Roguelites, some love them some hate them. Thankfully, I am in the I love them category. Which means that since I saw Grim Trials at Pax East 2026 and had some hands on time with it, I’ve been ready for the full release. When I learned that it was coming sooner than expected, I also wanted more people to get their eyes on this. That meant that our Guides Editor and Demo Disc mastermind Harry also let me add it into the August 2026 Demo Disc. In preparation for the demo disc, I played this demo not on one console, but on Switch 2 and PC. There’s something to be said for dedication to the craft I suppose. By trying it on multiple platforms, it meant being able to concretely provide some details for those interested.
In some ways, it’s not unlike the experience of our main character in Grim Trials. Trying her best in the situation she finds herself in and sometimes trying different weapons, builds, and of course buffs to make her way to the end. Let’s really get into the break down of why you should (or shouldn’t) play Grim Trials.
This is the Story of A Girl
We find ourselves hearing Avelin speak to us. This isn’t the beginning of her story to some extent, but a new chapter. Avelin has died. She feels she has died too soon and left the love of her life behind. How could this happen to her? She wasn’t afraid of death but leaving the love of her life behind is something she finds unacceptable. So she’s looking for her way back, her way to see Timmy once more. Perhaps if she passes the trials, if she completes her purification, she’ll see him once again. So begins her journey as the reaper’s apprentice.
But the story isn’t just about Avelin and her overcoming what you learn are the seven sinful souls. The story also somewhat becomes about learning more about the side characters who will help aide her growth. We learn that each of them has their own past they had to come to terms with. Some are much more in line with her own journey than others. Pytra the blacksmith seems to take joy in her current situation at times. Kai is someone you find yourself connecting with despite his challenging demeanor. Ivanya the witch grows from someone cold to someone, well, cold but somehow nurturing if you let her. Each of these characters also has a past to learn about.
What I will say about the story is that the ending felt somewhat rushed to me. It would have been nice to see slightly more at the end of the game, but perhaps thats being gluttonous. At the end of it all, the story is more about the journey and overcoming human emotions. But alas, I am human and I want more story.
On the bright side, even without the story, I can pet the animals. They appreciate the pets and will always listen to you.
Die, Die, Die, My Darling
As it is a roguelite, you will die multiple times on the trial grounds. This is fine, this is part of the appeal and part of the core gameplay loop. At the start, Avelin will find herself in a new unfamiliar place with a mentor who will talk to her about her next steps. She has the trials ahead of her and she must defeat the seven sinful souls to complete her trials. Unfortunately it won’t always be easy.
Each trial is a battleground of souls you must purge. What makes Grim Trials combat and exploration feel different than say a Hades is that you can backtrack as needed. Avelin will always appear in an entry room and you have a map in the upper right corner which will show you where you have explored. If you want to explore the entire level, you’re welcome to. In fact, for those who want to make sure you craft the best gear and fill up your power ups, this is an ideal strategy.
Keep in mind, you won’t meet the sinful soul on your first room it will take you some time to get there. This is a good thing as it means you have time to choose some blessings along the way. Thankfully, it also doesn’t take too much time on each run. My longest run was about 25 minutes. Definitely shorter than some runs I’ve had in other roguelite games. Perfect for a lunch break from home.
Before finding the sinful soul, you’ll fight lots of other monsters that will evolve and change about halfway through your run. Thankfully these creatures are specific to the area that you are in so you can always craft a build around these details. For example, in areas where I know enemies would be shooting off lots of annoying projectiles, I made a point that I would try to take a blessing that would allow me to deflect projectiles back at them.
While the blessings and your gear change up the runs, you will begin to see familiar patterns emerge with enemies. This is actually somewhat helpful when you’re trying to farm for materials to craft potions or earn souls to level up your skills. Of course, if you aren’t a rather huge roguelite fan, you may begin to find this patterns emerge as a bit too repetitive. For me who wanted to explore every room, try new combinations, and do my best to unlock all my skills, the repetition and patterns were comforting and fun.
An important note with the runs is that while you start at level one, you don’t run through level one through seven in one shot. Each level is its own trial. This means you would not run through all seven levels in one shot. You’ll return back to the main area after each completed run. When looking to grind for materials, you can choose the first level for an easier run or go to later ones for more challenge.
Pump It Up (Until You Can Feel It)
Like many other roguelites, after each run there are things you can do to make your character just a bit stronger. In Grim Trials, you acquire your souls and after enough of them you’ll have Soul Runes. Soul Runes allow you level up your skills as well as enchant your weapons.
If you’re an achievement hunter, you’ll find yourself grinding quite a bit to earn enough Soul Runes to unlock every skill and enchantment. If that isn’t something you want to do, the great news is, you don’t have to! You can always swap out where you have your soul runes for more combinations. Upgrading some of your skills isn’t permanent allowing for flexibility. You could challenge yourself by trying not to remove them but this was something that truly helped me with my runs.
