The grue has been used as a homage to classic, early computer gaming, referenced in games such as NetHack, World of Warcraft, and Alan Wake. A reference to grues is also made in title and refrain of Nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot's song "It Is Pitch Dark". Writer Bernard Perron, while discussing horror in video games, stated that being hunted by a grue was a "terrifying situation no player had ever experienced before". IGN regarded the grue as one of the best video game villains, stating that the dialogue "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue" was effective, and how despite some physical characteristics being made clear later, players have their own "utterly personal mental image of what a grue looks like". They noted that while it started as a solution to a game problem, it had evolved to become "one of the chief boogiemen in the early history of video games".
The grue has been used as a homage to classic, early computer gaming, referenced in games such as NetHack, World of Warcraft, and Alan Wake A reference to grues is also made in title and refrain of Nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot's song "It Is Pitch Dark". Writer Bernard Perron, while discussing horror in video games, stated that being hunted by a grue was a "terrifying situation no player had ever experienced before". IGN regarded the grue as one of the best video game villains stating that the dialogue "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue" was effective, and how despite some physical characteristics being made clear later, players have their own "utterly personal mental image of what a grue looks like". They noted that while it started as a solution to a game problem, it had evolved to become "one of the chief boogiemen in the early history of video games"