Grime II: How to Reach Kankan – Full Early-Game Walkthrough
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Why Reaching Kankan Is the First Big Milestone in Grime II
Grime II’s early game feels deliberately disorienting: organic tunnels, shifting platforms, and bosses that punish button mashing. The first real sense of “arrival” comes when you reach Kankan, the art-obsessed city that opens up side quests, key NPCs, and a better understanding of where the world is heading.
This guide walks you through a clean, region-by-region path:
Birthplace & Temple of Hands
Escape route through Mudfalls
Faceless Mountains, including Faceless Bishop Darsh
Marah’s Orchard and the Prime Pitcher boss
Kankan itself, plus the Tankard Warden and Greatblade Preacher
I’ll focus on the path that consistently got me to Kankan without feeling over-leveled or starved of upgrades, while flagging the spots where I repeatedly got lost or wiped.
Core Mechanics to Lean On Early (Grasp, Force, and Mobility)
Before diving into the route, it helps to understand what the game really expects from you in these opening areas.
Grasp & Absorption: Your tendril grab is more than a parry. Use it aggressively to interrupt enemies and refill resources. Many early enemies have slow, obvious wind-ups that are practically invitations to Grasp.
Force Meter: Think of it as a stamina-plus-special resource. Don’t spam heavy attacks until you’re empty-keep a buffer for dodges and emergency Grasp.
Traversal Unlocks: You’ll gradually unlock tools like Grasp-based grapple points and wall jumps/bounces. The world is built around revisiting old spaces once you have them, so don’t panic if something looks unreachable at first.
Surrogates (Checkpoints): Always activate them, and don’t be afraid to backtrack to one before pushing a new boss or tricky platforming section.
On a controller, I kept Grasp on a bumper so I could react quickly: for example, LT to Grasp, A / X to jump, and B / Circle to dodge. Whatever your setup, bind Grasp so it’s as natural as dodging.
Step 1 – Birthplace & Temple of Hands: Getting Your Bearings
The Birthplace is effectively a tutorial corridor leading into the Temple of Hands. It teaches you how Grasp interacts with weaker enemies and environmental hazards. Don’t rush through; this is where you internalise the game’s rhythm.
Birthplace: Learn to Grasp or Suffer Later
Enemies here have exaggerated tells. Instead of rolling away from everything, challenge yourself to:
Wait for their attack flash or wind-up.
Tap your Grasp button (LT / L2) right as the attack connects.
Absorb them to refill your resources and, in some cases, gain minor bonuses.
I made the mistake of treating this like a pure dodge-and-strike Souls-like, which worked until mid-game bosses started assuming I could parry. Build the habit now.
Temple of Hands: First Real Maze, First Real Boss
Once you transition into the Temple of Hands, the spaces widen and verticality kicks in. Your goals here are:
Find and activate the core Surrogates (checkpoints).
Grab at least one weapon type that fits your style (fast “knife” style vs heavy “maul” style).
Defeat the early boss (often the Bound Shell or equivalent) guarding your path forward.
Explore side corridors that loop back to central rooms. The Temple is full of shortcuts that feel optional but dramatically cut down death runs. Any time you see a suspiciously placed elevator, locked gate, or climbable segment that leads “backwards,” assume it hides a shortcut and poke at it.
Boss tip – Bound Shell:
Stay mid-range and wait for its swing or slam, then dodge through the attack, not away from it.
Many of its moves end in a brief stagger window-perfect for a quick Grasp if you’re brave, or 1-2 light hits if you’re not.
Don’t get greedy with heavy attacks. Early in the game, your Force meter is too shallow to support long combos.
Beating the Temple’s first major boss stabilises your run: you’ll have a reliable weapon, a better sense of how Surrogates are placed, and a clear exit into the next region.
Step 2 – Escaping the Temple into Mudfalls
After the early Temple boss, your path opens toward Mudfalls. This zone introduces more environmental danger-pits, sludge, and enemies that exploit your impatience.
From the later Temple Surrogate (often marked near a “Halls” area), look for passages that slope downward and outward, with more decay and organic growth than stone. When you start seeing waterfalls of muck and uneven rock platforms, you’re in Mudfalls territory.
Mudfalls Navigation & What to Prioritise
Here’s how I handle Mudfalls on a fresh run:
Stick to the main downward route until you hit the local Surrogate. This becomes your safety net.
Once the checkpoint is active, explore side pockets for early items like homing or hunting projectiles and minor Breath (health/upgrade) boosters.
Use Grasp to deal with flying or lunging enemies rather than trying to trade hits on unstable ground.
A lot of players (myself included on the first go) try to brute-force every enemy here. It’s more efficient to pick safer platforms, pull foes toward you, and work methodically downwards rather than bouncing between vertical shafts and getting ambushed.
Leaving Mudfalls, you work your way into the Faceless Mountains. This region is where the game really expects you to chain platforming, combat, and Grasp-based mobility together.
From Halfmade Pit to the Upper Tunnels
Look for a Surrogate often referred to as the “Halfmade Pit” equivalent—this serves as your central hub for the Mountains. From here:
Take the upward tunnels first; they usually lead to traversal lessons with safer fallbacks.
Practice wall jumps/bounces: jump toward a wall, then quickly tap jump again as you contact it to ricochet off. On controller this is usually A → A (Xbox) or X → X (PlayStation) while holding the opposite direction.
Look for faintly highlighted grapple points where your Grasp tendril can latch on mid-air.
The game won’t always telegraph these points loudly. I ended up swinging my camera and cursor around suspicious ceilings, then tapping Grasp to “feel out” where hooks were hidden.
Melded Giant & Faceless Bishop Darsh
You’ll likely fight a mid-boss (often a Melded Giant-style enemy) before the area’s main encounter, Faceless Bishop Darsh.
