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The true meaning of the word fear... Once upon a time, fairy tales were valuable cautionary yarns filled with dire warnings and sage advice. However, over time, the stories have become so watered down with cute woodland creatures and happy endings that they have lost their true meaning and purpose. No more!
Release Date: Jan 6, 2014
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Play Grimm

Play Grimm Episode One for Free

Packages that include this game

Buy Grimm Season One

Includes 8 items: Episode 1 - A Boy Learns What Fear Is, Episode 2 - Little Red Riding Hood, Episode 3 - The Fisherman and His Wife, Episode 4 - Puss in Boots, Episode 5 - The Girl Without Hands, Episode 6 - Godfather Death, Episode 7 - The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs, Episode 8 - Beauty and the Beast

Buy Grimm Season Three

Includes 7 items: Episode 17 - The Frog King, Episode 18 - Jack and the Beanstalk, Episode 19 - Mulan, Episode 20 - Pinnochio, Episode 21 - Sleeping Beauty, Episode 22 - The Adventures of Thumbling, Episode 23 - Snow White

Buy Grimm Season Two

Includes 8 items: Episode 9 - The Master Thief, Episode 10 - The Singing Bone, Episode 11 - King Midas, Episode 12 - Cinderella, Episode 13 - The Golden Goose, Episode 14 - Iron John, Episode 15 - The Pied Piper, Episode 16 - A Christmas Carol

About the Game

The true meaning of the word fear...

Once upon a time, fairy tales were valuable cautionary yarns filled with dire warnings and sage advice. However, over time, the stories have become so watered down with cute woodland creatures and happy endings that they have lost their true meaning and purpose. No more! This is American McGee's Grimm, and Happily Ever After ends now!

Experience an incredible adventure built around the world's best-known fairy tales. As Grimm, you will transform the classic tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and more of your favorites into darkly twisted Grimm versions of themselves in 23 episodes. Each game episode is centered around one of the world's best-known fairy tales and provides 30 minutes of gameplay. Each episode is a complete, standalone experience and the episodes can be played in any order.

System Requirements

    • OS: Windows Vista / XP / 7
    • Processor: 2.4 GHz Single Core Pentium Processor
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Graphics: Nvidia 6200+ or equivalent video card with 128MB Video RAM
    • DirectX: Version 9.0
    • Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
    • OS: Windows Vista / XP / 7
    • Processor: 2.0+ GHz Dual Core Processor or 3GHz Single Core
    • Memory: 1 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA 7600+ or ATI x1300+ Video Card
    • Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
Helpful customer reviews
55 of 59 people (93%) found this review helpful
117 products in account
1 review
10.5 hrs on record
Grimm (a.k.a American McGee's Grimm) was originally released on GameTap in weekly episodes, and is made by several of the same people who made American McGee’s Alice and Alice: Madness Returns, principle member being American McGee, obviously, but also the writer and one of the main voice actors - more on that later. The artstyle is very stylized and a bit silly, but quite lovely, and it fits the theme very well. The gameplay is simple, but satisfying; a somewhat detailed description of which is below.

The game stars a filthy, cynical, sadistic dwarf called Grimm (hence the name), who despises the trend of prettying up fairy tales for kids, and makes it his mission to return them back to their dark origins, or at least his own spin on their dark origins. Grimm, along with every other character in the game, is voiced by Roger L. Jackson, whom you may know as the voice of Ghostface (Scream films), Mojo Jojo (the Powerpuff Girls), the Cheshire Cat (McGee's Alice), Anton Sokolov (Dishonored), etc. etc. As such, despite being only one person, the voice acting is varied and top notch, if hammy, and is one of the highlights of the game, along with the well written dialogue and dark sense of humour. The game doesn't take itself very seriously, and it's all the better for that.

Grimm is made up of a series of self-contained episodes that take about half an hour to an hour to complete, each one based on a particular fairy tale, some well-known, others not so much. At the beginning and end of each episode you watch a puppet theatre narrated by Grimm, the first one being a cutesy and inoffensive version of the tale that he picks apart, the latter one being his own, nastier, gruesome take on the tale. These, as with all cutscenes, are skippable. Between these two are a series of levels or "scenes", based on the events of the tale, and it’s here where the meat of the game lies.

Gameplay-wise, the game is a fairly simple platformer but with a special mechanic; in every level Grimm has a circular aura around his person that can instantly change objects from their original sugary cuteness, to excessively dark and grotesque. The living creatures and people of the land (referred to as "cleaners"), valiantly try to stave off Grimm's corruption by converting objects back to their lighter selves. Their efforts are pretty much in vein, however, as Grimm can convert objects far more quickly than they do, so they function more as a nuisance than a real threat.

