Look at this moron (me) dropping this DLC for four months thinking he had hours of game to play through, only to finally beat it in less than 2.
That aside, I think it says something that even several months after I stopped playing Grim Dawn broadly, and Ashes of Malmoth specifically, I could still recall a lot of fun moments, be it boss fights or just general ambiance of the levels. I definitely undersold the base game as having a "bland" aesthetic, because Grim Dawn has a beautiful blend of Blizzard-esque stylisation combined with post-apocalyptic fantasy, where spooky tentacle mosters, ghosts, bugs, knights and cowboys roam around giving the stink eye to the last remnants of civilization.
And in terms of gamedesign, AoM feels like a straight continuation and evolution of the base game, and also like it should've been the actual end of it. Grim Dawn ended on such a damp fart of a bossfight that not much would be required to improve it, but trudging through a factory where flesh monsters and cultists torment innocents into becoming a part of some fucked up other-wordly mega-structure of suffering DEFINITELY is a better conclusion to a story like Grim Dawn than the original final chapter ever was. Funnily enough, Ashes of Malmouth's ending suffers from some of the same problems as the original, like how defeating the final boss is rewarded by middling loot and a humble congratulatory speech from the big guy at the nearest human resistance camp. Not a cutscene, not a change in scenery, just a "We Did it Guys!" and an invitation to do all the grindy bounties and sidequests. The boss itself was awesome, but overall it's still kinda weak ngl.
But the ending is very much an outlier, with the beginning and middle being a straight upgrade on everything in the base game. AoM really focuses on just a few, tonally similar concepts for levels and enemies, thus being a bit more concistent while staying varied. There are some fun special enemy encounters, and the new totem system is a fun little activity to do while exploring or backtracking through already explored areas.
Also holy shit was it fun punching Cuthulu monsters and forest spirits in the face, I'm so glad I did AoM with a Shield Guy + Occultist combo. DON'T DO A SUMMONER BUILD THO, WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE
Great expansion
That aside, I think it says something that even several months after I stopped playing Grim Dawn broadly, and Ashes of Malmoth specifically, I could still recall a lot of fun moments, be it boss fights or just general ambiance of the levels. I definitely undersold the base game as having a "bland" aesthetic, because Grim Dawn has a beautiful blend of Blizzard-esque stylisation combined with post-apocalyptic fantasy, where spooky tentacle mosters, ghosts, bugs, knights and cowboys roam around giving the stink eye to the last remnants of civilization.
And in terms of gamedesign, AoM feels like a straight continuation and evolution of the base game, and also like it should've been the actual end of it. Grim Dawn ended on such a damp fart of a bossfight that not much would be required to improve it, but trudging through a factory where flesh monsters and cultists torment innocents into becoming a part of some fucked up other-wordly mega-structure of suffering DEFINITELY is a better conclusion to a story like Grim Dawn than the original final chapter ever was. Funnily enough, Ashes of Malmouth's ending suffers from some of the same problems as the original, like how defeating the final boss is rewarded by middling loot and a humble congratulatory speech from the big guy at the nearest human resistance camp. Not a cutscene, not a change in scenery, just a "We Did it Guys!" and an invitation to do all the grindy bounties and sidequests. The boss itself was awesome, but overall it's still kinda weak ngl.
But the ending is very much an outlier, with the beginning and middle being a straight upgrade on everything in the base game. AoM really focuses on just a few, tonally similar concepts for levels and enemies, thus being a bit more concistent while staying varied. There are some fun special enemy encounters, and the new totem system is a fun little activity to do while exploring or backtracking through already explored areas.
Also holy shit was it fun punching Cuthulu monsters and forest spirits in the face, I'm so glad I did AoM with a Shield Guy + Occultist combo. DON'T DO A SUMMONER BUILD THO, WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE
Great expansion