The tale of King Midas is rather tame, and the languid narrative unfortunately affects the title's gameplay; but some elements do their best to alleviate the lethargic pace. King Midas is a story rooted in Greek mythology, and so fantastic architecture, as well as Zeus, Aries, and an inebriated Satyr make appearances. Darkening marble statues of the gods causes them to morph into lightning bolt-spewing savages, grand palaces become bleak fortresses, and bubbly Minotaur NPCs become snorting, brutal beasts.

Easily the most amusing transformation is Cupid's arrows, which he fires into the chest of two smitten lovers. Grimm's presence causes Cupid to snarl with rage, and his arrows sprout deadly barbs that quickly change the couples' tune.


For the first three of King Midas's six stages, the procedure is the same as always: darken environments to move the story along, with your end reward being a grittier version of the story. Once Midas is given his golden touch, though, things become more entertaining. Trading dirt and corruption for every woman's best friend (next to chocolate, of course), the player, through control of Grimm, does King Midas's work for him. Objects and NPCs turn to gold as you pass them by, with objects such as leaves and boats crashing to the ground or bubbling to the seafloor due to their increase weight. In an odd twist for the series, climbing to a high vantage point and looking down at your handiwork is quite striking instead of depressing.

The last level, in which Grimm instigates a brawl of heavenly proportions between Zeus and Aries, is easily the most graphically intense of any Grimm episode. Some effects causes slowdown on my gaming rig, which is certainly a first for a series heavy on distinctive art but easy on hardware requirements. The stuttering is forgiven, though, when you see the cause epic devastation caused by your butt-stomping actions. Explosions, gouts of bloods, flames... everything for a proper Armageddon scenario is present, and much fun is had ushering in proper punishment for Midas's sins.

Fifty percent of King Midas is fun, while the other half is yet another rehash of any of the first season's episodes. As per usual, it's hard to judge any Grimm episode too harshly: it's free for the first day of its release, and it's cheap after that. If you're interested, play it. If you're not, don't.