As Grimm converts more objects, he becomes more powerful, which is represented in-game by his "Dark-o-Meter". Gaining levels in the Dark-o-Meter gives Grimm a larger aura, allows him to jump higher and run faster, and most importantly, convert bigger objects and eventually the cleaners themselves, which renders them powerless. To progress through each level, Grimm must convert certain indicated objects to their dark equivalents, which usually requires filling up the Dark-o-Meter to a certain point. There is no fail state, and though Grimm can die through environmental hazards such as water, he respawns immediately and there is no penalty for dying, so playing through the game is a fairly straightforward and relaxed affair, though there are medals available for speedrunning levels, if you're into that sort of thing.

Some episodes spice things up by introducing powerups, and some levels are more platforming-heavy than others, but other than that the gameplay is pretty much the same throughout the series. One might think this could get boring fast (and for some it might do), but in my opinion it's kept fresh by the sheer variety of objects that can be converted. Every single character, object, and piece of the environment has a light and dark variant, and each episode has its own original setting which introduces a lot of new ones. Much of the fun comes from seeing how each new cutesy object/character warps into a twisted and disgusting parody of its former self (and if you manage to collect all the "secrets" hidden in an episode's levels, you can see the episode's Gallery, which allows you to look closely at light and dark variations of every object from any angle).

There's also something viscerally satisfying about the way Grimm converts things; as your power increases you may begin to feel like a perverse demigod as the land curdles all around you, and the fact everyone is powerless to stop you and you cannot be killed just adds to that. It's fun to look back at your handiwork at the end of each level and see how almost unrecognisable the land is from its former self.

As for the negatives, the gameplay is, as said, simple, and may be too much so for some people. The game was made quickly and on a budget, and it shows - the animation is often quite stiff and there's a certain lack of polish, but fortunately the artstyle makes this not too much of an issue, and it does improve somewhat as the series goes on. While the voice acting is good, it can get rather repetitive at times, as can the music, although each episode has a different soundtrack which prevents you getting too sick of it. Camera is serviceable but a little restrictive; I would have preferred to be able to look up and around a bit more to see things, as that's the focus of the game, though in the later episodes a new wider camera option is added that helps with that. The fact that it's in episodic format results in some oddities, such as later episodes having slightly more features, and settings (e.g. screen resolution) not being transferred between episodes, so you have to re-set them each time you play a new episode. Finally, there may not be a massive amount of replayability once you've been through each episode, unless you wish to get the timed medals and/or find every secret. None of these negatives have been a major problem for me, though.

So, to sum up, if you're only looking for deep, strategic and/or very difficult gameplay, this game probably isn't for you. If you'd enjoy a more laid-back experience that you can dip in and out of, enjoy black humour, and perhaps have a passing interest in fairy tales, you could do a lot worse than Grimm.
Posted: January 8th, 2014
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65 of 80 people (81%) found this review helpful
389 products in account
4 reviews
3.9 hrs on record
While the gameplay itself it very simple and repetative, I enjoy the theme and the story telling. Some of my favorite games and stories are darker "adult" versions of fairy tales. This is no exception. I expected no less quality from Spicy Horse.
Posted: January 6th, 2014
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26 of 30 people (87%) found this review helpful
307 products in account
27 reviews
3.3 hrs on record
I've only played the first two episodes so far, but I really am enjoying this (Ep 2: Little Red Riding Hood was pretty badass). The gameplay is simple and laid-back.. nothing is going to attack you (they just clean up behind your mess). You can only die by falling into chasms, water, or lava (and there is no penalty for death). It plays like De Blob + a Katamari game. The real treat is the story-telling. You begin each tale with a very sarcastic telling of the truthful version. Upon completion, you get to watch the disturbing retelling you created. Definately not for everyone, but you get a pretty good bit of content for $10.
Posted: January 7th, 2014
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16 of 17 people (94%) found this review helpful
1,792 products in account
46 reviews
4.5 hrs on record
Once upon a time, on another game service far away, there lived a little episodic game series called American McGee's Grimm. It hailed from the once cheerful and joyous kindgom of Gametappington. The Kingdom of Gametappington however was overcome with a blight, and chaos soon took over, when the original king was slain, and the kingdom was soon taken over by the evil king Metaboli. Metaboli ruled with an iron fist, and took all the fun and cheer away from the once joyous kingdom of Gametappington. And with that, Grimm was locked away, soon to be long forgotten.

