When comparing Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends Grim Dawn for most people. In the question“What are the best Action RPG games on Steam?” Grim Dawn is ranked 1st while Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is ranked 35th. The most important reason people chose Grim Dawn is:
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities. Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities. Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Able to be played without having played any other games in the series
Almost all of the games in the Ys series are self-contained stories. There are some references to locations and stories from other games in the series, but these references do not make an impact on the story at all.
Pro Great combat system that is easy learn
The main combat of YS VIII is fast-paced, but not difficult to grasp. The core of the combat is the basic attack, dodge and guard. In addition to basic guarding and dodging, if the timing is done correctly, a flash guard or flash move is activated which either make you deal critical damage with each strike (guard) or move faster (move), as well as make you invincible for a short time. Combat becomes more nuanced with characters being able to deal one of three damage types, which can be used to exploit enemies weaknesses to stagger them or deal increased damage. Everything flows well in a way that's simple to grasp, with plenty of room to master the details.
Pro Beautiful soundtrack
The Falcom Sound Team delivers with a beautiful soundtrack for this game. The music ranges from rock tracks for combat, to upbeat music when in bright, sunny locals, and calm, serene music when the occasion calls for it. This is one soundtrack where the music is not only memorable, but fits the mood of the game very well.
Pro Interesting and compelling story
Starting out with a monster attacking the boat Adol is on as the introduction, the story starts with finding fellow castaways while establishing and upgrading and defending a base of operations and trying to find a way to escape the island. As the story progresses, it shifts from trying to escape to unraveling the mysteries of island and why Adol is having dreams about Dana, a woman from an ancient civilization. What starts out as a group of strangers stranded on an island trying to escape turns into a community working together in a story that evolves from trying to survive to unraveling the great mysteries of the island.
Pro Complex leveling system with thousands of possible builds
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities.
Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities.
Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Pro Great homage to old school ARPGs
This game is very dark, and grim. It harkens back to games like Diablo 2 or Titans Quest. While other ARPGs have come out since then, none have hit all the marks of what fans of the genre have been asking for. For those that wish for an updated version of Diablo 2, Grim Dawn is the game for them.
Pro Exploration
Pro Highly modifiable
Relevant in modern gaming because the community can keep products like this fresh and varied, even if the developers eventually decide to slow down their updates (which they have not!). The possibilities are great with modding, while the experiences in Diablo 3 and Path of exile are a lot more static.
Pro Drop-in co-op (online and local)
Co-op is pretty convenient as players can drop in and out of your gaming session at any time. This way there is no wasted time jumping out of ones game in order to find players to play with.
Cons
Con Terrible English localization
The localization of Ys VIII is filled with grammatical errors, inconsistencies and typos. Compared to the rest of the games in the Ys series, this unprofessional localization was a let down that ended up creating enough of an outcry from fans. This is a long-running problem that still has not been updated with an official patch, though the publisher has promised to release one at some point in the future.
Con The beginning of the game starts off slow
The first few hours are a bit of a drag. Things take a while to pick up, with the story moving at a sluggish pace as you try to figure out what's going on around you. But once you get past that hurdle, the pacing picks up and the story stays interesting for the rest of the way.
Con Only some builds are fun
There is a definite meta, with superefficient vs non-viable builds.
It's easy to mess up a build, and attribute and spec-bar points are non-respeccable (you can use a cheat editor, but devs want you to reroll a new char).
Con Difficult to move when fighting, especially when you are ranged
Con Static pre-rendered levels
This may cut down on replayability a bit as all the levels in the game are pre-rendered, meaning that each playthrough will have the exact same layout, making for something that can get tiring and too familiar. Similar games have gone with randomized levels, which can keep the game fresh. While Grim Dawn is meant to be a throwback to earlier games in the genre, some newer features found in more recent released would have been welcome.
Con Lots of trips to town
The majority of loot in the game can be useless, with odd stat restrictions or repeats of vendor items. This means the user will need to make many trips into town to sell it all off in order to have room for even more loot they will not necessarily need.