The other bit I enjoyed with the skill tree was that for your skills, as long as one connected, you could get t o another level. Based on the image below you can see how I jumped around for the best build that worked for me. As someone who loves a bit of speed and a bit of damage happening while I run around, improving my dash and using a move called Aftershock improved my win rate.
Another way to spend time outside of the trial grounds was by crafting new items and potions. The crafting bit was actually interesting to me. When it came to potions, if you successfully hit each mark perfectly, you actually are rewarded with additional potions. If you miss the marks you may end up with the amount you budgeted for or even less. When it comes to crafting your new weapons or accessories, you’ll want to make sure you perfectly hit your marks. Missing too many marks mean your accessory may only be mediocre, standard, or master crafted. Master crafted will allow you an increase in stats more than the initial bonuses advertised. When it comes to your weapons and accessories, if you missed the master crafted, you can reforge for a better status level. Enjoy your mini rhythm game friends.
When I Paint My Masterpiece
One of the things that I like about Grim Trials is the art. The fighting levels are quite vivid even when darker in tone and feel like smaller pieces of art. Those that are bright feel ready to hop off the screen and yet in some way they all feel taunting, haunting, or a mixture of the two. Some of them have quite a bit of decor around the level as well. Some are trees, some are lava, some are a variety of statues and other items. While it always looks visually appealing, sometimes I would get stuck in so much of the scenery. Perhaps it was a skill issue, but it’s also something for players to keep in mind. Be careful of your surroundings, don’t get stuck looking at everything out there. See the forest for the trees!
The character designs were also something I found to be quite fun. Our main character Avelin isn’t your conventionally attractive heroine. She always has a bit of a scowl on her face as she prepares to face the trials that await her. Despite being the one who has died, she is grieving, and at times she is angry, and this comes across in her character sprite. A life was ripped away from her too soon, a love she’ll never see again, it isn’t fair, it isn’t right, and her eyes say it all.
For some of the other character designs, it isn’t always their eyes but their body as a whole. The bounce of the flame, even in the static picture, allows players to see a bit of joy in her personality. The dog Nameles with his silly expression invites players to pet him and give him treats. Yes, there are times when you can give the dog treats.
Can’t Stop The Beat
The music also is a selling point for Grim Trials. In the boss battles the music really builds the intensity of the moment. The music while you are exploring and speaking to your mentors feels rhythmic and chant like but not overly intense. At times, while looking to complete certain quests and focusing on reading knowledge about characters I’d somewhat forget the music was playing. There were times when I’d be on a run and the music would feel faded. Yet this isn’t in a bad way. In fact, the music seemed to put me in a focus mode to aim my attacks better, use my combos and potions, and ensure my attacks landed. When the music would pick up for boss battles, I’d snap up knowing now is the time to lock in.
For some boss fights, it’s the guitar riffs that seem to cut through the noise of the battle. For others its a bit of true chanting that kicks the adrenaline into high gear. Whatever it will be for you, if you enjoy a bit of rock flair to your music, you’ll find this music quite enjoyable.
The End.
While I knew I would enjoy the game, after playing the demo, I was still pleasantly surprised with the final game. There were a few times with the demo that it felt slightly unpolished or clunky. Yet the full game feels much smoother than I had expected it to be after the demo. Thankfully, the game also isn’t extremely long. While I didn’t unlock every Soul Rune (yet) I achieved the true ending in about 13 hours. This is also with pausing, stepping away, resting my hands, taking deep breaths.
I also played the entire game using mouse and keyboard but they do recommend using a controller. If you’re on PC, I’d say give mouse and keyboard a shot. However the game does still play well with controller. I just find remapping buttons much easier on controller.
Grim Trials is for those who want a Hades like experience without having it feel overwhelming. Overall, there is just the right amount of content in Grim Trials. The story and experience feels very streamlined in the quests and how it builds your growth. Once you complete the game. you can always go back and play again and challenge yourself as you’d like. If you didn’t complete all of the quests you can also go back and complete these.
One of my few complaints is that the story in some ways feels like it resolves rather quickly. However I need to remember Grim Trials isn’t about the ending, it’s about the journey. Thankfully, the experience is enjoyable for those looking to slowly step into the hack and slash roguelite genre. Those who have been playing the genre for quite some time may find this a bit short but it’s also perfect for those with a busy schedule.
Grim Trials releases on August 20 on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and PlayStation 5.
Grim Trials was reviewed on Steam using mouse and keyboard. Gamer Social Club would like to thank Glory Jam and Soft Source for the review code.