Melded Giant tips:
Circle around its legs and stay close; many of its broad swings will overshoot you.
When it telegraphs a stomp, roll behind it and commit to two light hits max.
Save Grasp for its slower overhead strikes; absorbing those feels risky but pays huge resource dividends.
Faceless Bishop Darsh tips:
Darsh combines melee and mid-range projectiles. Never be directly in front for long—strafe to its flanks.
When it raises its arms for a barrage, close the distance and roll through a projectile instead of backing off. The closer you are, the fewer angles you need to read.
Watch for the recovery after its heaviest slam: this is the safest moment for Grasp or a short combo.
Beating Darsh gives you the confidence (and often the resources) to push into the next large region: Marah’s Orchard, which is where the path to Kankan truly begins.
Step 4 – Marah’s Orchard & Prime Pitcher (Unlocking the Path to Kankan)
Marah’s Orchard is deceptively pretty and mechanically brutal. Expect dense foliage, hidden grapple points, and platforming that punishes sloppy timing.
Finding the Bridge to Kankan Surrogate
Your first priority here is to reach and activate the Bridge to Kankan Surrogate. From the Orchard entrance:
Follow the main forward path until the level opens into a broad canopy area.
Start looking up: many “dead ends” actually hide vertical routes using wall bounces and Grasp grapples.
Prioritise stable branches and platforms that offer line-of-sight across the Orchard. These often lead to the main bridge structure.
Once you see architectural elements that look more constructed—arches, bridge struts—you’re closing in on the Surrogate. Activate it before doing any optional diving into side paths; this is your fast travel anchor back to the Kankan route.
Prime Pitcher Boss Strategy
To fully unlock the Kankan path, you’ll need to deal with Prime Pitcher, a boss that doubles down on the “projectiles plus platforming” theme.
What worked consistently for me:
Stay moving laterally. Treat the fight almost like a 2D shooter: constantly circle on its platforms rather than hovering in one spot.
Many of its throws and lobbed attacks have big, obvious arcs. Instead of rolling, use short repositioning steps and save your dodge for the rare close-range smash.
Watch for moments when it over-commits to a heavy wind-up—this is your chance to close the gap, land a few hits, and back off before it recovers.
Grasp is best used on its slower, glow-telegraphed projectiles. Absorbing one can flip a dangerous phase into a resource-positive one.
Prime Pitcher teaches you how to read projectile spacing while worrying about gaps and ledges. Once you win here, the rest of the Orchard falls into place and the route to Kankan becomes straightforward.
Before you leave, poke around for:
Breath capacity boosts in side branches and canopy nooks.
Item Molds that expand your build flexibility once you reach Kankan’s vendors.
Optional enemies that are perfect Grasp practice, especially those that combine leaps and throws.
With Prime Pitcher down and the Bridge to Kankan Surrogate active, you can finally cross into Kankan, the game’s first big “city” hub.
Navigating Kankan’s Vertical Layout
Kankan is split into upper and lower layers, with twisting paths, platforms, and interiors. Focus on:
Activating each new Surrogate as soon as you stumble onto it. Kankan’s layout makes death runs especially annoying without them.
Talking to key NPCs, especially any Breathsmith-like figure who can turn your collected resources into permanent power.
Opening shortcuts between upper terraces and lower courts, which will matter a lot when you’re pushing bosses.
Take a short loop to learn the city’s main circuits before diving into the mandatory fights; knowing where to run and heal safely is half the battle here.
Tankard Warden – The Bouncer Boss
The Tankard Warden is usually your first Kankan boss, a bruiser who punishes reckless aggression.
He telegraphs big, sweeping attacks with his tankard/weapon. Roll into his back or side, not away in front of him.
His recovery windows are generous but deceptive; limit yourself to two hits, then reset.
If he starts a combo, resist the urge to Grasp every swing. Wait for the last, slowest hit for a safer absorb.
Once you read his patterns, the Warden becomes a controlled fight that rewards patience and positioning more than raw damage.
Greatblade Preacher – Skill Check for Kankan
Greatblade Preacher is a major test of everything you’ve learned: precise dodges, spacing, and intelligent Grasp use.
Greatblade’s reach is huge. The safest place is often just inside its swing radius—too far away and you’ll get clipped by the blade tip.
When it chains two or three attacks, the final one is usually slower and over-committed. Dodge that last swing and punish.
Use the arena’s limited cover and vertical quirks to buy healing windows, but don’t turtle there; the boss has ways to flush you out.
Grasp shines on its most dramatic, glowing strikes. Successfully absorbing one can swing the entire phase’s momentum.
Defeating Greatblade Preacher cements your foothold in Kankan. From here, the world opens up dramatically, both narratively and mechanically, and you’ll have a dense hub to return to for upgrades and side content.
Common Pitfalls & How to Stay Efficient
Across these regions, a few mistakes kept coming up for me and for friends I watched play:
Ignoring Grasp: Treating Grime II like a pure dodge-&-hit game makes later bosses miserable. Force yourself to practice absorbs in Birthplace and Mudfalls.
Skipping shortcuts: If an area feels like a slog back to the boss, you probably missed a gate, elevator, or loop. Assume every big zone has at least one “fast lane.”
Over-exploring too early: Some unreachable items in Temple, Mudfalls, and the Mountains require later traversal tools. Don’t burn an hour trying to brute-force a jump that’s meant for future you.
Under-using Surrogates: There’s no shame in retreating to a Surrogate after grabbing a big pickup, then re-approaching with full resources.
If you keep your route focused—Temple → Mudfalls → Faceless Mountains → Marah’s Orchard → Kankan—while still detouring for obvious upgrades, you’ll hit Kankan at a comfortable power level without feeling over-grinded.
