When comparing The Binding of Isaac vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends The Binding of Isaac for most people. In the question“What are the best indie games on Steam?” The Binding of Isaac is ranked 19th while Grim Dawn is ranked 37th. The most important reason people chose The Binding of Isaac is:
Random levels, random items, random enemies, every game is new, exciting and challenging.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Tons of replayablity
Random levels, random items, random enemies, every game is new, exciting and challenging.
Pro One of a kind game
One of the best arcade roguelikes (or roguelikes, if you're a purist) out there. Difficult to beat completely and oh so very satisfying. Gazillions of unlocks, secrets, bosses, power-ups and item combinations. Limited co-op (BoIR only). The game can be genuinely terrifying and dark, especially if you take a moment to ponder what's really going on with its backstory and characters.
Pro Addictive gameplay
With an arcade style feel and a fairly quick play through, the game makes it easy to sit down and play for hours. Addicting could best describe the gameplay, something that the player can get lost in without getting overly complicated.
Pro Very easy to learn and play, while it doesn't get boring
While it is very easy to learn and play, it is still a difficult game to beat and therefore has a lot of replayability.
Pro Great Soundtrack
The soundtrack from the original and the new version fits the game really well and is extremely characteristic
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 It's creepy
The game to be put nicely is not really scary but just plain creepy. Definitely not a game recommended for children.
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.