Grim Soul Survival: A Brutal Lesson in the Slow Build

First published on EntreBurnor.com June 7, 2022

I love games. The problem solving. The slow build towards success. The big payoff. If you know me, then you know that I always manage to find a way to keep gaming. Some games are lighthearted distractions, some are longterm deep dives, some are team building and cooperative, some are just enough dopamine to keep you constantly playing, and some are just plain hard. One of my current obsessions is a game called Grim Soul Survival and it is a brutal lesson in the slow build.

I happened upon Grim Soul through an ad (the horror!) and was very happily surprised when I downloaded and started playing it. The ad had not lied! The lies and misdirection of ads is a fodder for a whole additional post (or video??) but this was one that came through.

The basic concept of the game is simple. You are an unnamed nobody in a dangerous and unfamiliar land. You collect resources, avoid enemies, build a base, and gradually learn new constructs, skills, and make friends to help you dig deeper into the game. And you die. A lot. Not a permanent death, although that would be a crazy challenge to undertake, you lose everything you’re carrying and find yourself once again at your stronghold (which is likely just a bunch of stick walls and fields).

This is a game with chores and while that may not sound like fun, there is enough dopamine flowing around that you’ll find yourself picking yourself up after a particularly bad death, wanting to try it just one more time.

Why am I writing about this? I find a certain amount of parallel between a really tough game like this and many aspects of life.

First, never lower your guard, stop paying attention, and monitor your health. As I’m writing this, I decided to play the game for a bit. As if to illustrate my point, I became over eager after taking out a swarmed of Damned, only for a Damned Knight (much, much bigger) to show up and take me out in two hits! In life, we get complacent, stuck in ruts, and build the feeling that life will float along. While this is a great feeling and certainly has its value, you should never stop paying attention. This is not a call for pessimism, its a call for awareness. Do not let the budget slack as the risk is high of a surprise. Be aware of what is happening around, especially in business, before a Damned Competitor swoops in and takes you out.

Second, keep your basic supplies flush and flowing. In Grim Soul, you can set yourself up with quite the operation of smelters, fires, workshops, etc but the supply chain relies for the most part on a few key supplies. If you ignore those for the bright and shiny, you’ll find yourself with overflowing chests of useless items. As mundane as it is, you always need to keep collecting firewood. Just like in life, you’ve got to do the dishes, keep the groceries flowing, etc. In business, know your basics, know what keeps you ticking and make sure it is constantly fed. If you keep the slow and steady constantly working for you, you will see results.

Third, keep an eye out for the really useful or rare opportunities. This is the corollary to number two. Know what it is you are looking for to move ahead and keep an eye out. Even if it means sacrificing short term (though do not undercut yourself), you may need to grab something to use later. Soul stones are a big part of Grim Soul. When you see one, grab it. Also, know what you do not need. Despite how useful something seems, not everything is helpful. I’ve got a chest with hundreds of “straps” in it that are basically useless to me now. In the same way, is one opportunity so valuable you should snag it any time you can? Does another opportunity seem shiny but you know, deep down, its useless? Know what you are looking for.

Finally, pick yourself up each time you get knocked down. This is just generally good life advice but I’ll use the game as an illustration. When that Knight took me out (see above) I lost quite a bit, extra weapons I was carrying, special items I’d found, and, of course, quite a bit of basic supplies. It was frustrating! Every single time its frustrating. But, you start over. And, every time you start over, you set yourself up so that its not so hard to start over again. You keep ore smelting, wood crafting, skins turning into leather, etc. In real life, there are setbacks, that’s life. You accept that they’ll occur, keep an eye out for them, and constantly improve your ability to handle them. Whether they’re medical, financial, personal, etc, know they’re coming and work to make it easier to handle them and come back from them.

At the end of the day, Grim Soul Survival is a game and, yes, despite all of the above, I find it a lot of fun! The feeling of success when you complete a tough mission, the satisfaction of seeing your stronghold expand, and the rush when you get a new item or progress to a new area. The game, like life, takes some work but the highs are more than worth the lows. We’ve seen our share of lows in our family and we plow forward. One foot after the other, one bite, one line, after the other. You push through and you look back with a feeling of reward.

Any games you find yourself playing no matter how hard the moment is? Thoughts on the daily grind in life (or games)?