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Grime {Colors Of Rot} - An Indepth Look At the DLC

3K View2022-12-22

Heya there, and thanks for tapping- since I'm looking to talk shop about my experiences with Clover Bites recent major update to Grime- namely, the Colors of Rot DLC.

If you're looking to know more about the base game- you can check out my coverage of the game either in writing @ (https://www.taptap.io/post/3856666 ) Or in video format @ ( https://www.taptap.io/post/3852414).

That said, if you want to know everything that's changed- you're in the right place.

A Rotten Return

Now, if you're poking into the game for the first time, or a returning veteran, it might be a bit of time until you notice the changes to the narrative. That's not to say there aren't a few you can encounter early on- like the Vases, or the side story involving the secret Misbegotten Amalgam boss. That said, the biggest overall adjustment to the games storyline is the extension of the garden's narrative thread into the Childbed- a brand new area which essentially serves as the cradle for the mysterious entity known as 'The Child'. While it had been hinted at in the base game, with its influence being shown through the appearance of the eyes, and the flowering enemies- this recent DLC puts it center stage.

To the point that you'll be able to gain a somewhat deeper understanding of things, provided you engage with the questline that emerges in its area, and all the associated enemy and item lore.

Admittedly, the relative scope of this adjustment is fairly narrow in the greater scheme of things- but what you encounter does feel like a worthwhile addition.

Speed & Slaughter

That said, the shifts to the mechanics are a bit more encompassing- with one of the most notable and easily discernable being the increased porousness of the world. New shortcuts between areas have emerged, with a fair number connecting to the new area- though others simply serve to expedite potential speed runs by bypassing other areas. Or as traps for new players- if you find yourself stumbling into the Yr Den from the tutorial area.

More importantly, however- has been an adjustment to the number of nerve passes, which helps to offset a fair amount of the backtracking which consumed my time in the vanilla playthrough. Which is then -further- mitigated by the new movement abilities introduced with this DLC. For instance, you no longer have to wait until -after- you've beaten the game to fast travel between waypoints- as the ability is now tied to a boss in the Childbed. While this is still somewhat late-game, it's still ultimately a fairly decent time saver.

The Dash ability is also fairly good for cutting down on travel time, and unlocked far sooner- though, it has a fair number of stipulations, such as a start up time, and the ease in which it can be canceled due to the uneven surfaces in some areas. And it's not like you can maintain momentum if you jump.

Less questionable is the hover- which. I mentioned there was a fair number of falling puzzles in the original game- and this ability helps to make these segments substantially less annoying.

That said, it doesn't trivialize the difficulty of the games platforming puzzles- in large part because a fair number of new ones were injected all over the place, providing ample reason to backtrack, with challenges that make some of the earlier ones pale in comparison.

Admittedly- I started a fresh file for all of this, because trying to figure out the changes, especially with the placement of existing items being shuffled around a bit, felt like an undertaking in itself.

And, I don't regret doing so, either- because the new armour and weapons that were introduced provide some surprisingly satisfying options. Things like items that scaled with your stamina, new lightning charged weapons, and even an armour that enables healing on hit.

Though, on the healing front- there's now more options. While the parry system is still intact, and represents the most long lasting option in your arsenal, you now also have the option of hunting down the crystal runner lizards. This is notable, since if you kill 3, you acquire a rechargeable healing item, enabling you to keep afloat even if you're terrible at absorbing.

You also can get 1 from doing a specific quest in the childbed, along with an infinite use 'recall to checkpoint' item.

Honestly, there's just so much mobility and time saving in this DLC, that I legitimately shaved off -5- hours in this run compared to my initial one, and that's despite the fact that navigating the massive, Labyrinthine guts of the Childbed that felt like an endeavour on a similar scale to the Carven Palace.

It's also crammed with quite a few new quirks mechanically- since there's a slew of new biome hazards to navigate around, and more importantly, a bunch of new baddies to beat up and eat up.

And I stress that latter point, since the new traits provide some legitimately interesting build options- like the ability to fire off homing projectiles that scale with your health, if you absorb, or gain breath while already capped. All in all, I felt highly motivated to make a new build and fine tune it.

Especially since the new enemy encounters are far from easy. See, while I was able to burn through the crux of the base game bosses in an altogether efficient manner- the DLC bosses are another thing entirely- though, the most murderous of them all had to be the surrogate Vulture.

While all the new bosses are fairly memorable insofar as having brutal mechanics that might take you off guard and murder you- the Surrogate Vulture is in a league of its own- to the point that I was -not- ready for surprise it sprung midway through the fight.

Honestly- of any of the fights, it's this one that actually has me tempted to make use of the new reward for beating the final boss- Namely, the Prey gauntlet, which allows you to re-challenge all the various bosses in the game.

Ruin & Resonance

In any case- that brings me to the aesthetics, and, on the whole- I think the new area and enemies definitely don't slouch insofar as providing new uncomfortable things to stare at. Especially the enemies, there's just something -incredibly- unpleasant about the new flowering enemies and their animations.

That said, what I really have to rave about is the soundtrack. Because, hot damn are the new boss themes solid. Which really helped, given I found myself listening to them over a number of rematches.

At The End, Again

But yeah- what I'm trying to say is- This DLC was, on the whole, a legitimately solid addition to the game. It provided me ample reason to return to Grime, and game me the tools needed to not only make it more accessible, but changed things around enough that I found myself tackling certain areas like it was fresh content. The addition of new weapons and armors also served as ample motivation to change up my approach to the game- especially given how many new synergies could be made.

Factor in some neat story bits, and just some solidly challenging content, and you have a SOLID hit, especially if you were a fan of the base content.

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