having reference material open to navigate the game. The game is difficult to figure out without external help.
- Reviewers are split between love and hate (weight 0.11): Opinions are polarized: some find it charming and addictive (like a classic), while others find it unplayable. The game evokes strong reactions.
- Positive nostalgia trip for old gamers (weight 0.11): Players who started RPGs in the 80s and early 90s find it nostalgic and enjoyable, capturing the spirit of classic games.
- Not for players who need hand-holding (weight 0.08): The game expects players to figure out mechanics on their own, with no quest markers or tutorials. This is seen as a positive for some, a negative for others.
- Buyer beware warnings (weight 0.07): Strong warnings are issued to potential buyers, describing the game as a waste of money for most people. Some say to avoid entirely.
- Possible future improvement after patches (weight 0.07): Some reviewers express hope that after significant patching, the game could become a good niche title. They note potential but advise waiting.
- Large and time-consuming game (weight 0.07): The game is noted to be very large, with estimates of 80-100 hours to complete. It requires a significant time investment.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.31): Players expressed frustration with the game's opaque mechanics, poor user interface, and lack of documentation, forcing reliance on external guides. Technical issues such as crashes, save file corruption, and bugs, alongside tedious combat and unbalanced difficulty, further compounded the negative experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.14): Players felt disappointment due to the game failing to meet expectations, especially given its long development time. Broken mechanics, wasted potential, lack of polish, and missing features like a manual or balanced progression led many to feel the game did not deliver on its promises.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): Satisfied players found the game rewarding after overcoming the initial learning curve, citing deep content, strategic combat, and a faithful old-school feel. Improvements through patches and features like auto-mapping contributed to enjoyment for those who persisted.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Players enjoyed the game for its deep content, exploration, puzzles, and authentic old-school CRPG atmosphere. Despite issues, the variety and addictive gameplay, along with improved controls and party management, provided a fun experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.04): The game evoked strong nostalgia for classic 90s RPGs like Wizardry, with players appreciating the authentic retro feel, familiar gameplay, and memories of simpler times. It was seen as a time capsule that recreates the experience of discovering a lost classic.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Players appreciated the developer's responsiveness to feedback, the sheer volume of content, and the game's faithfulness to beloved classics. The artistic effort, depth of commentary, and dedication to creating a true successor were also highlighted.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Excitement stemmed from the game being a long-awaited spiritual successor to Wizardry 7, with players praising its soundtrack, nostalgic graphics, and addictive gameplay. The variety of options and refreshing style generated enthusiasm among dungeon crawler fans.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Admiration was directed at the game's authentic 90s RPG design, the developer's perseverance over two decades, and the massive amount of high-quality writing. It was seen as a magnum opus despite the surrounding drama.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Anger was directed at unfair difficulty spikes, poor game design that forced reloads, and the developer's hostile behavior, including banning users for honest feedback and marking reviews as off-topic.
- Annoyance (weight 0.02): Annoyance arose from repetitive and poor sound effects, the need for scum saving, a cumbersome combat UI, slow pace, and the lack of a manual alongside subpar MIDI audio.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): Confusion resulted from deeply hidden class selection mechanics, an opaque stat system, unclear progression, and a lack of clear plot direction, making it difficult for players to understand how to play effectively.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Hope was expressed that the developer would continue working on the game, fixing UI issues and bugs through frequent updates. Some saw potential for the game to become a must-have for Wizardry fans.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game came from its deep systems, labor-of-love quality, and authentic old-school feel, with players appreciating the mastery required and the sense that it expands on Wizardry 7.
- Stress (weight 0.01): Stress was caused by encounters that destroy gear or kill in one hit, leading to an overwhelming sense of anxiety that outweighed any fun or sense of accomplishment.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom resulted from endless grinding and a lack of engaging content after the first few dungeons, making the game feel repetitive and uninteresting.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret was felt over purchasing the game based on incomplete information or despite knowing the developer's history, with players unable to get refunds and disliking most aspects except basic art.
- Skepticism (weight 0.01): Skepticism arose from initial bad reviews, the high price, and the developer's history of dishonest behavior, making players wary of the game's quality and promises.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy came from the game's classic feel, good design choices, and fun character creation elements like the useful bard skill, eliciting fits of happiness reminiscent of old RPGs.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise was expressed because the graphics and music exceeded low expectations, offering a more polished experience than anticipated.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Relief was attributed to the breadcrumb feature that aids navigation in complex dungeons, reducing frustration and helping players find their way more easily.}