GrimGrimoire OnceMore gets a demo today on PlayStation and Switch

Hit the books ahead of launch

Would-be wizard generals will get a chance to test out GrimGrimoire for themselves today. Vanillaware and NIS America are releasing a demo for GrimGrimoire OnceMore, for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Set in a magical school, GrimGrimoire OnceMore follows the very eventful early days of Lillet Blan. As things get bad, she’ll eventually have to put her schooling to use in the form of side-scrolling strategy warfare using familiars and grimoires.

OnceMore is a remaster of Vanillaware’s original GrimGrimoire, a 2007 PlayStation 2 strategy game. And it looks like the developer’s putting together a pretty solid list of improvements to the original experience.

An altered screen ratio and updated resolution help on the graphics side. Grand Magic spells, an added Skill Tree, and the Tactical Notebook all serve to offer more to do on the gameplay side of things, too. And a new Gallery features illustrations from Vanillaware staff, with over 90 images created for GrimGrimoire and OnceMore.

Cast a spell on you

This isn’t the first time Vanillaware’s brought forward one of its earlier hits to modern systems. The absolutely superb Odin Sphere Leifthrasir put the action-RPG back in the conversation. (Side note: I do hope that eventually gets a Switch or Steam port.)

Meanwhile, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim made a fairly big impact for Vanillaware. With that in mind, it’s neat to see them going back to the vault and pulling out a piece of the studio’s history that feels linked, if only by the strategy genre. Today’s GrimGrimoire demo should give players an idea of just how it’s evolved over the years, and a taste of what’s to come from the remaster.

GrimGrimoire OnceMore hits PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch on April 4, 2023.