Well one day, a kingdom on the other side of the world, known as the kingdom of Steamtopia, ruled by our mighty lord Gaben, began amassing an army of indie titles under the recruitment orders of Sir Greenlight of Steamptopia. Grimm of the kingdom of Gametappington had escaped the clutches of the evil king Metaboli, and fled clear across the globe. Along his voyage to freedom, he worked for various traders to seek employment. But he had one goal in mind. Steamtopia. So he continued his trek to Steamtopia, seeking refuge as his endgame. And one day, he arrived at the gates. But he had to prove himsewlf worthy first. Sir Greenlight of Steamtopia saw potential in this little episodic trooper, and gave it a chance. But he let the citizens of Steamtopia decide its fate, much like all of its other soldiers of the Greenlight army. The citizens of Steamtopia liked this new Grimm. They welcomed him in with open arms. And henceforth it is with great pleasure to announce the forever citizenship of Greenlight Knight Grimm of Steamtopia!

Grimm is an episodic game series, much like another Gametap original you all know as Sam & Max Season 1, which has made it's way to Steam. It's a pretty nifty little title. Simple, yet adorably gruesome if that makes any sense. Each episode, which is covered over 3 seasons, with 23 episodes in total, starts out cute and innocent enough, but ends with some sadistic retellings of beloved tales from the brothers Grimm.

It is definitely a game intended for kids. But I would not go as far as saying little kids. there is blood, and there is gore. But it is no worse than what you may see on an episode of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, or any regular episode of Family Guy. But parents beware, you may want to check out the game first before letting any little ones play it. That said, it can still be enjoyable for adults. It does have some decent humor even we can enjoy.

The gameplay is simple. You control a warped and twisted version of Grimm, who is fed up with how cute the fairy tale stories have become, and he wants to give them a good kick in the rear with a dark and disgusting makeover. So each episode has Grimm walking around, jumping, and stomping chaos into everything. As he corrupts more of the area, his dark-o-meter fills up, and the more bars he gets, the wider the radius of his corruption becomes. There are some characters who will be immune to the dark corruption, but as more bars get filled, even they succumb to the darkness. But before they succumb, they can erase the darkness with their own small radius, as they walk around. But they are more of a small bother than a real threat, and can be easily worked around.

There is not really much challenge in any of the levels, and each episode can be beaten in roughly 30 to 45 minutes tops, even taking your time. With 23 episodes in total, that is not too bad of a full gameplay length. But don't expect any huge leaps in gameplay with each episode. It's pretty much, walk around, corrupt, and butt stomp! That said, this game is more for the humorous story retellings than anything else.

Each episode starts with a short cinematic showing the cute version of the fairytale, and ends with the newly improved dark and twisted version. You'll find retellings of such faiytales as Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Pinnochio, Snow White, and more.

All in all, worth the $9.99
Posted: February 15th, 2014
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16 of 23 people (70%) found this review helpful
151 products in account
2 reviews
5.6 hrs on record
American McGee's Grimm is certainly no Alice or Return to Madness - but it's not trying to be either. It's different. I think that's the best way to put it, it's just different and that difference makes it refreshing. I'm not saying it's the game to end all games but it's something that's worth a look at if you enjoy dark, morbid humor. The art style presented in this game works for what it's trying to do. Something about the bright, oddly shaped characters is actually really appealing and, personally, I never get tired of seeing what kind of macabre stuff things turn into. A cute little deer running around? Nope, now it's cut in half and flailing around helplessly - it's really freakin' creepy and yet still brought a smile to my face. Each story (which there are 23 of) has 5 to 6 scenes to play out and there are a couple of collectibles hidden around the areas: collecting all 10 for a story unlocks the art gallery. You can also get a medal for turning everything dark 100% but beyond that there's not much to do. The game mechanic of going around and turning everything into a dark version of itself can and probably will get tedious to some, there are no enemies to fight and very little threat to Grimm besides water/lava and the Cleaners that come around to clean up your darkness, which aren't so much a threat as they are an annoyance but you can stun them for a couple of seconds. It does have some movement flaws and glitches where I found myself stuck on a tree and unable to jump or running in to an invisible wall after doing a Buttstomp and I have to say Grimm repeats his lines way too much, but besides that it's a pretty sturdy game. Certainly not going to be for everyone and you can probably feel like you're getting a better deal for it if it goes on sale, but if you're interested in seeing your favorite childrens' story turn in to a horrific nightmare then I think American McGee and Spicy Horse did a fantastic job in delivering.
Posted: January 7th, 2014
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