Costume Quest: Grubbins on Ice is AWESOME!, 6.3 out of 10 based on 12 ratings
In October of 2010, Double Fine Studios unleashed upon the world the trick-or-treating, monster-beating, candy-eating, evil-unseating, Halloween-greeting antics of Costume Quest. Now they are giving us a follow-up in Costume Quest: Grubbins on Ice. Is this a ho ho wholly good time or just another piece of coal for the stockings?

It’s been a few months since the incident on Halloween night, and two of the main characters from that affair – the brainy Lucy and the geeky Everett – are walking through the now snow-covered streets. Everett is trying to work up the nerve to tell Lucy how he feels about her, but she is too distracted by her continuing quest for proof of their earlier escapades to notice. Suddenly, the two stumble upon said proof which then leads to a portal to Repugia, home of the monsters from the earlier adventure, opening and, faster than you can say Jack Frost, Lucy being kidnapped. Now Everett, along with twins Reynold and Wren, must head into Repugia in a quest that will have them lead a rebellion, find new costumes and, of course, gather boatloads of candy.

There are no two ways about it: Grubbins on Ice is, as would be expected in a expansion pack, the very definition of more of the same. Since in this case ‘same’ means simple but enjoyable RPG battles, a good story with many humorous character moments, and lovely graphics, I am not complaining in the least. As with the main game, Grubbins will have you dividing your time between knocking on doors for candy (in this case the loosely justified reason given is to win over minds and gather funding [Repugia being on a candy economy] for the revolution) and fighting against monsters in over-the-top turn-based RPG battles.

Outside of the setting, little has changed gameplay-mechanics wise. Instead, the game gives you three new costumes to play around with, a bunch of new battle stamps (which can grant various battle bonuses) to find, and four additional levels to grind your way through. The costumes in particular are a welcome addition, having useful abilities both in and out of combat and, of course, bring some delightful new visuals to the games over-the-top battles.

The biggest changes the expansion makes, and ones that also get retroactively added to the first adventure, is the addition of a manual save function and the ability to pause during cutscenes. Since the former was easily my biggest complaint about the first game, it is nice to see this addressed. The game can only be played if the original has been also purchased, but does not use your save data from the main game, instead assuming you had already unlocked everything the original had to offer.

Repugia is about the same size as one of the three main areas you explored in the main game, and should give you a couple more hours of trick-or-treating fun. I say trick-or-treating because, unlike the main game’s love letter to Halloween, Grubbins is not really holiday-themed. Later parts of the level do feature snow and there is a brief token sub-plot about a holiday named Yeti-fest, but for the most part those looking for Costume Quest to do for, say, Christmas what it did for Halloween are bound to be disappointed. Seeing as this is less a sequel and more a continuation, this decision was probably for the best. I also think it is no bad thing for Costume Quest to develop itself beyond the realm of holiday special. It opens up the creators to taking the wonderful characters and universe they have created in new, exciting directions down the line. Which is good since the game ends on a cliffhanger that promises some intriguing developments for the series in the future. Finally, Repugia is such a perfectly designed location, featuring all the twisted elements you would expect from a world home to monsters, you are not likely to miss any holiday references.

Overall, Grubbins on Ice works as the first expansion to the gameplay and world of Costume Quest. If you could not stand the main game, this will do nothing to change your mind. But if you were one of the many gamers left wanting more by the time the end credits of the first adventure rolled, then by all means feel free to drop your five dollars towards it now. You will get your money’s worth.

This expansion was purchased by the reviewer from PSN. He spent approximately two hours playing it to completion.