When comparing For the King vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends Grim Dawn for most people. In the question“What are the best co-op RPGs on PC?” Grim Dawn is ranked 5th while For the King is ranked 9th. 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 Old school turn-based D&D-style combat with board game inspired exploration
Combat involves making choices from among each character's class skills and special moves inherent to each weapon. Those choices are tactical and can mean the difference between killing an opponent more quickly or taking more damage--sometimes deadly damage.
Overland movement is individual to each character, allowing you to decide whether to spread out to explore and discover more quickly (and possibly face combat alone) or stick together, exploring the world more safely (but taking longer to do so, possibly allowing the scenario's pressure-based mechanic to build up to uncontrollable levels).
Pro Fun alone, or with one or two friends.
The party is composed of three characters, each selected from among up to 11 different character classes or archetypes. With three players, each person controls all of the decisions of one character each. With two players, one person controls two characters while the other controls one. Each time you load the game, you can choose which player will play which character, allowing two-player groups to take turns controlling the extra character, if they so desire. The gameplay is turn-based, but each player's turn (whether during combat or exploration) resolves fairly quickly, keeping all players engaged. Items obtained and gold found are always able to be traded among characters - there's no "soulbound" mechanic here.
Pro The theme - "regular folk stepping up to become heroes" - is endearing and inspiring.
Players select characters from among "hometown hero" archetypes. You aren't Knights, Wizards, and Assassins that have taken up arms, but instead common folk such as Blacksmiths, Scholars, Minstrels, Hunters, and the like - even a Hobo, which can be unlocked through gameplay! There's a definite satisfaction taking a brave, but unskilled commoner and turning him into an extremely powerful hero who can take down deadly enemies such as demons, liches, and even gigantic dragons by the end of the adventure.
Pro Each adventure is a different experience due to RNG and rogue-like elements.
There are set "scenarios" with set win conditions that introduce differing pressure mechanics: game mechanics that force the players to act, rather than lounge in town or rest every time they lose a hit point or two. However, each time the scenario starts the world is different. Different items are available for purchase or able to be found, different mini-encounters occur, and different opponents will face you, whether in common encounters or infrequently-spawning boss-type creature encounters. Combined with 11 different unique classes and many viable party compositions, this adds a lot of replayability.
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 A string of bad luck--whether or not set off by an initial bad decision--can end the quest in defeat
There are RNG elements to this game, and sometimes a string of misses by your character or a string of hits by an opponent can put your characters in peril. These RNG elements can be mitigated by game knowledge: the various enemies' possible attacks, when to use precious resources and when to save them, when to flee combat, and so forth. However, that knowledge can take a few games to acquire. Fortunately, there are three different difficulty levels, so if you are more RNG-averse, you can select "Novice" for your first few games while you figure out how the game works.
Con There are few in-game "hint" systems, requiring you to learn by doing or rely on the Wiki.
The game is built on an "explore, experience, discover" model, and so the in-game hint system is minimal. Typically, you learn what an ability does, how an item works, or what a creature can do by experience. If you would rather have such information ahead of time, you'll need to rely on the game's Wiki page.
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.